Norse settlements in Greenland

Norse settlements in Greenland were established after 986 CE by settlers coming from Iceland. The settlers, known as Grænlendingar ('Greenlanders' in Icelandic and not to be confused with modern Greenlanders), were the first Europeans to explore and temporarily settle North America. They appear to have developed their own dialect of Old Norse, now called Greenlandic Norse, not to be confused with the Eskaleut Greenlandic language. The Thule people, ancestors of modern Greenlandic Inuit, began migrating into Greenland around 1200 CE, bringing advanced Arctic maritime technologies that allowed them to thrive in the environment and eventually becoming the dominant population by 1300 CE. The Norse settlements existed for about half a millennium before they were abandoned for reasons that are still not entirely clear.

Despite their disappearance, Denmark–Norway, apparently believing the Norse settlements had still survived, continued to claim sovereignty over Greenland despite the lack of contact with the Norse. In 1721, Denmark–Norway sent a missionary expedition to Greenland, with the intent to reinstate Christianity among descendants of the Norse settlers; however, no Norse were found, and the missionaries instead baptized the Inuit inhabitants.