The Vikings (of Norse origin) landed in what is now Newfoundland, Canada around 1000 AD. So why didn't they invade the area like other Europeans did later?
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| The painting depicts the Vikings landing on Vínland - present-day Newfoundland, Canada. (Source: Live Science). |
Following Christopher Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492, Spain and other European countries engaged in large-scale colonization, resulting in the settlement of most of the Western Hemisphere by Europeans and their descendants.
However, they were not the first Europeans to make a voyage to North America. After establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland in the ninth and tenth centuries AD, Vikings arrived in what is now Newfoundland, Canada, around the eleventh century AD. They established an outpost there and used it to explore other areas of northeastern North America. Historical records indicate that they established another outpost in what is now the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
Yet the Vikings did not invade North America on a large scale. Why?
Researchers are unclear whether the Vikings wanted to expand their outposts into colonies. One reason is that Viking outposts had small populations, which would have been dangerous if they came into conflict with the natives.
"The Vikings were not interested in invading North America at this time because their Greenland colony was new and expanding," said Canadian archaeologist Birgitta Wallace, who has done extensive research on the Vikings.
When the Vikings explored the land south of Newfoundland, it was named Vínland (Land of Wine), and they were more interested in finding natural resources.
“Their real concern was finding resources to sustain the Greenland colony,” says archaeologist Wallace. “Vinland was explored because it could potentially provide resources.”
Meanwhile, researcher Christopher Crocker at Memorial University in Newfoundland said he saw insufficient evidence of whether the Vikings wanted to establish permanent settlements in North America.
“Whether they sought to establish permanent settlements there and exercise some form of economic and political control over the area is unclear, based on the evidence we have,” Mr Crocker said.
Researcher Kevin P. Smith at the Smithsonian Institution (USA) stated that medieval Norse legends clearly state that the reason the Vikings gave up establishing a colony in Vínland was because this land already had more indigenous people than Vikings. When the Vikings encountered the indigenous people of North America, conflict quickly broke out.
The Legend of Erik the Red tells of a clash between the Vikings and the natives, which ended with the Vikings retreating to their ships after suffering defeat and several deaths. The Vikings believed that although the land might have been a suitable choice, there would always be war and terror lurking around them, so they had to leave.
“The Vikings who attempted to establish a colony in North America were defeated and forced to retreat because they saw no possibility of winning or establishing a stable colony in this land,” Mr. Smith concluded.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bat-mi-ly-do-nguoi-viking-khong-xam-chiem-bac-my-290878.html
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