Danish colonization of the Americas island had become an American protectorate. Following the war, the former corporate policy was discontinued: the North and South Greenland colonies were united and the RGTD's monopoly officially ended. In 1953, Greenland's colonial status was ended and it was made an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark with representation in the Folketing. In 1979, the Folketing granted the island home rule and, in 2009, all matters other than defense and foreign policy were transferred to the regional parliament. Explorers (mainly Norwegians), scientists, merchants (mainly Danish) and settlers from Denmark–Norway took possession of the Danish West Indies (present-day U.S. Virgin
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark were ever convicted under the law during its lifetime and from 2007 to 2017, only 4 complaints of violating the law were reported to law enforcement. § 266b, which also covers religion, was used more frequently. Bills repealing the law had been proposed multiple times, but none were successful until 2017 when the first prosecution since 1971 was filed against a man for posting a video of him burning the Quran on Facebook, reigniting the debate over the law. Parliament voted to repeal the law, with 8 of the 9 parties in the Folketing supporting the repeal. The rules against