How would history have changed if the Vikings had settled North America?

Dusty: How would history have changed if the Vikings had settled North America?
If the Vikings hadn’t left their settlement in Newfoundland which they founded in circa 1000 AD, how would history have changed? Would a nearly 500 year head start in the New World launch the Vikings into a world power?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Joshot
They tried but forgot to bring women

Answer by old lady
It’s an interesting hypothesis. There would likely have been a lot of red-headed Indians…
One thing that wouldn’t change would be the days of the week – the names we use (or at least, 4 of the 7) all honor Norse gods. Tuesday (Twys’ day) Wednesday (Woden’s day) Thursday, (Thors Day) Friday (Freya’s day)

Answer by blursd2
We’d be speaking a Scandinavian language … like; Danish, Swedish, Norwegian (bokmål & nynorsk), or Icelandic.

Answer by spreedog133
Actually, they did in a round about way. Norsemen (Vikings) were the Normans who settled in Normandy (France) after 911 CE. They conquered England in 1066 CE. The English, who were in part descended from many Normans, were the principal settlers of North America and founders of the United States.
So, some Vikings did become a world power as Americans.

Answer by Jussi
i don’t think it would have changed much most likely the biggest difference would be that Christopher Columbus would get the credit he did, either way they beat him there and did it in their longboats

Answer by primalclaws1974
I do think they were here…Lief Erickson, right?

Answer by samusssbm85
There is no gaurantee that the vikings would have put territorial domination or economic expansion into the americas. maybe that would have pushed other civilizations to reach the americas as well.

Answer by CLIVE H
It would probably have made little or no difference. The Vikings settled here in UK and turned the clock back. It’s not just me saying that, but the Vikings are seen as barbarians, while the Brits back then were Christians and slowly moving forward.

No. It’s just as well that the Vikings did not settle properly in North America.

I could describe to you the sort of death brought to your village by the Vikings, but I do not want to make you feel sick. It was called the “Spread Eagle”. I’ll say no more except that death by this method was horrible and slow and was used commonly by the Vikings to force their will upon an unwilling peasant population.

Frankly even people of Viking descent do not go around proclaiming such.

A famous Icelandic Viking and BBC TV personality [now gone] Magnus Magnusen, once said “the Vikings got a bad press”. Yes and most of it is true. They really were the bad guys of history.