Leif Erikson & The Viking Colonization of North America

Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was not the first European to discover North America. Almost 500 years before Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, the Norsemen had already established settlements on Iceland, Greenland, and even North America itself. Although the settlements did not last for long, their memory reminds us of the indefatigable spirit of the Norsemen who braved uncertainty and cold to discover a New World. How different world history could have been if their settlements had survived!

The Norsemen (or Vikings) were a seafaring Scandinavian people who rose to power in Europe between the 9th and 11th centuries (and DID NOT wear helmets with horns). They were an extremely mobile and usually worked as pirates, mercenaries, or traders. No port from Ireland to Russia from Scandinavia to North Africa was safe from their raids. For many years, the Viking longboat was perhaps the most dreaded sight a European could have seen.

The Norsemen were more than just pirates, however. They often settled and farmed the territory they encountered. This was especially true in the North Atlantic where they were the first and only Europeans to colonize. They began colonizing the North Atlantic in 894 AD when Ingólfur Arnarson became the first person (with the possible exception of a few Irish monks) to take up permanent residence on Iceland. Iceland soon became a flourishing colony and has been populated ever since.