The deforestation eventually ended Greenland settlements along with natural climate change (cooling) in the 1400’s and 1500’s which made farming and cattle raising impossible.
The Vikings originally settled Greenland about 980. Approximately 20 years later they discovered North America. They failed to establish a permanent settlement in what they called Vinland (now Newfoundland) but there is evidence they visited North American periodically up to the late 1300s, possibly harvesting timber and fish.
Apparently the Scandinavians of the 1000-1400 era either did not have the population pressure to seek expanded colonies in North America, and the natural resources their explorations identified in North American were not valuable enough to economically transport back to the home country. By the 1300’s there was no interest in sustaining the outposts in either Greenland or North American in Norway and Denmark.
A case can be made for teh Catholic CHurch being the proximate cause of teh demise of teh Greenland Viking Communities. Colder climate meant nothing to the native Inuits who had a marine mammal/seafood based society.
The priests made a big issue over the use of fur garments and “going native” in terms of foods.
Bad move, that! The gravces indicate that due to cold (exacerbated by wool instead of fur clothing), the women and children died disproportionately.
Interesting hypothesis, I think.