, . (1874). It has been a common mistake for popular history to occasionally credit Erik as being the first European to discover Greenland, however, the Icelandic sagas suggest that earlier Norsemen discovered and attempted to settle it before him. Tradition credits
Gunnbjörn Ulfsson (also known as Gunnbjörn Ulf-Krakuson) with the first sighting of the land-mass. Nearly a century before Erik, strong winds had driven Gunnbjörn towards a set of islands between Iceland and Greenland, later named
Gunnbjörn's skerries in his honor. However, the accidental nature of Gunnbjörn's discovery has led to his neglect in the history of Greenland. After Gunnbjörn, roughly eighty years later the outlaw
Snæbjörn galti had also visited Greenland and attempted to settle there. According to a saga that has now been lost to time, Galti headed the first Norse attempt to colonize Greenland, which ended in failure for Galti and his party due to the many unforgiving hardships that they faced during the winter on the island. According to the
Saga of Erik the Red, Erik spent his three years of exile exploring this land. The first winter Erik spent on the island of Eiriksey, the second winter he passed in Eiriksholmar (close to Hvarfsgnipa). In the final summer Erik explored as far north as Snaefell and into Hrafnsfjord. Erik knew that the success of any settlement in Greenland would need the support of as many people as possible. Erik's salesmanship of Greenland proved successful as after spending the winter in Iceland, Erik returned to Greenland in the summer of 985 with a large number of colonists. However, out of 25 ships that left for Greenland, only 14 arrived, some of the other 11 having turned back, but others likely lost. The Icelanders established two colonies on the southwest coast: the
Eastern Settlement or Eystribyggð, in what is now
Qaqortoq, and the
Western Settlement, close to present-day
Nuuk. Eventually, a
Middle Settlement grew, but many suggest it formed part of the Western Settlement. The Eastern and Western Settlements, both established on the southwest coast, proved the only two areas suitable for farming. During the summers, when the weather was more favorable to travel, each settlement would send an army of men to hunt in
Disko Bay above the
Arctic Circle for food and other valuable commodities such as seals (used for rope),
ivory from
walrus tusks, and
beached whales. in the background. Located in
Qassiarsuk, Greenland.
Eastern Settlement In the Eastern Settlement, Erik built the
estate of
Brattahlíð, near present-day
Narsarsuaq, in what is known today as
Qassiarsuk. Erik held the title of
paramount chieftain of Greenland and became both greatly respected and wealthy. The settlement flourished, growing to 5,000 inhabitants spread over a considerable area along
Eriksfjord and neighboring
fjords. Groups of
immigrants escaping overcrowding in Iceland joined the original party. However, one group of immigrants which arrived in 1002 brought with it an
epidemic that ravaged the colony, killing many of its leading citizens, including Erik himself. Nevertheless, the colony rebounded and survived until the
Little Ice Age made the land marginal for European life-styles in the 15th century, shortly before
Christopher Columbus's first
voyage to the Americas in 1492.
Pirate raids, conflict with
Inuit moving into the Norse territories, and the colony's abandonment by Norway became other factors in its decline. == Comparisons to Greenland saga ==