who was the first european to set foot on north america
Leif Erikson Leif Erikson or Leif Ericson[6] (c. 970 â€“ c. 1020) was a Norse explorer from Iceland.[7] He was the first known European to have set foot on continental North America (excluding Greenland), before Christopher Columbus.[8][9] According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, tentatively identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada. Later archaeological evidence suggests that Vinland may have been the areas around the Gulf of St. Lawrence and that the L'Anse aux Meadows site was a ship repair station.
European colonization of the Americas The European colonisation of the Americas describes the history of the settlement and establishment of control of the continents of the Americas by various European powers. Starting in either the 10th or 11th century, when West Norse sailors explored and briefly settled on the shores of present-day Canada, according to Icelandic Sagas, violent conflicts with the indigenous population ultimately led to the Norse abandoning those settlements.[1]