Why Didnt the Vikings Get Credit for Discovering America

Who discovered America? When most people think about this, the first thing that comes to mind is Christopher Columbus. When Columbus returned from the Antilles in 1493, he was not the first European to have stepped foot on the New World. What if I were to say that the Vikings were the ones who actually discovered America? However, they didn’t get credit for it because of the bad things that they have did. Leif Eriksson set out from Greenland towards the west and first reached Baffin Island which he named Helluland or Land of Stone. From there he sailed south to Labrador and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence region which he named Vinland or Land of Wine for the wild grapes that were found there. He created a town at LAnse aux Meadows,†¦show more content†¦In 865, the Great Heathen Army attacked East Anglia (England). After that invasion failed, they attacked England once again in 1066, but were defeated at the battle of Stamford Bridge. The Vikings attack England again during the Reign of Canute the Great Again in 1066, the Normans invaded and conquered England. The Vikings could not defeat Paris but the King was so impressed that he gave me land. I believe that the Vikings were in fact the first to discover America. The key word is â€Å"Discover† for the native Americans did not discover America, they just lived there. Also the Vikings were not very creative and named things very obviously, so why would they call the new land Newfound Land, if it was inhabited by people, it wouldn’t be new. The only reason that they don’t get credit for it is because of the things they did like attacking England. They were disliked by just about all countries, so why give them credit for discovering America? If you were in England’s shoes, wouldn’t you try to erase them from history. Why not give some one else from Europe the credit for discovering America. Being that both England and Scandinavia are both in Europe, why make Europe look bad? Why not just let someone who is from Europe and who is sent from the king and queen of Spain get the credit. This way making people forget about the Vikings, and still showing how great and how high of a place Europe is. Shirah Vargas