The Bergen Greenland Company provided the financial mechanism for a 1721 expedition that departed on the ship Haabet to search for lost Norse settlements. Led by the Lutheran pastor Hans Egede, this group arrived at Nuup Kangerlua on 3 July, initiating a renewed colonial and religious engagement with the island that had remained unvisited for three centuries.
Early Life and Ministry
Born in 1686 in Harstad Municipality, Norway, Hans Egede was the son of Povel Hansen Egede, a priest, and Kirsten Jensdatter Hind. He moved to Copenhagen in 1704 to study theology at the University of Copenhagen. After earning his degree, he returned to Norway and was ordained on 15 April 1707. His initial clerical assignment took him to a parish in the Lofoten archipelago, where he lived with his wife, Gertrud Rasch.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Colonization Efforts
Driven by the belief that Norse colonists in Greenland might still practice Catholicism or have lost their faith, Egede petitioned Frederick IV of Denmark-Norway for support. With capital from Bergen merchants and a royal grant, he established the Bergen Greenland Company. On 2 May 1721, he departed with his family and forty colonists. They eventually established Hope Colony on Kangeq Island. Despite failing to find Norse survivors, Egede continued his work, even as scurvy decimated his party and caused many to return home.
Scientific and Linguistic Contributions
Egede engaged extensively with the local Kalaallit people, meticulously documenting their language. His linguistic efforts included adapting biblical concepts into Greenlandic; for instance, he sought terms for bread, eventually recording 'neqissat' for food and 'timiusaq' for wafers. In 1729, he authored The Old Greenland's New Perlustration. His exploration activities, including the establishment of a whaling station on Nipisat Island in 1723, provided geographic data despite his mistaken belief that a strait bisected the island.
Final Years
The colony faced persistent hardship, including an 1735 smallpox epidemic that resulted in the death of Gertrud Egede. In Copenhagen, he served as Superintendent of the Greenland Mission Seminary and was named Lutheran Bishop of Greenland in 1741. He continued his work, including the completion of a catechism in 1747, until his death on 5 November 1758 in Stubbekøbing.
Fast facts
- Born: 1686, Harstad Municipality
- Died: 5 November 1758, Stubbekøbing
- Spouse: Gertrud Rasch
- Education: University of Copenhagen
- Key Publication: The Old Greenland's New Perlustration (1729)
- Significant Expedition Start: 2 May 1721
- Languages Spoken: Latin, Norwegian, Greenlandic
- Final Title: Lutheran Bishop of Greenland
Questions readers ask
Why did Hans Egede go to Greenland?
He intended to find and re-evangelize descendants of lost Norse settlers who he suspected had either remained Catholic or abandoned the Christian faith.
Did Egede find the lost Norse colony?
No. While he explored the western coast and discovered Norse ruins, he did not find any living descendants of the original settlers.
Achievements
- Recorded as explorer, linguist and missionary
