What is the current thinking about the Vikings in North America? How extensive was the contact between Vikings and Amerinds? Also – is there any theory as to why a population crash happened after the 1492 contact, but not before? (Perhaps Scandinavians had different diseases than Meditteraneans?)
The Vikings are thought to have had only slight contact. There are no documented remains or evidence of any presence inside of what is now the United States.
There is a confirmed settlement in Canada and evidence of other contact.
But that’s it. The Vikings had one small settlement at the very tip of the continent and put almost all their energy into their major settlements on Greenland and Iceland.
The Spaniards tried to conquer and enslave the natives wherever they found them. There’s really no comparison.
Overall, a good answer. But a slighty better answer is “The Vikings had one known small settlement at the very tip of the continent…”. They also explored around a bit. How far we don’t know. From Wiki:
*“Historians do not agree on the location of Vinland. Rafn and Erik Wahlgren believed that Vinland was probably in New England. In the 1960s a Viking settlement was discovered and excavated at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, and some historians believe that this was Leif’s settlement, thus connecting Vinland to Newfoundland. Others have followed Rafn in sharing the belief that Vinland was farther to the south. In this view, L’Anse aux Meadows was perhaps part of an undocumented later attempt at settlement”
*
There is the Kensington Runestone,
but that is thought by some to be a forgery. In fact once it was generally conceded to be a forgery but now there is much doubt.