Ricardolindo
Well-known member
- Location
- Portugal
Two years and a half ago on 31 May 2020, I posted a scenario about a Saqqaq Iceland at https://forum.sealionpress.co.uk/index.php?threads/saqqaq-iceland.2748/. 4 years ago on 5 December 2018, I had posted a similar scenario at alternatehistory.com, https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/native-americans-reach-iceland-pre-viking-era.457365/. In it, Jürgen, a Danish user, gave a more plausible idea with Innus and Beothuk, https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...h-iceland-pre-viking-era.457365/post-18011712. He said "
As this idea, here's my suggestion.
The proto-Beothuk and proto-Innu begins having greater contact and trade with each other in the early centuries after Christ. This resolve in improvement in sea going canoes, they also trade with the Dorset who tell them about a land to the north, where they once lived. Curious Beothuk-Innu decides to explore this land, they find a land of ice with a forests and tundra along the ice. But thee's a lot of wild animals, and they hunt the caribou and hares in the summer and return to their homeland in the winter. But in 350 a stor results in a boat ending up far to the east and far from the coast. They find a new land filled with great forests and mild weather and overwinter in this land luckily the beaches are full of seals. They succeed in travelling home next spring and bring the tale with them. Over next decades their visits to both island continue and overwintering in Iceland, while hunting in Greenland in the summer becomes common.
Species of North American trees, plants and berries are introduced more or less accidental on Iceland. The result are a increased biodiversity, a fewsnow hares brought as living ration are often used, and a few get away, resulting in hares spreading on the island. A greater population stay at home. Large land dwelling prey animal are non-existent, but seals and fuish make up a large part of their diet, while birds, eggs and hares deliver a little more calories. But the forest have become far more diverse and centuries of contact with the American mainland have resulted in forests much like Newfoundland and the American northeast.
At 700 AD Iceland are home to 1500 Beothuk-Innu, who are in continues contact with their homeland, Irish munk arrives on the island aound this point in time. The contact in the end up with the munks being killed. Life continues as usual until the Norse discover the islands. What follow are first slave raids and then conquest. The Amerindians disappear in less than a lifetime, but their bloodlines survives among the Norse Icelanders. But the Norse also become aware of the Amerindians hunting grounds in Greenland and continue this. The Norse when discovering caribou also decides to introduce a few calves to Iceland, where they spread in the empty highland. The large and diverse forests of Iceland, also become popular place for the Icelanders to let their cattle and pig graze (the forest heat the climate by function as windbreaks), the result are a much slower deforestation with sheeps being less important. Of course the forest still suffer from the Norse colonisation, but less so than in OTL.
From here we can go two way, the Norse know early on about America, so we could see a early expansion which likely would be more successful, as it would go directly from Iceland, or the Icelanders doesn't care, as they have enough land.
If not the result are a few myth about the people who lived on Iceland before and a Iceland with much more biodiversity and maybe a Icelandic tradition for summer hunting on Greenland, keeping Greenland as part of the Norse world."
What do you think of this idea?
As this idea, here's my suggestion.
The proto-Beothuk and proto-Innu begins having greater contact and trade with each other in the early centuries after Christ. This resolve in improvement in sea going canoes, they also trade with the Dorset who tell them about a land to the north, where they once lived. Curious Beothuk-Innu decides to explore this land, they find a land of ice with a forests and tundra along the ice. But thee's a lot of wild animals, and they hunt the caribou and hares in the summer and return to their homeland in the winter. But in 350 a stor results in a boat ending up far to the east and far from the coast. They find a new land filled with great forests and mild weather and overwinter in this land luckily the beaches are full of seals. They succeed in travelling home next spring and bring the tale with them. Over next decades their visits to both island continue and overwintering in Iceland, while hunting in Greenland in the summer becomes common.
Species of North American trees, plants and berries are introduced more or less accidental on Iceland. The result are a increased biodiversity, a fewsnow hares brought as living ration are often used, and a few get away, resulting in hares spreading on the island. A greater population stay at home. Large land dwelling prey animal are non-existent, but seals and fuish make up a large part of their diet, while birds, eggs and hares deliver a little more calories. But the forest have become far more diverse and centuries of contact with the American mainland have resulted in forests much like Newfoundland and the American northeast.
At 700 AD Iceland are home to 1500 Beothuk-Innu, who are in continues contact with their homeland, Irish munk arrives on the island aound this point in time. The contact in the end up with the munks being killed. Life continues as usual until the Norse discover the islands. What follow are first slave raids and then conquest. The Amerindians disappear in less than a lifetime, but their bloodlines survives among the Norse Icelanders. But the Norse also become aware of the Amerindians hunting grounds in Greenland and continue this. The Norse when discovering caribou also decides to introduce a few calves to Iceland, where they spread in the empty highland. The large and diverse forests of Iceland, also become popular place for the Icelanders to let their cattle and pig graze (the forest heat the climate by function as windbreaks), the result are a much slower deforestation with sheeps being less important. Of course the forest still suffer from the Norse colonisation, but less so than in OTL.
From here we can go two way, the Norse know early on about America, so we could see a early expansion which likely would be more successful, as it would go directly from Iceland, or the Icelanders doesn't care, as they have enough land.
If not the result are a few myth about the people who lived on Iceland before and a Iceland with much more biodiversity and maybe a Icelandic tradition for summer hunting on Greenland, keeping Greenland as part of the Norse world."
What do you think of this idea?