To Them The Discovery Of Greenland And Of America Is Due.
The first took
place about the beginning of the tenth century:
A colony was immediately
established, which continued till it was destroyed by a pestilence in the
14th century, and by the accumulation of ice, which prevented all
communication between Iceland and Greenland.
The discovery of America took place in the year 1001: an Icelander, in
search of his father who was in Greenland, was carried to the south by a
violent wind. Land was discovered at a distance, flat, low, and woody. He
did not go on shore, but returned. His account induced a Norwegian nobleman
to fit out a ship to explore this new land; after sailing for some time,
they descried a flat shore, without verdure; and soon afterwards a low land
covered with wood. Two days' prosperous sailing brought them to a third
shore, on the north of which lay an island: they entered, and sailed up a
river, and landed. Pleased with the temperature of the climate, the
apparent fertility of the soil, and the abundance of fish in the rivers,
they resolved to pass the winter in this country; and they gave it the name
of Vinland, from the quantity of small grapes which they found growing. A
colony was soon afterwards formed, who traded with the natives; these are
represented as of diminutive stature, of the same race as the inhabitants
of the west part of Greenland, and as using leathern canoes. The
merchandize they brought consisted chiefly of furs, sables, the skins of
white rats, &c.; and they principally and most eagerly requested, in
exchange, hatchets and arms. It appears from the Icelandic Chronicles, that
a regular trade was established between this country and Norway, and that
dried grapes or raisins were among the exports. In the year 1121, a bishop
went from Greenland for the purpose of converting the colonists of Vinland
to the Christian religion: after this period, there is no information
regarding this country. This inattention to the new colony probably arose
from the intercourse between the west of Greenland and Iceland having
ceased, as we have already mentioned, and from the northern nations having
been, about this period, wasted by a pestilence, and weakened and
distracted by feuds. Of the certainty of the discovery there can be no
doubt: the Icelandic Chronicles are full and minute, not only respecting
it, but also respecting the transactions which took place among the
colonists, and between them and the natives. And Adam of Bremen, who lived
at this period, expressly states, that the king of Denmark informed him,
that another island had been discovered in the ocean which washes Norway,
called Vinland, from the vines which grew there; and he adds, we learn, not
by fabulous hearsay, but by the express report of certain Danes, that
fruits are produced without cultivation. Ordericus Vitalis, in his
Ecclesiastical History, under the year 1098, reckons Vinland along with
Greenland, Iceland, and the Orkneys, as under the dominion of the king of
Norway.
Where then was Vinland? - it is generally believed it was part of America;
and the objections which may be urged against this opinion, do not appear
to us to be of much weight. It is said that no part of America could be
reached in four days, the space of time in which the first discoverer
reached this land, and in which the voyages from Greenland to it seem
generally to have been made. But the west part of Greenland is so near some
part of America, that a voyage might easily be effected in that time. In
answer to the objection, that vines do not grow in the northern parts of
America, where Vinland, if part of this continent, must be fixed, it may be
observed, that in Canada the vine bears a small fruit; and that still
further north, in Hudson's Bay, according to Mr. Ellis, vines grew
spontaneously, producing a fruit which he compares to the currants of the
Levant. The circumstances mentioned in the Icelandic Chronicles respecting
the natives, that their canoes are made of skins; that they are very expert
with their bows and arrows; that on their coasts they fish for whales, and
in the interior live by hunting; that their merchandize consists of
whalebone and furs; that they are fond of iron, and instruments made of it;
and that they were small in stature, all coincide with what we know to be
characterestic of the inhabitants of Labrador. It is probable, therefore,
that this part of America, or the island of Newfoundland, was the Vinland
discovered by the Icelanders.
The beginning and middle of the tenth century witnessed an increasing
spirit of commerce, as well as considerable attention to geographical
pursuits in other Scandinavian nations, as well as the Icelanders.
Periodical public fairs were established in several towns of Germany, and
other parts of the North: one of the most considerable articles of traffic
at these fairs consisted of slaves taken in war. Sleswig is represented as
a port of considerable trade and consequence; from it sailed ships to
Slavonia, Semland, and Greece, or rather, perhaps, Russia. From a port on
the side of Jutland, opposite to Sleswig, vessels traded to Frisca, Saxony,
and England; and from another port in Jutland they sailed to Fionia,
Scania, and Norway. Sweden is represented as, at this time, carrying on an
extensive and lucrative trade. At the mouth of the Oder, on the south side
of the Baltic, there seems to have been one, if not two towns which were
enriched by commerce.
For most of these particulars respecting the commerce of the Baltic and
adjacent seas, at this period, we are indebted to Adam of Bremen. He was
canon of Bremen in the eleventh century: and from the accounts of the
missionaries who went into Lapland, and other parts of the North, to
convert the inhabitants to Christianity, the information he received from
the king of Denmark, and his own observations, he drew up a detailed
account of the Scandinavian kingdoms.
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