The Vikings, or Norsemen, explored and settled areas of the North Atlantic, including the northeast fringes of North America, beginning in the 10th century. While this settlement process did not have the lasting effects that later settlements and conquests would have, it can be seen as a prelude to wide-scale European settlement in the Americas. Territories in the Americas colonized or claimed by a European great power in 1750. ... The history of the Americas is the collective history of North and South America, including Central America and the Caribbean. ... British colonization of the Americas (including colonization under the Kingdom of England before the 1707 Acts of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain) began in the late 16th century, before reaching its peak after colonies were established throughout the Americas, and a protectorate was established in Hawaii. ... The Duchy of Courland was the smallest nation to colonize the Americas with a short-lived colony in Tobago during the 1654–1659, and again 1660–1689. ... Denmark had a colonial empire from the 18th century until the 20th. ... During the 17th century, Dutch traders established trade posts and plantations throughout the Americas; actual colonization, with Dutch settling in the new lands was not as common as with settlements of other European nations. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In this map of German colonies, yellow marks Klein-Venedig and red the Prussia colonies, some of them in the Caribbean. ... Portugal was the leading country in the European exploration of the world in the 15th century. ... Russian colonization of the Americas proceeded in several places. ... Scottish colonization of the Americas consisted of a number of failed or abandoned settlements in North America, a colony at Darien, Panama and a number of wholly or largely Scottish settlements made as part of Great Britain. ... The Spanish colonization of the Americas began with the arrival in the Western Hemisphere of Christopher Columbus in 1492. ... The Swedish colonization of the Americas consisted of a 17th century settlement on the Delaware River in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and possessions in the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th century. ... Welsh settlement in the Americas was the result of several individual initiatives to found distinctively Welsh settlements in the New World. ... Decolonization of the Americas refers to the process by which the countries in North America and South America gained their independence. ... For other uses, see Viking (disambiguation). ... Norseman redirects here; for the town of the same name see Norseman, Western Australia. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ...

The Viking activities are often erroneously described as the Viking colonization of North America, but there are few findings that support this idea, except for Greenland which they occupied for almost 500 years (see below). Outside Greenland, though, the Viking settlements only grew to a small size and never fully developed into permanent colonies, partly because of hostile relations with Native Americans, whom the Norse referred to as Skrælings. In turn, the Viking exploited the natural resources such as furs and lumber. Lumber, in particular, was in short supply in Norse Greenland, due to deforestation.^[1] Skræling, or skrælingar is what the Vikings called the Dorset from Greenland when they encountered them, and they used the same name for the inhabitants (possibly the ancestors of the later Beothuk) of North America (Vinland), when they voyaged there. ...

The Norse sagas are the first written sources in Europe that refer to North America. Some scholars believe that South American petroglyphs are rune-like symbols and thus offer proof of Norse contact (e.g. Nazca urn in Peru, Brazil, Paraguay), but this assertion has never found support among Scandinavian runologists. Excerpt Njåls saga in the Möðruvallabók (AM 132 folio 13r) circia 1350. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... For other uses, see Petroglyph (disambiguation). ... Rune redirects here. ...

There are also runestones found in North America (e.g. the Kensington Runestone, Newport Tower and Heavener Runestone) that are thought by some to descend from the Viking Age. There is a map describing North America, the Vinland map, the age of which is subject to debate. The Kensington runestone is a roughly rectangular slab of greywacke covered in runes on its face and side. ... The Newport Tower. ... The Heavener Runestone is a runestone found in Heavener, Oklahoma. ... The Vinland map. ...

Greenland

Territories and voyages of the Vikings

According to saga of Icelanders, Vikings from Iceland first discovered Greenland in the 980s. Erik the Red led a settlement expedition there in 982. At its peak, the colony consisted of two settlements with a total population of between 3,000 and 5,000; at least 400 farms have been identified by archaeologists. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 555 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,236 × 857 pixels, file size: 566 KB, MIME type: image/png) Image:Territories and voyages of the Vikings blank. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 555 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,236 × 857 pixels, file size: 566 KB, MIME type: image/png) Image:Territories and voyages of the Vikings blank. ... For other uses, see Erik the Red (disambiguation). ...

