Erik the Red is traditionally credited with founding the first Norse settlement in Greenland.
According to the Icelandic sagas, Erik was exiled from Iceland after a dispute and sailed west in search of land. He explored Greenland and returned to Iceland, where he promoted the new territory to settlers. Around 985, he led an expedition that established farms along Greenland’s southwestern coast.
The name “Greenland” was probably intended to make the largely icy country sound attractive to potential settlers. Norse communities later developed at the Eastern Settlement and Western Settlement, relying on farming, hunting, and trade.
Leif Erikson, Erik’s son, is associated with voyages to Vinland in North America, but he is not generally credited with founding Greenland’s first Norse colony. Archaeological evidence confirms Norse settlement in Greenland, while some details in the sagas remain difficult to verify.