Why does Donald Trump want to buy Greenland?

The US president's talk of a 'large real estate deal' says a lot about his view of the world

Greenland, and more specifically its purchase by the US, is being actively discussed in Donald Trump's Oval Office. But what exactly is it that makes one of the world's most desolate places such an attractive proposition?

For the president, it is the real estate deal of a lifetime, one that would secure a land mass a quarter the size of the US and cement his place in US history alongside President Andrew Johnson, who bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, and Thomas Jefferson, who secured Louisiana from the French in 1803.

Related: Greenlanders: what do you think about Trump's comments about your country?

About 80% of the world's largest island is covered in ice. Inuit people first inhabited it by moving from present-day Canada 4,000-5,000 years ago. It was named by Erik the Red when he led a fleet of 25 ships from Iceland to colonise it in 985 AD.