Horton High School's Canadian
History 12 Web Page and Student
Resource
Chapter Two: The Norse Explorations
of the New World
contrary to popular myth, the Norse
or Vikings did not come to the New World to conquer and kill, rather to
farm and fish. The Norse, although excellent navigators, were primarily
farmers. Explorers in long boats traversed the treacherous Atlantic Ocean
in search of suitable farmland. They came from present-day Scandinavia.
at first the Norse settled the Orkney
and Shetland Islands off the coast of Britain, then sailed further west
and hit Iceland, then Greenland, and finally the eastern coast of the New
World.
in 985 A.D., Eric the Red, from Iceland,
sailed west and landed on Greenland, where he established a colony and
charted some of the earliest seas routes to the lands to the west.
in 986 A.D., a Norseman named Bjarni
set sail from Iceland to Greenland, but misjudged his route and ended up
along the eastern coast of Labrador and the north-eastern coast of Newfoundland.
Bjarni noted this land was very woody, a commodity for Norse ship builders.
He charted this route to the best of his ability.
Eric the Red’s son, Leif Ericsson,
was inspired by Bjarni’s voyage and ventured forth in 1001 A.D.. He retraced
Bjarni’s route and spotted the Labrador coastline. He named this region
"Helluland" or "Flat Rock Land". Here he found very few of the woods spoken
of by Bjarni. He continued further south along the coast and finally found
wooded lands, naming it "Markland" or "Forest Lands". He made camp ashore
and then sailed even further south. He again spotted land and called it
"Vinland" or "Land of Wine or Grass". It is uncertain of this final destination,
as some have theorized it could have been Newfoundland, Nova Scotia or
even the New England coastline. Leif returned a hero in 1002 with lumber
and grapes. The Norse would surely return to this area.
1011 - the first attempt by the Norse
to colonize the New World, led by Thorfinn Karlsefni. They landed in Vinland
and saw animal traps and met up with the local Aboriginal peoples. They
traded with these peoples, believed to be the Innu, and called them "Skraelings".
It appears as if this colony was forced to evacuate soon after, as a Skraeling
was killed by a Norseman, which led to hostilities. The Skraelings attacked
the settlement, sending the Norse onto their boats. This settlement lasted
from 1011-1013.
through the Norse Sagas or stories,
the legend of the Skraelings’ powers grew, thus keeping many Norse from
ever moving west again into the New World. This and the general decline
of the Norse excursions put an end to European expansion and exploration
into the New World for over three centuries
