No Nordics in Iceland

[Alexpira]

WI Nordics weren't able (or simply left untouched) to discover and settle in Iceland? What could leave the island untouched by the Nordics and when / how would finally settle and colonize the island?

 

[Atterdag]

This would probably butterfly Norse discovery of Greenland and America too.

Iceland in time becomes a whaling hub, used by Basque, Portuguese, English and Norwegians in the 15th century onwards.

Who finally sticks a flag in it and claims it for their country is anyone’s guess, but my bet is that it ends in British hands.

 

[Alexpira]

The Norse discovery and settlement of Labrador / Terra Nova seems to be almost an inconsequential event. However, a no-Nordic or Danish Greenland could have major geopolitical effects on North Atlantic. Could the island be a flashpoint to a U.S / British-Canadian dispute for the land?

 

[djf64360]

There were Irish monks there when the Vikings showed up, and of course, they killed them. So maybe some Irish colonize it and then some Inuit from Greenland move in and you get the two cultures meeting and maybe clashing.

 

[pathfinder]

I thought the Irish had been on the island before the norse got there.

 

[Arkenfolm]

But would the Irish bring in women and start a thriving population there? I think if it's not settled by the Norse, eventually word would get out about the Irish monks, the fishing grounds, and unused pastures on the island and decided to go over and settle it.

The Norse discovery and settlement of Labrador / Terra Nova seems to be almost an inconsequential event. However, a no-Nordic or Danish Greenland could have major geopolitical effects on North Atlantic. Could the island be a flashpoint to a U.S / British-Canadian dispute for the land?

Butterflies aside, the US has no capability to claim Greenland before the late 19th century if they're attempting to claim it from the British Empire. And by the late 19th century they have no little reason to claim it either anymore than they have reason to claim Newfoundland or Jamaica. It's not worth starting a war for, although they'd probably buy it if offered.

Before the 19th century Greenland is probably uninhabited by everyone except Inuit, missionaries, and maybe a Royal Navy outpost so is pretty inconsequential. It would likely have seasonal fishing and whaling camps.

There were Irish monks there when the Vikings showed up, and of course, they killed them. So maybe some Irish colonize it and then some Inuit from Greenland move in and you get the two cultures meeting and maybe clashing.

The OTL Inuit are unlikely to settle Iceland because they weren't well-established on the harsher east coast of Greenland and they'd have to cross a lot of sea ice, including open sea, to get to Iceland.

 

[Atterdag]

The OTL Inuit are unlikely to settle Iceland because they weren't well-established on the harsher east coast of Greenland and they'd have to cross a lot of sea ice, including open sea, to get to Iceland.

The Norse never settled east Greenland either, though I’m not sure the Inuit would make it to Iceland either.

 

[Alexpira]

Seems that Iceland falling into British hands would be the most probable outcome. However, could another European country try a shot? Denmark, Sweden, Portugal (as Portuguese sailors were active in the Northern Atlantic by 1500s) or even Russia?

 

[riggerrob]

I am betting on Inuit.
With no cold snap - around 800 AD. there would little incentive for Norse to flee west-wards.
With luck, Inuit learn from Portugese fisherman, who soon become little more than cargo carriers returning to Iberia with fish caught, dried and salted by Inuit.