Rise+of+Viking+colony+at+Greenland+Essay

**By: Sandy Truong **
 * [[image:http://racetrak.googlepages.com/ne_lindisfarne_07_200706131037121.jpg width="231" height="170" align="left" link="http://racetrak.googlepages.com/ne_lindisfarne_07_200706131037121.jpg"]]Rise of Viking colony at Greenland Essay ** 

“Erik the Red” led the first Viking colony to Greenland in the year 982 to 985. At the time, the land was flourished with tall, green, plentiful forests and good grazing areas. This assisted the Vikings to obtain a healthy natural diet, which is something our society has lacked. Their use of ships also was good for hunting for sea creatures and “the element of surprise” during battle, while creating less pollution. The Greenland Vikings support from their European brothers did assist them before their demise. These are some of the lessons our world can take into consideration. Most of the Greenland Vikings were farmers. They grew many of their own foods and, because of the time they were in, frozen foods filled with chemicals were not an option. Most of their farms were also very large, so the animals were usually free ranged. This, now in our western society, is a lot harder to find. Since money wasn’t a large ambition, but instead food and small trade with their neighbors, they wouldn’t feel pressured to develop such a large amount of vegetables and meats. Their diets usually consisted of healthy crops (such as onions, peas and beans), meats (such as pigs, cows and birds) and etc. Ships were extremely popular to the Greenland Vikings. At the time, using these boats caused no pollution. One of the very popularly used boats was the “long boat”. The long boat was powered by sails and oars. This is now very uncommon to many societies. Engines, which use many of our resources, have killed all uses of “natural travel”. Long boats were used to frighten the enemy and surprise-attack their enemies. As well as hunting for sea creatures for food. Many societies can learn from the limited options of travel the Vikings endured and not take advantage of it. The Greenland Vikings were largely supported by their European brothers. European countries would regularly send, by sailing, timber, iron, corn, salt and etc. Greenlanders also offered many of their products. Such as butter, cheese, wool, and their frieze cloths, which were popularly sought after in Europe. As well as white and blue fox furs, polar bear skins, walrus and narwhal tusks, and walrus skins. Because of this equal trade, their pact ran smoothly and the bond between the European countries and the Greenland Vikings were strong. Countries of the world can use this as an example of fair trade. The Viking colony at Greenland lasted nearly 500 years before their mysterious demise. All of these aspects contributed to their rise before they fell. The Vikings healthy diet and way of living is something we can all strive for. Their use of boats for travel and hunting has many contributions. Especially the lack it’s development of pollution. The strong trading bond the Greenland Vikings and Europeans shared was a contributor to the rise of the Greenland Vikings. Other countries can use this trade as an example. Though the Viking colony at Greenland did suffer a mysterious fate, we can learn from many of the lessons to their rise.

__Citations__ -Mandia, Scott A. 2007. T-206 Smithtown Sciences Bldg. [] -McGovern, Thomas H., and Sophia Perdikaris. 2000. "The Vikings' Silent Saga: What Went Wrong with the Scandanavian Westward Expansion?". Natural History Magazine. May 10 2009  -Diamon, Jared M. Collapse: how societies choose to fail or survive. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group, 2005  Brown, Mackenzie Dale. "The Fate of Greenlands Vikings." 28 Febuary 2000. 31 March 2009 []

The Rise of the Viking Colony at Greenland by Sandy Truong