c. 1000 · Vinland (L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland) Theater
c. 1000
Around the year 1000, Leif Eriksson led a Norse expedition from Greenland westward and made landfall in a place he called Vinland — associated with the Norse voyages represented archaeologically at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, excavated from the 1960s. The exact relationship between the site and saga place-names remains debated. The sagas describe a wooded land with abundant salmon and wild grapes (or berries — the identification of 'vin' is disputed). Subsequent expeditions attempted permanent settlement. Thorfinn Karlsefni led a colonization attempt of 65 men that lasted two to three years before conflicts with the indigenous people (called Skrælings) forced withdrawal. The Norse had reached North America five centuries before Columbus, but without the numbers or technology to hold what they found.
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