Quote:
Originally Posted by MTI
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Correct.
Norse colonial expansion was actually
mostly non violent according to the historical record, vs legends. It occurred during the Medieval warm period when it was hotter than now. They maintained a peaceful trade of iron for walrus ivory with the Inuit across the Baffin straight, until it got cold again and they abandoned their colonies in western Greenland.
It's often easy, but also rather ignorant, to characterize groups of people with stereotypical generalizations. A people might interact with some groups much differently than with others. The Norse, or Vikings as they're sometimes known, are a good example. The legends of English speaking people characterize the Vikings as brutal, barbaric, conquers. However, the fact remains that the Norse and the Inuit maintained a relatively peaceful co-existence on either side of Davis Strait between Baffin Island and western Greenland between 900 and 1200. They maintained a mutually beneficial trade for hundreds of years, and did not seek to conquer each other. People living in harsh climates usually find that it's much better for mutual survival to cooperate and trade rather than conquer and enslave.