148 DANIEL BRUUN. 
— not through big battles between the members of the races, but by 
single attacks and slaughter — exactly like the Eskimoes at Angmags- 
salik on the east coast behaved to each other, until they recently were 
influenced by the Danes. 
The Norse colonies were destroyed, and the Skrællings for a time 
were sole masters in Greenland. After the discovery of America in 
1492 one soon began to search a sea-route to India round the north of 
America, and the sea journeys stretched as far as the ice-regions. The 
Portuguese GASPAR CORTE-REALL reached as far as Greenland’s east 
coast in the year 1500; but henceforth until 1576 one knows nothing 
certain of any European ship having either seen or visited Greenland. 
It was the Englishman Martin FROBISHER who then sighted Greenland’s 
east coast. One ol his ships meanwhile foundered in the ice, and landing 
was prevented by the arctic ice. He again, in 1577, attempted, in vain, 
to land on the east coast, but in the year 1578 he landed on the west 
coast, without however having a clear understanding of it being Green- 
land. He found that the Eskimoes were in possession of some metal 
instruments, by which he concluded that they had intercourse with 
strangers. In 1579 a Danish expedition was on the east coast of Green- 
land; it was conducted by the Englishman JacoB Arrnay, but it did 
not reach land. In 1581 the Faroese Масхоз HEINESEN tried in vain 
to reach the east coast. At last in the year 1585 the Englishman Joun 
Davis landed on Greenland’s west coast (on 64°15’ lat) where he met 
Eskimoes, but no Norsemen. In 1605—1607 three ships were sent to 
Greenland by King Christian IV. They took possession of the west 
coast under the Danish crown, but first, when Hans EGEDE in 1721 
landed in Greenland so as to preach christianity to the descendants of 
the Norsemen, whom he hoped to find, but did not succeed, the present 
colonization of Eskimoes in Greenland was founded. 
