Donald Trump reportedly wants Greenland. Can you really buy a foreign territory

  1. U.S. President has said that he wants to buy Greenland.However,the Denmark government dismissed his statement and said that Greenland was not for sale.
  2. Greenland is the world’s largest island.It is an autonomous Denmark dependent territory with limited self-government and its own parliament.
  3. Denmark contributes two thirds of Greenland’s budget revenue while the rest comes mainly from fishing.
  4. The USA has long seen Greenland as strategically important and had established a radar base at Thule at the start of the Cold War.
  5. The potential oil, gas and rare earth mineral reserves have also attracted prospecting firms.
  6. Further,there have been several instances in the history of nations and especially the US acquiring foreign territory against payment.
  7. One famous example is the purchase of Alaska which Russia  transferred to the US in 1867 for $7.2 million.In 1819,the US had also bought Florida from Spain.