Snæland

Snæland, officially Republic of Snæland is a country in the north of Europe and America. It has a population of 954.333 and an area of 3.172.933 km2. The capital is Akureyri and the largest city Reykjarvík.

Settlement
1st PoD: Snæland hasn't changed its name to Iceland, that's the reason because it's still named Snæland.

2nd PoD: Vinland (Newfounland), Markland (Labrador) and Helluland (Baffin) were succesfully colonized.

Snæland history dates back to the ninth century, when the Vikings first landed on the island, but there are records that before these, some Irish monks (the Papar) arrived before the island.

The first permanent settler in Snæland is usually considered to have been a Norwegian chieftain named Ingólfr Arnarson and his wife Hallveig Fróðadóttir. According to Landnáma, he threw two carved pillars overboard as he neared land, vowing to settle wherever they landed. He then sailed along the coast until the pillars were found in the southwestern peninsula, now known as Reykjanesskagi. There he settled with his family around 874, in a place he named Reykjarvík (Cove of Smoke) due to the geothermal steam rising from the earth.

Ingólfr was followed by many more Norse chieftains, their families and slaves who settled all the inhabitable areas of the island in the next decades.

Grœnlend
Even though popular history credits Erik as the first person to discover Grœnlend, the Snælandinga sagas suggest that earlier Norsemen discovered and tried to settle it before him. But Erik the Red was the first permanent European settler. In this context, about 982, Erik sailed to a somewhat mysterious and little-known land. He rounded the southern tip of the island and sailed up the western coast. He eventually reached a part of the coast that, for the most part, seemed ice-free and consequently had conditions (similar to those of Snæland ) that promised growth and future prosperity.

When Erik returned to Snæland after his exile had expired, he is said to have brought with him stories of "Grœnlend". Erik deliberately gave the land a more appealing name than "Snæland " in order to lure potential settlers. He explained, "people would be attracted to go there if it had a favorable name". He knew that the success of any settlement in Grœnlend would need the support of as many people as possible. His salesmanship proved successful, as many people (especially "those Vikings living on poor land in Snæland" and those that had suffered a "recent famine") became convinced that Grœnlend held great opportunity.

After spending the winter in Snæland, Erik returned to Grœnlend in 985 with a large number of colonists. Out of 25 ships that left for Grœnlend only 14 arrived, 11 were lost at sea. The Snælander established two colonies on the southwest coast: the Eastern Settlement or Eystribyggð, and the Western Settlement or Vestribyggð. (Eventually, a Middle Settlement grew, but many people suggest it formed part of the Western Settlement.) The Eastern and Western Settlements, both established on the southwest coast, proved the only two areas suitable for farming. During the summers, when the weather favored travel more, each settlement would send an army of men to hunt in Disko Bay above the Arctic Circle for food and other valuable commodities such as seals (used for rope), ivory from walrus tusks, and beached whales.

Vinland, Helluland and Markland
Leif Erikson was an Icelandic explorer and the first known European to have discovered North America (excluding Grœnlend), before Christopher Columbus. Leif and his crew travelled from Grœnlend to Norway in AD 999. Blown off course to the Hebrides and staying for much of the summer, he arrived in Norway and became a hirdman of King Olaf Tryggvason. He also converted to Christianity and was given the mission of introducing the religion to Grœnlend. The Saga of Erik the Red and the Grœnlendinga Saga, both thought to have been written around 1200, contain different accounts of the voyages to Vinland. The two only known strictly historical mentions of Vinland are found in the work of Adam of Bremen c. 1075 and in the Book of Snælanders compiled c. 1122 by Ari the Wise. According to the Saga of Erik the Red, Leif apparently saw Vinland for the first time after being blown off course on his way to introduce Christianity to Grœnlend.

Leif was not really the first European to discover America, nor the first to make landfall there: he had heard the story of merchant Bjarni Herjólfsson who claimed to have sighted land to the west of Grœnlend after having been blown off course. Bjarni reportedly never made landfall there, however. Later, when travelling from Norway to Grœnlend, Leif was also blown off course, to a land that he did not expect to see, where he found "self-sown wheat fields and grapevines". He next rescued two men who were shipwrecked in this country and went back to Grœnlend (and Christianised the people there). Consequently, if this is to be trusted, Bjarni Herjólfsson was the first European to see America beyond Grœnlend, and the two unnamed shipwrecked men were the first people known to Europeans to have made landfall there.

Leif then approached Bjarni, purchased his ship, gathered a crew of thirty-five men, and mounted an expedition towards the land Bjarni had described. His father Erik was set to join him but dropped out after he fell from his horse on his way to set sail, an incident he interpreted as a bad omen. Leif followed Bjarni's route in reverse and landed first in a rocky and desolate place he named Helluland. After venturing further by sea, he landed the second time in a forested place he named Markland. Finally, after two more days at sea, he landed in a luscious place with plentiful supplies of salmon. As winter approached, he decided to encamp there for the winter, and broke his party into two groups - one to remain at camp and the other to explore the lands. During one of these explorations, Tyrker discovered that the land was full of vines and grapes. Leif therefore named the land Vinland. There, he and his crew built a small settlement, which was called Leifsbúðir (Leif's Booths) by later visitors from Grœnlend. After having wintered over in Vinland, Leif returned to Grœnlend in the spring with a cargo of grapes and timber.

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