What if the Vinland Colony Survived? | Alternate History

around the year 982 the Norse explorer Eric the Red saved further west than any European had before and discovered a cold but beautiful land covered by fjords and Glaciers naming it Greenland while in hindsight that name doesn't seem particularly accurate this was during the medieval warm period so in the southern region around Irish Fjord where he set up his Manor House Greenland would have been and frankly still is relatively green the name was likely also an attempt to attract settlers this was arguably the first European discovery of North America decades later however the Norse would make it even further than Greenland around the year 1000 Eric the Red Sun Life Erickson sailed even further west discovering the lands of helaland maglan and windland the last of which was way more fertile in Lush than Greenland or even Iceland what life Erickson had discovered was part of modern Canada and here the Norse would found a small settlement but the Midland Colony didn't survive for long as far as we know it only lasted around a decade so why did the North settlement in Midland fail we all know the North were great Sailors but their longships were generally best suited for Coastal sailing not for the Open Sea this combined with the distance between Scandinavia and Finland or even just Iceland and Finland made it so the trip was extremely dangerous for even the most experienced Sailors because of this it was primarily just people from Greenland and Iceland that would even consider settling in Midland and they had a very small population limiting the amount of North settlers in Finland on top of that there also seems to have been some sort of dispute and Skirmish with the natives which with the limited settlers vastly outnumbered the Norse and this may have played a role in the Midland Colony failing at around 1050 CE or so later in the 1300s when the Greenland Colony also died out likely due to a cold period called the little ice age that ended the Scandinavian presence in North America so how do we avoid this fate well the Norse just immediately starting an age of colonialism half a millennia earlier is pretty much out of the question but the Norse perhaps keeping a limited presence in North America and going on to be the first colonial power in the Americas later on as technology advances might be with the realm of possibility in this scenario the medieval warm period instead of ending with the little Ice Age continues for centuries longer making both Greenland and Finland more appealing for colonists on top of that there would have to be some sort of push by some influential leaders to actively send more Norse settlers to Finland perhaps some crazy ambitious king of Norway seized the potential in a fertile land at the edge of the Known World crazier things have happened in history regardless of how it happens for Vinland to last it would have to grow to a point where it could avoid being conquered or assimilated by the natives now this colonization is nothing like the early Spanish colonization of the Americas not yet Finland all the way up until the 13 or 1400s remains of relatively small Colony on the edge of the known world with a population of around 50 000 or so similar to Iceland as the Vinland Colony gradually grows and creates trade link between Europe and North America as inevitable the Americas face a major pandemic wiping out a significant portion of the population just like in the real world this would allow for the Finland colony to grow much more as it wouldn't have to and with as many natives but it happened centuries earlier will also have a Major Impact later on by the 13 and 1400s is when I think we would first start to notice major changes from a European perspective gradually Europe would become aware of vast unexplored continent to trade with and perhaps even expand into by this time Vinland would most likely have been under the Danish Crown through Norway which was under the kalmar Union at least a Jour de facto it would have been for centuries essentially independent but as Europe starts to see opportunity in North America that would quickly change the kamlar union and later Denmark Norway would for the first time try to actually capitalize on what for a long time was probably just a bit of an afterthought for Danish and Norwegian kings they would attempt to sit up colonies further south along the American east coast and by the early 1500s perhaps even the Caribbean with their Midland Colony becoming an important hub for them and other European powers trying to explore the riches of the Americas but remember in this scenario the pandemic that wiped out much of the Native American population happens earlier leaving time for populations bounce back to some extent on top of that Native Americans would over time have gained access to the horse and Old World livestock like cows pigs and chickens as well as Metallurgy all through trade with Finland this would completely change the dynamic between Europe and Native American Powers the Mesoamerican and Incan civilizations would be far better equipped to resist any attempted conquest by Europeans same goes for the remaining North American tribes that survived the pandemic the colonization of the Americas would not consist of settler colonies that replaced the native cultures to quite the same extent broadly speaking it would probably be many of the same Colonial Powers competing over the Americas although notably with the addition of Denmark Norway being very prominent particularly in North America and Spain and Portugal being far less significant given that they don't get a head start it's very possible other European powers like England or the French managed to capture the Scandinavian colonies in North America making the Scandinavian presence in North America more like a Quebec or something although for the purposes of this video I will assume Denmark Norway and a later United Scandinavia remains prominent just to make the scenario more interesting and the more long term the coastal regions of the Americas would in this scenario turn into settler colonies more akin to in the real world while the interior of North and South America as well as mesoamerica and the Incan Empire managed to keep their distinct Native American cultures there will probably never be a massive entity like the United States and North America North America would just be way too diverse for any sort of state to unify at all although with that said in the east of Inland and perhaps alternate French and British colonies could grow to rival their European colonizers at the very least over in Europe the balance of powers would be fundamentally altered Denmark Norway having access to goods from the Americas and kick-starting the age of colonization would likely have grown to become very wealthy from the 14 and 1500s onwards this could be just what Denmark Norway needed to re-establish the kalmar Union as it tried and failed to do in the real world although it's obviously not a given Sweden did manage to punch above its weight many times throughout history but I like my Scandinavia scenarios and United Scandinavia also provides larger popular Nation making rowing a prominent settler Colony all the more possible one thing that I initially thought would become a problem for the Scandinavians is that the population would be too small to grow a large settler Colony like England did but looking at the Historical population numbers it actually seems totally plausible assuming Scandinavia remains strong enough to keep their colonies in the year 1700 England had a population of around 5 million whereas Denmark Norway and Sweden combined were at around 4 million so fairly comparable European politics more broadly would obviously be reshaped by a strong colonial power in Scandinavia we're basically just adding another Britain to Europe given the geography of Scandinavia which almost makes it a series of islands I think Scandinavia would be a natural Ally of France since both would have to contend with the austrians and Holy Roman Empire as well as Britain France having a strong Naval power rivaling the British as an ally would change everything Britain in this scenario might not create nearly as powerful an Empire some sort of balance of powers would probably develop perhaps with the British growing close to Austria Prussia Poland or some alternate German power Poland would also have to consent with an even stronger neighbor than Sweden and Russian power would be hampered by a strong Scandinavia so many factors are at play there would be countless alternate Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and world wars would obviously not happen exactly like in our world but I do imagine a series of major conflicts in the 1800s and early to mid 1900s that would completely reshape Europe perhaps ending with something along these lines as nationalism takes root and creates new States like Germany and Italy I think European imperialism would eventually end but Europe itself would still be very different it would be more divided without the big East-West divide between the American and Soviet spheres of influence but more significant would be the changes over in America which would obviously have a different name in this world there would be no United States instead more similar to Europe there would be a plethora of independent nation-states further south I imagine the Aztecs would eventually be overthrown as their rules simply faced too much opposition from subject peoples but that doesn't mean new Mesoamerican civilizations couldn't rise to prominence they may even establish very strong Regional power based around the Mexican Highlands I could also see the Incas spreading their reach as they gain access to Old World animals and Technology but that's about all for now I hope you guys enjoyed the video if you did don't forget to leave a like And subscribe also thank you to all my members and a special thank you to my second tier member Lara Hino see you all next time

Channel: Neatling

Views: 93,401

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Id: 4EUkdfVNxQI

Length: 8min 27sec (507 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 01 2023