Collaborative TL: Vinland and Early Colonization

My, I have started a lot of threads lately.

Anyway, in this collaborative TL, Vinland survives, continues contact with Europe, and colonization starts earlier. Other than that, nothing is definite.

RULES
- You must claim before you add an update to the TL.
- Updates can be from one day, to 50 years.
- Updates do not have to be perfectly consecutive; if someone does an update about Vinland in 1070-1078, then you can do the Byzantine loss of Greece from 1069 to 1078. HOWEVER you cannot jump back more than a century.
- You may update the whole world or a small area.
- Realism.


Here is the first update:

Founding of Vinland

In Greenland, Erik the Red founded the Western Settlement, Vestribyggð, and the Eastern Settlement, Eystribygð, in the year 985. The western had a thousand inhabitants and the eastern had four thousand. In 986, Bjarni Herjólfsson discovered the New World. He returned to Greenland quickly, despite his crewmen demanding to land on the island, because he had originally departed to reach his family. His discovery was seen as unimportant. Leifr Eiríksson bought Bjarni's boat and named it The Bjarni. He ventured west in 1001, reaching Helluland (The Land of Flat Stones). It was inhospitable and a settlement was not founded. He ventured south from there to a land that was flat and wooded, calling it Markland (Woodland). A settlement was built, named Markbuðir (Wood Storage Houses). He ventured yet further south and founded Leifsbuðir (Leif's Storage Houses) at the northern tip of an island called Nálægr Vínland (Close Vinland). The area was pleasant as there are wild grapes and plenty of salmon in the river. Leifsbuðir was and is seen by all entering the Gulf of Vinland.

Leif returned to Greenland with a cargo of timber. On the way, he saved an Icelandic castaway. Leif was allowed to keep the cargo as thanks for rescuing the man's life. Leif contacted the king of Norway and spread Christianity throughout Greenland. In 1005, about 200 Christians from Norway, 170 men and 30 women, ventured to Greenland and then to Leifsbuðir. They stayed for the winter, then voyaged west and founded the settlement of Thorborgar (Thor city) in Langt Vinland (Far Vinland) By 1010, Leifsbuðir had 180 people, Thorborgar had 200, and Markbuðir was inhabited by 100. From 1015 to 1035, ships from Norway and Iceland migrated to the New World. About 300 people settled in the area. Most of them had the Norse beliefs, even though Iceland officially converted to Christianity. The Icelanders brought 20 pigs, 30 horses, 40 chickens, 25 cows, and 10 donkeys. One merchant and his family brought many seeds, and he started a plantation near Thorborgar.

Odin Leifsson, Leif's son, arrived from Greenland. Being the son of Leif, he claimed granddukeship over all of Vinland, and none could argue that he was not the one who truly deserved to be Grand Duke. Therefore the Grand Duchy of Vinland was established in 1035.
 
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North Sea Empire

Banner of the Raven

Canute looked out from his throne at the assembled lords of his empire. They had come to pay homage to their leige lord on his return from Rome and Scotland He was the High King of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Jonsburg, England, Scotland, overlord of Poland, Orkneys, Faeros, iceland Greenland, Ireland, Normandy, Wales and if Leif Ericsson was to be beleived, a vast new land over the ocean, the Grand Duchy of Vinland.

Canute was of Danish and Polish descent, His father was Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and his mother was Sigrid Storrada daughter of the first King of Poland. As a younger son of the Danish King, Canute started his reign by winning the throne of England in 1016. Then he ascended the throne of Denmark when his older brother died in 1018. Then had come Norway, Sweden and Scotland.

Canute held this power-base together by uniting his subjects under cultural bonds of wealth and custom, rather than sheer brutality. His possession of England's archdioceses and the continental diocese of Denmark was a source of great leverage within the Church, gaining notable concessions from the Pope, such as one on the price of the bishops fees, and gained concessions on the tolls his people had to pay on the way to Rome from other magnates of medieval Christendom.
 
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