Mh. A lot of my point was that Vinlands primary problems is a PR one, and the secondary one is distance from population centers/settler pool.
People didn't know how big Vinland was, nor about the metal deposits or the cod, or how much better the climate became further south. And it was too far to easily find out. Also, the closest settlements, Greenland and Iceland, didn't have a lot of trees for shipbuilding, further impeding exploration.
People also didn't know how few the natives on Newfoundland actually were, nor about diseases.
Basically, a lack of information making Russia etc. look like much better prospects.
One idea thats been looked at before is to have Eric the Red miss Greenland entirely and land in Vinland instead. The man was not one to back off conflicts with the locals, and OTL he managed to get 25 ships to sail with him to colonize Greenland in the 980s. With 14 ships arriving, he made a go of as bleak a place as Greenland, building a settlement that lasted for 500 years.
Lets say he lucks out with the voyage to Vinland, and 20-25 ships get there, you got a good early start on the colony.
People didn't know how big Vinland was, nor about the metal deposits or the cod, or how much better the climate became further south. And it was too far to easily find out. Also, the closest settlements, Greenland and Iceland, didn't have a lot of trees for shipbuilding, further impeding exploration.
People also didn't know how few the natives on Newfoundland actually were, nor about diseases.
Basically, a lack of information making Russia etc. look like much better prospects.
One idea thats been looked at before is to have Eric the Red miss Greenland entirely and land in Vinland instead. The man was not one to back off conflicts with the locals, and OTL he managed to get 25 ships to sail with him to colonize Greenland in the 980s. With 14 ships arriving, he made a go of as bleak a place as Greenland, building a settlement that lasted for 500 years.
Lets say he lucks out with the voyage to Vinland, and 20-25 ships get there, you got a good early start on the colony.
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