120 : The Atlantic 



Nicolas, in 1448, wrote a letter deploring conditions in Iceland and 

 referring specifically to the destruction of parish churches by the na- 

 tives. In 1476 two captains of vessels, also acting as governors, by the 

 names of Pining and Pothorst, went to Iceland and later, on instruc- 

 tions, went to Greenland — the purpose being to protect trade from 

 the depredations of the Eskimo population. They were dispatched by 

 King Christian I of Denmark but he was acting at the request of 

 and in concert with the king of Portugal. 



The year of the Pining and Pothorst voyage to Greenland was also 

 the year in which Christopher Columbus, according to his son Ferdi- 

 nand, went to Iceland and also traveled in the sea beyond without 

 finding ice. 



In 1492, before Columbus announced his discovery of islands in 

 the Atlantic, Pope Alexander the Sixth, who was a member of the 

 Spanish Borgia family, wrote a letter regarding his concern over the 

 young Christians growing up in Greenland. After Columbus' return, 

 no further letters regarding Greenland appear to have been written. 



Governments also showed a lively interest in the new west. In 

 1261-1262, both Greenland and Iceland were persuaded to accept 

 the sovereignty of the king of Norway. Subsequent to this, Norway 

 tried to divert trade between Iceland and Greenland and to serve al- 

 ways as an intermediary. About 1348 a small ship from Greenland, 

 with seventeen men aboard, arrived in Iceland having been carried 

 there by strong winds from the west. They had been in that part of 

 Labrador called Markland. This is only one of several historical cita- 

 tions which show that the Greenlanders continued to visit the North 

 American continent where they found a source of timber for their 

 houses and ships. These men were taken to Bergen, presumably 

 because it was thought that they had violated the trade agreement. 



In 1354 King Magnusson, having heard reports which tended to 

 show that the Greenland colony was drifting away from Christianity 

 and accepting the ways of native life in Greenland and in Labrador, 

 felt it necessary to correct this situation. He appointed Powell (Paul) 

 Knutson to command an expedition — to take the ship Knor and pro- 

 ceed to Greenland. This expedition apparently sailed in 1355 and the 

 expedition, or a part of it, is believed to have returned in 1363 or 

 1364. However, its exact fate remains unknown unless we accept the 

 work of a present-day scholar, Mr. Hjalmar Holand, who believes 

 that this expedition, in pursuit of its assignment, traveled to Labra- 

 dor and then, in pursuit of its object, penetrated the North Ameri- 



