Anders Olsen (1718–1786) was a Norwegian trader, explorer and colonial administrator, who founded several important towns in

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

including

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in sout ...

(Julianehåb) and

Maniitsoq Maniitsoq () or Sukkertoppen is a town on Maniitsoq Island, western Greenland located in the Qeqqata municipality. With 2,534 inhabitants , it is the sixth-largest town in Greenland. History Archaeological finds indicate that the area ha ...

(Sukkertoppen) as well as the village of

Igaliku Igaliku is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The town was founded as Igaliko in 1783 by the trader and colonial administrator Anders Olsen and Greenlandic wife Tuperna. In 2020, Igaliku had 21 inhabitants. The n ...

. Anders Olsen was born on the island of Senja,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. In the autumn of 1741 they traveled to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and the next spring they went on to Greenland. Together with his brother Anders Olsen, he came to

Godthåb Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gover ...

, which was built by

Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary priest who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a succes ...

in 1721 There they were employed by

Jacob Sørensen Severin Jacob Sørensen Severin (27 October 1691 – 21 March 1753) was a Danish merchant who held a trade monopoly on Greenland from 1733 to 1749. Biography He was born in Sæby, Denmark, to Søren Nielsen ( 1655–1730) and his wife Birgitte O ...

(1691–1753), the Danish merchant who held a trade monopoly on Greenland from 1733 to 1749. General Trade Company, which was founded on 4 September 1747, and in 1750 received a full monopoly on trade in Greenland taking over the operation of the general trading company. In 1754, Olsen established a trading colony at Fiskenesset south of Godthåb. In 1755, he was given the task of establishing and managing a trading colony at Sukkertoppe which was north of Godthåb. Olsen remained at Sukkertoppen until 1773. Anders Olsen left Sukkertoppen to establish a colony in the south in 1773. He set off on a reconnaissance journey with a son and came to colonization

Julianehåb Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in southern Greenland and the fourt ...

where he stayed until 1780. In 1752 he married the Greenlandic woman Tupernat and eventually had six children with her. He died during 1786 at

Igaliko Igaliku is a settlement in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The town was founded as Igaliko in 1783 by the trader and colonial administrator Anders Olsen and Greenlandic wife Tuperna. In 2020, Igaliku had 21 inhabitants. The n ...

References

Other Sources

* History of Greenland Norwegian businesspeople Danish businesspeople 1718 births 1786 deaths Greenlandic politicians People from Senja Merchants from Denmark–Norway {{Greenland-politician-stub