Forstanderskab
Forstanderskaber ( singular Forstanderskab , determined Forstanderskaberne (Pl.) Or Forstanderskabet (Sg.)) Were councils in Greenland , especially in the second half of the 19th century , which were entrusted with social assistance and jurisdiction. For the first time since colonization, Greenlanders were allowed to have a say in them.
introduction
Greenland has been under Danish administration since colonization in 1721 . For 135 years there was no say for the people of Greenland. Due to the European influence, the traditional social system with social help for the weak of the population had collapsed and living conditions deteriorated, while the colonialists saw the Greenlanders responsible for their own social system.
In order to counteract the social hardship of the Greenlanders, in 1856 the South Greenland inspector Hinrich Johannes Rink , the seminar teacher and linguist Samuel Kleinschmidt , the seminar leader Carl Janssen and the district doctor Jacob Frederik Theodor Lindorff submitted a “most submissive proposal to the Ministry of the Interior to set up a kind of foreman cab in the colonies in Greenland to manage the common concerns of the natives and in particular to support them with materials to improve the houses, with equipment for hunting, with food during illness and times of need, etc. ”. In 1857/58 the Forstanderskaberne were introduced in South Greenland and in 1863 in North Greenland .
Structure and tasks
In each of the then twelve colony districts, a forstanderskab was established. In each Forstanderskab one place had to be occupied by the colonial administrator, the pastor, the trade assistants and the chief catechist as well as by a respected Greenland hunter from each Udsted . All Greenlandic members were elected by the people. The Danes were seen in the councils as key figures in helping people to help themselves, as it was believed that the Greenlanders knew best what they needed and wanted to do it, but did not know how to do it and needed external incentives . By including representatives from all over the district, an overview of the social situation could be obtained from every small town and help could be provided if necessary. Otherwise it could happen that you miss out on famines and epidemics.
The tasks of the Forstanderskaberne were originally to guarantee social assistance and to exercise jurisdiction . From 1872 the Forstanderskaberne were also allowed to share the economic surplus among the residents, with the most able and poorest receiving the largest part to help the needy and to reward the able.
Resolution and meaning
In 1910/11, the Forstanderskaberne, which were seen to disappear into insignificance, were replaced by the 62 municipal councils ( Kommunerådene ) , together with the introduction of Grønlands Landsråd as the higher-level political body .
Taken as a whole, the Forstanderskaberne are seen today as the first step on the way to Greenlandic self-determination, which was to be followed by the introduction of autonomy over a hundred years later.
Web links
- Preserved logs of the Forstanderskaberne from Aasiaat , Appat , Ilulissat , Nuuk , Qaqortoq , Upernavik and Uummannaq at qangagooq.gl (numerous South Greenland logs were lost when the Hans Hedtoft sank in 1959.)
- Forstanderskaberne i Greenland in Den Store Danske
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Grete Rendal (2015): Forstanderskaberne i Grønland at dagensgronland.dk (.pdf)
- ^ A b Ditte Bentzon Goldschmidt: Grønlændernes selvstændiggørelse. Grønlandsk autonomi eller dansk herredømme? In: fortid og nutid . 1991, p. 97-115 .
- ↑ Forstanderskaber at da.nka.gl