Denmark and the former real union of Denmark–Norway had a colonial empire from the 17th through the 20th centuries, large portions of which were found in the Americas. Denmark and Norway in one form or another alsoined land claims in Greenland since the 13th century, the former up through the twenty-first century. West Indies Explorers (mainly Norwegians), scientists, merchants (mainly Danish) and settlers from Denmark–Norway took possession of the Danish West Indies (present-day U.S. Virgin Islands) in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Denmark-Norway started colonies on St. Thomas in 1665 and St. John in 1683 ( control of the latter was disputed with Great Britain until 1718), and purchased St. Croix from France in 1733. During the 18th century, the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea were divided into two territorial units, one British and the other Dano-Norwegian. The Dano-Norwegian islands were run by the Danish West India and Guinea Company until 1755, when
Dinamarca y la antigua unión real de Dinamarca-Noruega tuvieron un imperio colonial desde el siglo XVII hasta el siglo XX, grandes porciones de los cuales se encontraron en las Américas. Dinamarca y Noruega en una forma u otra también tenían reclamaciones de tierras en Groenlandia desde el siglo XIII, el primero hasta el siglo XXI. Exploradores de las Indias Occidentales (principalmente noruegos), científicos, comerciantes (principalmente daneses) y colonos de Dinamarca-Noruega tomaron posesión de las Indias Occidentales danesas (actuales Islas Vírgenes estadounidenses) a finales del siglo XVII y principios del XVIII. Dinamarca-Noruega comenzó colonias en San Tomás en 1665 y San Juan en 1683 (el control de este último fue disputado con Gran Bretaña hasta 1718), y compró la Santa Cruz de Francia en 1733.