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Circumpolar Chronology:
900 AD - 1499
- 900
- - Vikings discover Greenland.
- 979
- - Northmen in Ireland defeated at Tara by Malachi.
- 982-986
- - The first Viking colonies are established in southwestern Greenland by Eirik Thorvaldsson (Eric the Red).
- - Icelandic trader Bjarni Herjulfsson probably become the first European to see North America, though he didn't land.
- 988
- - Vikings attack Devon and Somerset.
- 993
- - Vikings terrorize Yorkshire.
- 1000
- - Leiv Eiriksson (Leif Ericson), a Norwegian, becomes the first European to land in North America, probably Labrador. He spent the winter, and returned to Greenland in 1001.
- 1050-1200
- - "The first agricultural revolution of Medieval Europe begins in 1050 CE with a shift to the northern lands for cultivation, a period of improved climate from 700 CE to 1200 CE in western Europe, and the widespread use and perfection of new farming devices, some previously discovered by the Carolingians and the Romans. Technological innovations include the use of the heavy plow, the three-field system of crop rotation, the use of mills for processing cloth, brewing beer, crushing pulp for paper manufacture and many other advantages that before were not available, and the widespread use of iron and horses. With an increase in agricultural advancements, Western towns and trade grow exponentially and Western Europe returns to a money economy." (Quote from Exploring Ancient World Cultures)
- 1194
- - Svalbard discovered by Norwegian explorers.
- 1237
- - "The Mongols, under the leadership of Batu, cross the Urals from Asia into Russia. Prior to the thirteenth century, Russia is ruled by westerners who found the Kievan state. During the thirteenth century Russia retreats from the West, partly due to the distance between Moscow and the rest of Europe." (Quote from Exploring Ancient World Cultures)
- 1240
- - "Mongols enter the state of Kiev and create a new state on the Volga River, from where they rule Russia for two centuries. Over these two centuries, the Grand Duchy of Moscow emerges and eventually defeats the Mongol Khans." (Quote from Exploring Ancient World Cultures)
- 1315
- - "Bad weather and crop failure result in famine across northwestern Europe. Unsanitary conditions and malnutrition increase the death rate. Even after the revival of agricultural conditions, weather disasters reappear. A mixture of war, famine and plague in the Late Middle Ages reduces the population by one-half. (Quote from Exploring Ancient World Cultures)
- 1347
- - First appearance of the Black Death, thought to be a combination of bubonic and pnuemonic plaques.
- 1350-1870
- - The Little Ice Age caused ice caps and glaciers to expand enormously.
- 1462-1485
- - Ivan III of Moscow annexes all Russian principalities between Moscow and Poland-Lithuania.
- 1482
- - Ivan III successfully overthrows the Mongol rule over Russia, meeting with little resistance.
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