In the year 982 AD, a fiery-tempered Norseman named Erik Thorvaldsson, better known as Erik the Red, was exiled from Iceland for murder. Facing a three-year banishment, he sailed west into the uncharted North Atlantic and discovered a massive landmass dominated by a colossal ice sheet. What followed was not just a journey of exploration, but the birth of the dark art of marketing.

The Marketing Lie: Creating a Paradise

Erik knew that a land covered 80% by ice would never attract the settlers he needed to build his own kingdom. To solve this occupancy problem, he utilized a strategic naming convention that remains the textbook definition of a real estate scam:

• The Calculated Name: He deliberately named the territory Greenland (Grœnland), famously stating that people would be attracted thither if it had a favorable name.
• The Lush Southern Mirage: He focused his pitch on the southwestern fjords which, during the Medieval Warm Period, genuinely featured small strips of green pasture suitable for livestock.
• The Fyre Festival of the Middle Ages: He returned to Iceland and launched a branding campaign that promised fertile valleys and endless resources to starving farmers.

The First Chieftain: Building a Society on Ice

Erik’s brochure worked perfectly. In 985 AD, he led a fleet of 25 ships packed with families, livestock, and supplies toward his new domain. The reality of the trek was far more brutal than the promise:

• Casualties of the Crossing: Only 14 of the 25 ships survived the perilous crossing; the others were lost to storms or forced to turn back.
• Establishing the Settlements: The survivors founded two main hubs — the Eastern Settlement near modern Qaqortoq and the Western Settlement near present-day Nuuk.
• Political Heart: Erik established his chieftain’s seat at Brattahlid, where he lived like royalty and governed a population that eventually peaked at nearly 5,000 people.