Register of ships to and from Greenland, and all the Brethren who arrived with them

The last of the tiny Norse-Greenlandic settlements in Greenland died out in the fifteenth century. Initial Danish efforts to colonise Greenland began in the early eighteenth century. They are closely associated with the Lutheran and Moravian missions established by Norwegian-born Hans Poulsen Egede and Czech-born Matthäus Stach, who aimed to convert the Greenlandic population to Christianity. The earliest records for Nuuk are for the Neu-Herrnhut Moravian mission, managed by the Moravian Brethren (Herrnhuter). Their records systematically separate baptisms of Greenlanders and baptisms of children of European missionaries and colonists (the mothers and fathers of whom are named). Records were kept of the dates of arrival and departure for all incoming ships from Denmark and the names of all Brethren passengers who arrived in Greenland or departed again. The first Moravian women to make the journey from Copenhagen arrived together at Neu-Herrnhut on 7 July 1736: Rosine Stachin, Rosine Stachin and Anna Stachin. Two of these Moravian women married men at the mission, with the first wedding held only a month after their arrival to Greenland. These lists of sea voyages and the incoming and outgoing migrants who sailed with them were maintained until 1900.