War Between Canada & Denmark - Whiskey Way 🇨🇦🇩🇰 | American Reacts

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]This Danish guy is starting some beef.

[00:00:01]He said, "You know what? This is ours."

[00:00:03]What does Russia-Ukraine have to do with this small friendly whiskey war? This is so petty. This is the pettiest war of all time.

[00:00:11]What is up? Welcome back. Today, I'm reacting to a video titled war between Canada and Denmark, the whiskey war.

[00:00:18]War between Canada and Denmark. Did you know about this? What's up? If you haven't met me yet, my name is Aaron, and this is Aaron on a reacts to this channel. I'm discovering everything about Europe, people, culture, sports, anything you can imagine. The goal of this channel is to laugh together, to learn together, and to have fun together. I release videos every single day. So, if you want to learn with me, laugh with me, and have fun with me, make sure to like and subscribe. Now, let's learn about this war between Canada and Denmark that I had no idea about. I wonder if you did, either.

[00:00:50]Have you ever heard about the war between Canada and Denmark? No. This conflict is better known as the whiskey war or liquor war. However, it cannot be called a war in the traditional sense.

[00:01:06]Let's find out what happened and why it has such a strange name. The reason for this conflict was this tiny piece of land called Hans Island.

[00:01:14]It's 1,290 m long and 1,199 m wide.

[00:01:17]>> What?

[00:01:18]>> This uninhabited island looks more like a rock, but it created a whole history of the world-famous conflict between Canada and Denmark that lasted almost 50 years.

[00:01:27]Hold on a second. This tiny island that nobody lives on is why there's a war. Have you heard of this island? Hans Island? Never heard of it.

[00:01:41]The first question that might come up is, what do these two countries, about 4,000 km apart, have in common with this island? First, let's have a look at Greenland. Greenland is the largest island in the world, mostly covered by glaciers with the extreme Arctic climate. In 1953, Greenland was redefined as a district of the Kingdom of Denmark, which resulted in the creation of a common border with Canada.

[00:02:05]And as it turned out, the border passed in the middle of Hans Island.

[00:02:10]The island is exactly 18 km away from both Canada and Denmark, allowing both countries to claim the land under international law. Wow.

[00:02:24]1973 is considered to be the year of the beginning of the whiskey war. Canada and Denmark signed a treaty to demarcate the maritime border between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Okay.

[00:02:35]>> deliberately left the border at Hans Island undefined as both states claimed Hans Island as part of their territory.

[00:02:42]In 1984, something interesting happened.

[00:02:45]The Danish Minister for Greenland, Tom Høyem, arrived on the island, planted the national flag, and left a bottle of schnapps along with a message something similar to, "Welcome to the Danish Island."

[00:02:56]So, he's starting some beef. This Danish guy is starting some beef. He said, "You know what? This tiny island is not It's not split. This is ours. This is Denmark's island."

[00:03:06]How do you think Canada reacted?

[00:03:08]Declared war and >> sent troops?

[00:03:10]Well, Canadian soldiers visited the island, removed the Denmark flag, planted a Canadian flag, and left a bottle of Canadian whiskey along with a note, "Welcome to Canada."

[00:03:22]This practice This is so petty. This is the pettiest war of all time.

[00:03:26]>> of leaving bottles of liquor next to the flags continued for several decades with both countries periodically exchanging the bottles and flags as part of a light-hearted tradition. Canadian whiskey or Danish schnapps became the symbol of a whiskey war over the island.

[00:03:41]What?

[00:03:46]In 2005, the foreign ministers of Canada and Denmark met in New York and announced willingness to resolve the conflict, stating that a war of flags was unacceptable in the modern era.

[00:03:58]And only in 2022, the turning point was Russia's invasion of Ukraine, thus unleashing the largest war in Europe Hold on. Hold on a second.

[00:04:07]What does Russia-Ukraine have to do with this small friendly whiskey war on Hans Island near Greenland in the middle of the sea? Like I This tiny Okay, I I'm I can't wait anymore. What's this about?

[00:04:22]in Europe since World War II.

[00:04:25]Canada and Denmark signed an agreement to end the conflict, setting an example for other countries on how to resolve territorial disputes. It sends a message to the world and also including President Putin of what happened with the Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

[00:04:39]And so, it's symbolic because it at the time where it's happening, as we're seeing that there's an illegal and unjustifiable invasion.

[00:04:48]Under the terms of the peace agreement, the island was divided along a north-south cleft in its center. 60% of the island went to Denmark, and the remaining 40% to Canada. What?

[00:04:59]>> And tradi- So, Denmark won that battle.

[00:05:01]>> Additionally, the parties exchanged bottles of alcohol.

[00:05:04]>> [applause] >> So, this This war is just a funny little friendly war. Did you know about it, though? It's actually nice to hear about this, but I didn't know this was like a friendly way to resolve the to set an example to resolve the Ukraine-Russia war, which is obviously way more serious than this.

[00:05:22]Um but the whiskey war, something small, but a part of history. Did you know about it? We're learning about it together. So, if you enjoyed the video, if you want to see more videos just like this, make sure to hit like and subscribe, and I will see you in the next one. Cheers.