At its height, Viking greenland had a bishopric (at Garðar) and exported walrus ivory, furs, rope, sheep, whale and seal blubber, live animals such as polar bears and cattle hides. In 1261, the population accepted the overlordship of the Norwegian King, although it continued to have its own law. In 1380 this kingdom entered into a personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark. In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ... Igaliku (Igaliko) is a settlement located between Qaqortoq and Narsarsuaq in south Greenland. ... Remains of seventeenth century blubber cauldrons at the abandoned Dutch settlement of Smeerenburg in Svalbard, Norway This article is about the body tissue. ... This article is about the animal. ... For other uses, see Norway (disambiguation). ...

The colony began to a decline in the 1300s. The Western Settlement was abandoned around 1350. By 1378, there was no longer a bishop at Garðar. After a marriage was recorded in 1408, no written records mention the settlers. It is probable that the Eastern Settlement was defunct by the late 1400s, although no exact date has been established. The most recent radiocarbond date found in Norse settlements as of 2002 was 1430 A.D. +/- 15 years. Several theories have been advanced about the reasons for the decline. The Little Ice Age of this period would have made it harder to travel between Greenland and Europe, and more difficult for Greenlanders to farm for subsistence; in addition, Greenlandic ivory may have been supplanted in European markets by cheaper ivory from Africa. Map of the Western settlement of the Norse in medieval Greenland. ... Map of the Eastern settlement of the Norse in medieval Greenland. ... The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer era known as the Medieval climate optimum. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Vinland

According to the Iceland sagas ("Eirik the Red's Saga" and the "Saga of the Greenlanders"  — chapters of the Hauksbók and the Flatey Book), the Vikings started to explore lands to the west of Greenland only a few years after the Greenland settlements were established. Bjarni Herjólfsson, a merchant, while sailing from Iceland to Greenland, was blown off course and sighted land west of the latter. He described his discovery to Leif Ericson, who explored the area in more detail and planted a small settlement. The Saga of Eric the Red (Icelandic: Eiríks saga rauða) is a saga about Eric the Red. ... GrÅ“nlendinga saga or the Saga of the Greenlanders is an Icelandic saga. ... The Hauksbók is one of the few medieaval Norse manuscripts of which we know the author. ... The Flatey Book, (in Icelandic the Flateyjarbók Flat-island book) is one of the most important medieval Icelandic manuscripts. ... Bjarni Herjólfsson (fl. ... Close up of Leif in front of Hallgrímskirkja, in Reykjavík, Iceland. ...

The sagas describe three separate areas discovered during this exploration: Helluland, which means "land of the flat stones"; Markland "the land of forests" (something of definite interest to the settlers in Greenland, which had few trees); and Vinland, which recent linguistic evidence identifies as "the land of meadows", somewhere farther south of Markland. It was in Vinland where the settlement described in the sagas was planted. Helluland is the name given to one of the three lands discovered by Leif Eriksson sometime around 1000 CE on the North Atlantic coast of North America. ... Markland is the name given to an area of unknown location, named by Leif Ericson when visiting North America. ... For the historical novel by George Mackay Brown, which depicts Leif Eiríkssons voyage, see Vinland (novel). ...

For some centuries after Christopher Columbus's voyages opened the Americas to large-scale colonization by Europeans, it was unclear whether these stories represented real voyages by Vikings to North America. The sagas were first taken seriously after the Danish archaeologist Carl Christian Rafn in 1837 pointed out the possibility for a Norse settlement or voyages to North America. Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator and colonialist who is one of the first Europeans to discover the Americas, after the Vikings. ... Carl Christian Rafn (1795 - 1864) was a Danish archaeologist noted for his early advocacy of the theory that the Vikings had explored North America prior to Christopher Columbus. ...

The question was definitively settled in the 1960s, when a Viking settlement was excavated at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland by Helge Ingstad and his wife. The location of the various lands described in the sagas is still unclear, however. Many historians identify Helluland with Baffin Island and Markland with Labrador. The location of Vinland is a thornier question. Some believe that the L'Anse aux Meadows settlement is the Vinland settlement described in the sagas; others, based on elements in the sagas that depict Vinland as being warmer than Newfoundland, believe that it lay further south. For more on the debate, see the article on Vinland. There are still many questions remaining, and only new archaeological findings can supply more information. LAnse aux Meadows (from the French LAnse-aux-Méduses or Jellyfish Cove) is a site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, where the remains of a Viking village were discovered in 1960 by the Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad and... Newfoundland —   IPA: [nuw fÉ™n lænd] (French: , Irish: ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... Ingstad in his trapper days in the late 1920s (photo from his book The Land of Feast and Famine, 1933). ... Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. ... Labrador (also Coast of Labrador) is a region of Atlantic Canada. ... For the historical novel by George Mackay Brown, which depicts Leif Eiríkssons voyage, see Vinland (novel). ...

