Thorfinn Karlsefni

(~985-~1050)

Thorfinn Karlsefi was a Viking merchant who grew up on Iceland.

As a young man, he traveled to Greenland to trade, and married the widow of the son of Erik the Red.

In 1010 AD, he and his wife left Greenland with 160 other Vikings in three ships.

They sailed to North America, and started a colony on Newfoundland.

Thorfinn and his wife Gudrid had a son they named Snorri.

It is possible that Snorri Thorfinnson was the first European born in America.

The Karlsefni family lived in North America for three years.

They did not get along with the Native Americans.

The Karlsefni family and their Viking friends ended the colony and left North America.

They moved first to Greenland, then to Norway, and finally settled in Iceland.

Thorfinn Karlsefni told stories of his travels which are known as the Viking Sagas.

Snorri Thorfinnson never again visited the land of his birth.


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Page created November 21, 2009. Anne Pemberton. Updated Sat, November 21, 2009. AP.