In June 1953, Greenland's
colonial status officially ended with the establishment of the
1953 Danish constitution. When the colonial status ended, Greenland was incorporated administratively into
Denmark itself as an
amt (
county), all within the wider
Kingdom of Denmark, which gave
Greenlanders full Danish citizenship. Partially as a result, Danish policies toward Greenland changed to a strategy of
cultural assimilation. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the
Danish language in official matters and required Greenlanders to go to
Denmark for their post-secondary education; many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, often losing their cultural ties to Greenland. The policy eventually backfired by producing a reassertion of Greenlandic cultural identity by the Greenlandic élite, leading to a movement in favour of independence that reached its peak in the 1970s. Largely due to these developments, a further desire to establish the legality of Greenland's status formed in Denmark, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979 following a
referendum. This Act detached Greenland administratively from
Denmark itself and henceforth gave Greenland limited autonomy as a
rigsdel (an
autonomous territory) within the
Kingdom of Denmark. As a
rigsdel, Greenland henceforth had
its own legislature, which took control of most internal policies, while the
Folketing (the Parliament of Denmark) maintained full control of external policies, security, defence, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979, changing Greenland from being an
amt to being a
rigsdel (an autonomous territory) within the Kingdom of Denmark. ==See also==