ii8 : The Atlantic 



cepted, they are o£ no importance, whereas Columbus' voyage and 

 the Spanish claims are to be taken at their full face value. 



Owing to a lack of background material and explanation the reader 

 is usually left with a set of particular conclusions — all false: 



1. The Norse discovery of America was an isolated affair — an 

 accident. 



2. That interest in and contact with North American seas and 

 shores ceased thereafter. 



3. That the northern routes from Europe to America were im- 

 practical or at least not utilized. 



4. That there was no wealth or economic benefit to Europe in the 

 north to compare to the Indian gold of Central America and 

 Peru. 



The story of the northern sea routes to America has a very respect- 

 able antiquity — it is in fact medieval. Though its effects continue into 

 modern times, its essential spirit is medieval. It has its heroes, its ro- 

 mances, its humor but in the main it is the story of many anonymous 

 heroes of practical purposes, of great tasks undertaken and carried 

 out in the interest of daily living. Perhaps that is the trouble. It con- 

 trasts with the story of the later southern routes to America which is 

 Renaissance in time and spirit — individualistic, romantic, flamboyant! 



Whatever the reason, the early general development of the north 

 Atlantic is neither generally known or understood yet the facts are 

 reasonably clear. 



Europe was in contact with North America about five hundred 

 years before Columbus sailed and the contact was neither accidental 

 nor temporary. It is a natural part of a long development which began 

 in the Stone Age when the Norse were already building ships for 

 ocean travel and engaging in trade across the North Sea. At this 

 time, of course, there were pictures but no written records so the 

 evidence on this part of the story is archaeological. There is written 

 evidence that Norse enterprise at sea was in vigorous development 

 at a later date for the annals of Alfred the Great contain an account 

 supplied by Othere (Ottar), a Norse sea captain, giving a spirited 

 account of a developed whaling enterprise engaged in by many men 

 and ships. He also supplies information regarding a voyage around 

 the North Cape to Muscovy. 



Norse ships indeed, over a period of several centuries, kept expand- 

 ing the range of their voyages. Their westward progress was marked 

 by stages at which they successively reached the Orkneys, the Shet- 



