FAMOUS SEAFARERS AND EXPLORERS
Eric the Red
Nationality: Erik was a Viking. He was born in Norway
Years of exploration: 982 to 986.
Erik was sent away from Iceland in about 980, like his father had been. He decided to explore the land to the west that he could see from the tops of Iceland's mountains. Erik sailed in 982 with his household and livestock but was unable to get near the coast because of drift ice. They rounded the southern tip of Greenland and settled in an area near present Julianehåb Qaqortoq. Erik returned to Iceland in 986.
Countries discovered: Greenland and possibly North America
Names of ships: I don't think the Vikings named their ships but it would have looked like this:
Portrait of Eric the Red:
Erik the Red (in Norwegian Eirik Raude) was the nickname of Erik Thorvaldson or Eirik Torvaldsson. He was the founder of the first European settlement on Greenland and probably sailed on to discover the mainland of North America. Erik was very bad tempered. He returned to Iceland in 986. His descriptions of the land, which he named Greenland, convinced many of his people to join a return expedition looking for a better place to live. 25 ships sailed from Iceland, but only 14 ships and 350 colonists are believed to have landed safely at a place called Eystribygdh, which means Eastern Colony. By the year 1000 there was thought to be 1,000 Scandinavian settlers in the colony, but an epidemic in 1002 considerably reduced the number.