Icelandic seafarers discovered America around the year 1000, sailing on open ships with one sail. They conquered the waves of the Atlantic by primitive means of navigating, sailing mostly by the sun and stars and the flight of seabirds.
The story surrounding this is in part a family drama. It begins with Eric the Red, a troublesome man who was exiled from both Iceland and Norway "because of some killings". He settled Greenland in 985, followed by several hundred Icelanders. That same year, an Icelandic merchant named Bjarni Herjólfsson was sailing for Greenland, but got blown off-course and reported seeing land to the west.
In the year 1000, Leif "the Lucky", son of Eric the Red, went to explore the land that Bjarni had sighted. He discovered an area he named Vinland, "a land of mild climate, self sown wheat and grapes". Leif was the first European to set foot on the continent of North America.
Leif's brother, Thorsteinn, attempted to go there with his wife Gudridur Thorbjarnadottir, without succeeding. After Thorsteinns death, Gudridur and his new husband, Thorfinnur Karlsefni, returned to Vinland to form a settlement. Their son Snorri was the first European born in America. Initially the Vikings conducted peaceful trade with the Native American tribes, but eventually conflict broke out. This drove the Icelanders back to Greenland, and successful voyages to Vinland are not reported after that.
In the year 1477, a young Italian sailor visited Iceland. Scholars believe he heard rumours of Vinland, giving him a daring idea of his own to pursue. The name of this man was Christopher Columbus, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Author: Sverrir Sveinn Sigurðarsson
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