Whisky War

Whisky War
Part of the Arctic policy of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Arctic policy of Canada

The commanding officer of the Danish warship HDMS Triton on Hans Island during August 2003
Date1973 – 14 June 2022
Location80°49′35″N 66°27′30″W / 80.82639°N 66.45833°W / 80.82639; -66.45833
Result Negotiated settlement
Territorial
changes
Hans Island divided between Nunavut (Canada) and Greenland (Denmark).
Belligerents
 Canada
Commanders and leaders

Danish Realm Tom Høyem
Danish Realm Per Starklint
Danish Realm Anders Fogh

Danish Realm Per Stig Møller

Canada Pierre Pettigrew

Canada Bill Graham
Units involved
Royal Danish Army
Royal Danish Navy

Canadian Army

Royal Canadian Navy
Strength
3 HDMS unknown
Casualties and losses
none none

The Whisky War, also known as the Liquor Wars,[1] was a bloodless war and border dispute between the Kingdom of Denmark and Canada over Hans Island. Between 1973 and 2022, the island was under dispute between the two nations, although never amounting to direct conflict or violence.[2]

Both countries agreed on a process in 2005 to resolve the issue,[3] which was finally settled in 2022, resulting in the creation of a land border on the island between the two states.[4]

  1. ^ Blazeski, Goran (September 18, 2016). "The Hans Island 'liquor wars' between Canada and Denmark may be the cutest dispute in history". The Vintage News.
  2. ^ Bender, Jeremy (January 10, 2016). "2 countries have been fighting over an uninhabited island by leaving each other bottles of alcohol for over 3 decades". Business Insider.
  3. ^ Frizzell, Sara (May 28, 2018). "Truce? Canada, Greenland, Denmark inch closer to settling decades-old spat over Hans Island". CBC News.
  4. ^ Beaumont, Peter (June 14, 2022). "Canada and Denmark end decades-long dispute over barren rock in Arctic". The Guardian.