Correct Answer: the vikings.
the correct answer to the question of which european group first arrived in the americas is the vikings. this answer might seem surprising to some, as the common narrative often credits christopher columbus and his 1492 voyage as the first european exploration of the new world. however, historical evidence supports the fact that the vikings, or norse explorers from scandinavia, reached the americas centuries before columbus.
led by leif erikson around the year 1000 ad, the vikings embarked from greenland, where erikson's father, erik the red, had founded settlements after being exiled from iceland. the norsemen reached what is today known as newfoundland, canada, establishing a short-lived settlement at a site now called l'anse aux meadows. this site was discovered and excavated in the 1960s, providing clear evidence of norse presence through artifacts and structures that were unmistakably of viking origin.
the viking explorations were primarily driven by their expertise in shipbuilding and navigation, skills that enabled them to venture far across the atlantic. unlike columbus, who had the backing of the spanish monarchy, the vikings’ exploration was more fragmented and less documented, which is why their achievements became lesser known in the broader narrative of european exploration.
while the viking presence in the americas was not permanent and did not lead to continuous colonization like later european efforts, their arrival marked the first known instance of europeans setting foot on the american continents. this predates columbus’s arrival by nearly 500 years, challenging the conventional story of the european discovery of the americas.
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