Facts and Notes
- Key People: Erik the Red, Leif Eriksson, and Ingólfur Arnarson.
- Part of: Age of Exploration, Settlement of the Americas.
- Significance: Iceland is important to American History because of its role in the Age of Exploration.
Location
- Iceland is a remote island in the North Atlantic.
- It is located between Norway and Greenland.
Early Settlement of Iceland
Some scholars believe that travelers from the classical Mediterranean world knew about Iceland. However, the first human inhabitants of Iceland were Irish monks called the “Papar.”
- Immigrants from Norway established the first permanent settlement.
- Credit is given to Ingólfur Arnarson for settling present-day Reykjavik in 874.
- The settlement tested how well European political systems could work in new regions.
- It also challenged how European people could adapt to new environments.
Many settlers fled from Norway to Iceland during King Harold the Fairhaired’s effort to unite separate chieftainships into one Norwegian kingdom.
- The Icelandic Norse were involved in cod fishing.
The Althing
- Norse chieftains in Iceland wanted to use negotiation to prevent abuse of power.
- In 930, they created an assembly called the Althing.
- The Althing met for two weeks every summer.
- The Althing’s purpose was to make laws and settle disputes.
Christianity
- The most significant challenge to chieftain power was the spread of Christianity.
- Leif Eriksson is credited with bringing Christianity to Iceland in 1000 A.D.
- In 1000, the chieftains agreed to build Christian churches.
- Together, these churches formed an independent Icelandic church.
- The church helped spread literacy to wealthy Icelandic families.
Norwegian and Danish Rule Over Iceland
- Norway tried to rule Iceland starting in the 10th Century.
- Norway gained control in 1262 after the Icelandic civil war.
- In 1380, Denmark and Norway formed a union.
- The governance of Iceland transferred to Denmark in 1380.
- Iceland stayed relatively independent until the mid-17th Century, when the Danish Crown imposed stricter control over Iceland.
Environmental Challenges in Icelandic History
Diseases such as the Black Plague and Smallpox decimated the population on at least two occasions.
- The Black Plague reached Iceland in 1402.
- Smallpox struck the island repeatedly. A smallpox epidemic in 1707 killed 18,000 people, about one-third of the population.
Overgrazing by imported cattle and sheep caused soil erosion, which turned fertile land into barren land.
Connection to Greenland
Erik the Red, a Norwegian navigator, was exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Afterward, he explored and promoted Greenland, leading to the establishment of Norse settlements.
Lexicon
Black Death (Bubonic Plague) — A deadly disease carried by fleas on rats that struck Europe and North Africa from the 14th to the 17th centuries, killing up to one-third of the population. Also known as the Black Death, it disrupted social, political, and economic systems, weakened the authority of the Church, and altered medical practices. The labor shortage it caused influenced European colonization and the rise of African slavery, and it may have reached the Americas during the Columbian Exchange.
Greenland — Greenland, the world’s largest island, was first settled by the Paleo-Inuit People. The first Norse settlers arrived when Erik the Red explored its southwest coast in 892 after having been banished from Iceland for manslaughter. He returned to Greenland with colonists in 895. During the Middle Ages, the Norse Colonies grew, but they declined in the 14th Century due to isolation and the lack of trade. European exploration resumed in the late 16th Century when English navigators mapped parts of the island while searching for the Northwest Passage. This contributed to the early exploration of North America and territorial claims of European nations along the Atlantic Coast.
L’Anse aux Meadows — Discovered in 1960, it is the earliest documented European settlement in North America, predating Christopher Columbus by 500 years. Located on Newfoundland’s northern tip, the Norse site included sod houses and a blacksmith’s workshop. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
Norsemen and Vikings — Norsemen were Scandinavian people who explored and settled parts of the North Atlantic, including the British Isles, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and small parts of North America. They were skilled in shipbuilding and navigation, and they sustained their communities through fishing, hunting, and trade. Their exploits were recorded in lengthy “sagas” that detailed the exploits of the “Vikings,” pirates, explorers, and conquerors who spread the Norse culture and Christianity and clashed with native peoples in the New World. One of their settlements, L’Anse aux Meadows, is the earliest documented European settlement in North America.
Smallpox — A highly contagious disease caused by the variola virus, smallpox devastated Native American Indian and colonial populations following European contact. With an infection rate up to 80% and mortality often exceeding 50% in unexposed communities, it caused widespread death and suffering. Symptoms included fever, painful pustules, and scarring. Colonists and Native peoples used quarantine, inoculation, and traditional remedies to reduce the spread. Despite resistance, inoculation emerged as the most effective response until global eradication by vaccination in the 20th Century.
Vinland — Vinland was the name given by the Norse to a territory in North America, likely in the modern-day Maritime Provinces of Canada, where they established the first European settlement in the Western Hemisphere around the year 1000. Identified through Norse sagas and archaeological evidence at L’Anse aux Meadows, it was part of Leif Eriksson’s westward exploration.
