> and the vikings (presumably Leif Erikson) That’s closer to a piece of historical trivia though, the Viking discovery of North America had very limited impact

> and the vikings (presumably Leif Erikson) That’s closer to a piece of historical trivia though, the Viking discovery of North America had very limited impact and nobody in Europe was aware of it or understood the significance. What Columbus did led to dozens of other expeditions almost immediately. Within a few decades the largest the New World states were subjugated by Europeans and some of the worst recorded epidemics in human history swept the continent decimating societies which hadn’t even had any direct contact with Europeans yet. He also allowed Spain to become the preeminent European power for the next century or so. How is that not extremely significant?