Leif's settlement did not prosper. According to the sagas, the settlers fought over the few women who accompanied the expedition, and also had conflicts with the local Native Americans. The settlement was abandoned after a few years. The Greenland Norse remembered the existence of land to the west, though, and continued to travel to Markland for wood. Evidence suggests that sporadic voyages in Markland for forages, timber, and trade with the Native locals, could have lasted as long as 400 years. ^{[2] [3]} Evidence from the continuing trips include the following: a Norwegian coin from King Olaf Kyrre's reign (1066-80) was found on an Indian settlement in the state of Maine, suggesting an exchange between the Vikings and the Natives late in or after the 11th century. Finally, an entry in the Icelandic Annals from A.D. 1347 referring to a small Greenlandic vessel with a crew of eighteen aboard that arrived in Iceland while attempting to return to Greenland from Markland with a load of timber. Because no further details were provided, this reference may indicate that voyages to Markland were relatively common. [1] Aboriginal people in Canada are Indigenous Peoples recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982, sections 25 and 35, respectively, as Indians (First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. ...

Aftermath

Despite the loss of contact with the Greenlanders, the Danish government continued to consider Greenland a possession, and the existence of the island was never forgotten by European geographers. It is also likely that the lands west of Greenland were also remembered. This matter is more speculative, but it has been documented that the Danish king appointed Didrik Pining to lead a German-led, Danish-sponsored, and Portuguese-financed expedition seeking a northwestern route to Asia. Pining sailed with three ships to Greenland, and then searched further south. He is said to have landed in 1473 on what could perhaps be Newfoundland and Labrador, together with Hans Pothorst, also from Hildesheim, Portuguese explorer João Vaz Corte-Real, and possibly the semi-mythical figure John Scolvus. In support of this claim, it has been documented that, in 1474, Corte-Real was granted lands on Terceira Island on the Azores because he had discovered "Terra Nova do Bacalhau", which literally means "New Land of the Codfish". If this is true, then Pining and Corte-Real, and their men would have visited the Gulf of Saint Lawrence about twenty years before Columbus. While such a voyage is plausible, the complete lack of evidence condemns it to remain conjecture. Didrik Pining (ca. ... João Vaz Corte-Real Portuguese explorer (Canada) 15th century João Vaz Corte-Real (pron. ... John of Kolno (also known as Jan z Kolna (in Polish), Johannes Scolnus (in German), and in Latin as John Scolvus, Ioannis Scolvenius or Iohannes Scolvus Polonus (1435–1484) was a semi-legendary sailor from Poland. ... Bathymetry of the Gulf, with the Laurentian Channel visible Gulf of Saint Lawrence (French: golfe du Saint-Laurent), the worlds largest estuary, is the outlet of North Americas Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. ...

In 1721 a joint merchant-clerical expedition led by Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether Norwegian civilization remained there, and worried that if it did, it might still be Catholic 200 years after the rest of Scandinavia had experienced the Reformation. Though this expedition found no surviving Europeans, it marked the beginning of Denmark's assertion of sovereignty over the island, a story that belongs to the Danish colonization of the Americas. Hans Egede Statue in Nuuk Hans Egede (January 31, 1686, Harstad, Northern Norway–November 5, 1758, Falster, Denmark) was a Norwegian Lutheran missionary, called the Apostle of Greenland. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Denmark had a colonial empire from the 18th century until the 20th. ...

See also

• Helge Ingstad
• Inventio Fortunata
• Pathfinder (2007 film) - a fictional movie based on Vikings encountering Native Americans
• Newport Tower (Rhode Island) - claimed by some to be a medieval Norse ruin in America

Ingstad in his trapper days in the late 1920s (photo from his book The Land of Feast and Famine, 1933). ... Inventio Fortunata (also Inventio Fortunate, Inventio Fortunat or Inventio Fortunatae), Discovery of Fortunata, is a lost book, probably dating from the 14th Century, containing a description of the North Pole as a magnetic island surrounded by a giant whirlpool and four continents. ... Pathfinder is a 2007 action-adventure film involving a conflict between Vikings and Native Americans. ... The Newport Tower. ...

References

1. Irwin, Constance; Strange Footprints on the Land; Harper&Row, New York, 1980; ISBN 0-06-022772-9 Jared Mason Diamond (b. ...