Qeqertarsuatsiaat

Qeqertarsuatsiaat, formerly Fiskernæs or Fiskenæsset, is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland, located on an island off the shores of Labrador Sea. Its population was 169 in 2020.[2]

Qeqertarsuatsiaat

Fiskenæsset
Fisher's Inlet
Qeqertarsuatsiaat
Qeqertarsuatsiaat
Location within Greenland
Coordinates: 63°05′20″N 50°40′40″W
State Kingdom of Denmark
Constituent country Greenland
Municipality Sermersooq
Founded1754
Government
 • MayorMorten Johnsen
Population
 (2020)
 • Total169
Time zoneUTC-03
Postal code
3900 Nuuk

History
Qeqertarsuatsiaat port

Kikertarsocitsiak[3] or Qeqertarsuatsiaat has long been the local name for the island (Kalaallisut: "Rather Large Islands"). It was first settled by the Danes as Fiskernæs in 1754. The name was often anglicized as Fisher's Inlet.

The trading post was founded by the merchant Anders Olsen on behalf of the Danish General Trade Company, which was granted a royal monopoly on trade in Greenland but only in and around its settlements. Like most Greenlandic trading posts, it was a location for the Danes to trade imported goods for seal skins and seal and whale blubber gathered by Kalaallit in the area. Unusually, the settlement became the early center of Greenland's salmon and cod fisheries[4] and it was as common to see the large "woman's boat" or umiak as the smaller hunting kayaks.

In 1748,[5] 1754,[6] 1757,[7] or 1758,[8] the Moravian mission of Lichtenfels was established in another inlet of the same island by Matthias Stach and four families from New Herrnhut. The first conversions were not made until 1760[8] or 1761,[7] but afterwards the population of the settlement rose to around 300[8] and was for a time the largest village in Greenland. All urbanization in Greenland was negatively affected by the Royal Greenland Trading Department (KGH)'s Instruction of 1782, aimed at protecting the company's income by maintaining the Inuit in their traditional roles as nomadic hunters. The mission was surrendered to the Lutheran Church of Denmark in 1900[9] and has since been abandoned.

The last known great auk in Greenland was hunted near Fiskenæsset in 1815 by one of the villagers.[10]

Transport and amenities

Qeqertarsuatsiaat is a port of call for the Arctic Umiaq Line ferry.[11] There is a viewpoint at Telehuset. The Danish Crown Princely family visited the town as part of an official tour of Greenland in summer 2014.[12]

Mining

As of 2015 a mine employing 30 people in the mining of pink sapphire and rubies from the Aappaluttoq deposit was under development by True North Gems Greenland, a Canadian firm, near Qeqertarsuatsiaat.[13]

Population

Qeqertarsuatsiaat has lost population in the last two decades: more than a quarter since 1990 and almost 10 percent since 2000.[14]

Qeqertarsuatsiaat population growth dynamics in the last two decades. (Source: Statistics Greenland)

References
  1. Sermersooq Municipality Archived May 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (in Danish)
  2. Statistics Greenland Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in Danish)
  3. Brewster, David. "Greenland Archived March 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". The Edinburgh Encyclopedia, Vol 10. J. & E. Parker, 1832.
  4. Kane, Elisha Kent. Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition Archived March 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. 1856.
  5. Lüdecke, Cornelia. "East Meets West: Meteorological observations of the Moravians in Greenland and Labrador since the 18th century Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". History of Meteorology 2, 2005.
  6. Cranz, David & al. The History of Greenland: including an account of the mission carried on by the United Brethren in that country Archived March 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Longman, 1820.
  7. American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. "Biography: Life of Matthew Stach Archived April 17, 2015, at the Wayback Machine". The Missionary Herald, #19. Samuel T. Armstrong, 1823.
  8. "Mission in Greenland Archived March 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". The Christian Library: Comprising a Series of Standard Works in Religious Literature. Key & Biddle, 1833.
  9. Wittman, P. "Greenland Archived May 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1909. Accessed 28 Apr 2012.
  10. "Suluk 2010 No.1" (PDF). Air Greenland. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  11. AUL, Timetable 2009
  12. "Official visit to Greenland - Qaqortoq, Paamiut and Qeqertarsuatsiaat". Scandinavian Royalty. Archived from the original on 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  13. Saskia de Rothschild (6 September 2015). "Greenland's Farmers Torn Over Tapping Pristine Land for Mineral Riches". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 September 2015. ...the Aappaluttoq deposit, where miners drill for pink sapphires and rubies
  14. Statistics Greenland Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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