Anders Olsen

Anders Olsen was a Norwegian-Danish trader and colonial administrator who became the founder of several important towns in Greenland.

Anders Olsen was from Senja, Norway. In 1740 he came in contact with Niels Axelsen Rasch that was traveling through northern Norway to find prepared and suitable men for colonizing Greenland. Once in Greenland, Olsen started to work for Sewerin family that had monopoly for trade with Greenland. In 1750, Sewerin family lost their monopoly to the General Trade Company from Copenhagen and Olsen worked for them. In the early 1750s he was given a special permission to trade as an independent trader, but in 1753 he returned to company.

In 1754, after trading company's desire Olsen created a trade colony at Fiskenesse south of Nuuk. He also had good contact with the Moravian missionaries and helped them get started a small colony nearby, Lichtenfels. In 1755, he received the task to create and manage a trade colony at Sukkertoppen, lying north of Nuuk. In 1774, he also founded Julianehåb in southern Greenland.