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.

Beginning in 984AD, some Vikings, including Erik the Red, established settlements on Greenland. This land was a little harder to tame than was Iceland. In addition to being further away from European civilization, it was already populated by Inuit natives. Although the Vikings and the Inuit got along well for many years, conflict was inevitable. The settlements managed to survive the threat of Inuit attacks, famine, disease, the great distance from European civilization, and the bitter cold for almost 500 years. The "Little Ice Age" which began in the 13th century made life in Greenland almost impossible, however. Close to the time that Columbus reached the New World, the Greenland colony failed and was abandoned for over two hundred years.

In a time before accurate maps and when much of the world was unknown exploration was a dangerous business. Further, the Vikings had little incentive to take risks. They were not, for example, interested in finding a new route to China like the Portuguese would be many years later. Therefore, most of their discoveries were actually accidents. They did not have access to modern navigational equipment, or even the compass. Understandably, they often got lost at sea. In the process of trying to find their way home, they sometimes encountered new territory. If they did make it back to civilization, they told others what they had seen. This, in turn, motivated adventurous Norsemen to try to find this new land. It was the search for known landmasses, not the charting of the unknown, which motivated most of the Nordic exploration efforts.

This is how Leif Erikson discovered Newfoundland. About 985AD, a merchant named Bjarni Herjólfsson got lost while sailing from Iceland to Greenland. While trying to find his way to Greenland, he accidentally discovered North America. Realizing that this was not his destination and hoping to get to Greenland before the winter, he did not land. A few years later, he told his story to Leif Erikson. Erikson bought Herjólfsson's ship and set out in search of this new land.

Leif Erikson (also Ericson & Erikkson) was born about 970AD. He was the son of the famous "Erik the Red" who had founded two settlements on Greenland. Little is certain about Leif Erricson's life, but is generally believed that he grew up in Greenland and visited Norway where he converted to Christianity about 999AD. Soon after returning home, Leif set out to find the land Bjarni had claimed to see. The land was reputed to be well forested and Leif knew that it would probably make valuable farm land.

After making two landfalls along the North American coast, Leif Erikson arrived at a place he called "Vinland". It's exact location is now known. Archaeologists have found the remains of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland, but some still maintain that Vinland was further south, perhaps around Massachusetts. According to this view, the Newfoundland settlement was the result of an undocumented expedition, which is certainly possible. Perhaps we have simply lost the records of the northern expedition. On the other hand, there is no evidence to believe that the northern settlement is NOT the Vinland of the Nordic sagas.

It is not known how many expeditions were made to Vinland. There were apparently at least two or three including as least one made by Leif's brother Thorvald. The colony seems to have prospered for a time with the inhabitants importing animals and even families to live there. The natives, however, were a problem. They were hostile and in the 11th century, the Vikings would not have had much of a technological advantage of them. The Vikings had iron weapons, but flint weapons killed just as easily as do iron ones. In fact, Thorvald himself died during a skirmish with the locals. The Vikings also had large animals. As North America has no native beasts of burden, the natives were unfamiliar with cattle and were even frightened by them. Lastly, the Vikings had the advantage of being skilled seafarers. If a battle went against them, they could just get in their longboats and go home or try to recruit some reinforcements.

These advantages were not enough for the Vikings to defeat the natives of Vinland, however. Ultimately, any settlers who were not killed were forced to return to Greenland. In time, even the settlers of Greenland were forced to retreat to Iceland or even Scandinavia itself. Without a steady stream of inhabitants to populate the areas the Norse tried to settle, the colonies were doomed to failure.

For many years, Leif Erikson and Vinland were thought to be legends, nothing more. Their stories were recorded in conflicting sagas during the 13th century, but scholars did not take these sagas seriously until recently when archaeological evidence of the Norse colonization of North America was uncovered in Newfoundland. Archaeologists have also found evidence of Viking coins and writing as far inland as the Great Lakes and as far south as Massachusetts. While some believe this is a sign that Vikings actually explored this far, others say it is only a sign that they were in North America. Their coins could have been traded south by the Indians they traded with or scavengers who searched the ruins of the Vinland settlement after it was abandoned.

However it happened, there can be little doubt that Vikings lived in North America for at least a brief time. They were not, however, there long enough to have much of a significant impact on the cultures they encountered. North America remained essentially unchanged until Columbus found it in 1492. Still, it is worth noting that the Norsemen, not the Spanish were the first to reach the New World.