Norse Settlement of North America II October 29, 2020PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITAmerican History, Exploration History, Scandinavian History Lead: Beginning in the year 1000, Norse sailors established settlements on the eastern coast of Newfoundland. While their habitation of so-called Vinland was brief, they beat Columbus by five centuries. Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts. Content: The Norse, sometimes referred to as Vikings, were exceptional sailors, farmers, traders, and shipwrights. They were also intuitive navigators. Denied modern tools such as the compass, either by dead-reckoning, the use of star patterns born of long experience, or fortuitous pursuit of rumors, they made the far north Atlantic a Viking lake. The islands of present day northern Scotland, Iceland and Greenland fell to Norse discovery and control in the 9th and 10th centuries. Read more →
Norse Settlement of North America I October 29, 2020PermalinkNancy WaldoToday's AMITAmerican History, Exploration History, Scandinavian History Lead: Before Columbus, before Jamestown, before Vespucci, before Cabot, there was Leif Ericson and his Norse companions. They made the connection, completing the circle, old world to the new. Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts Content: Wanderlust is an impulse as old as humanity. The desire to settle in a single place, build villages and cities, plant crops and then defend them is a relatively recent phenomenon. From earliest of times humans were wanderers, two-legged predators following the migration trails of the beasts that provided food and clothing essential to sustain life. Read more →
