A Norse America

North America was founded by the Native Americans, yet shaped by the Europeans that travelled there in the 15th and 16th century. The first major discovery of the new world by Europeans was Christopher Columbus in 1492, when he came across the Caribbean islands. Yet their have been tales that the USA was discovered well before then, by the vikings in 11th century.

Point of Divergence
The PoD for this timeline is the 1000 AD discovery of Newfoundland. Leif Erikson, a banished viking living in Greenland, was travelling back from Norway, where he had just converted to Christianity. On his way home his ship went of course and, as legend has it, Leif Erikson became the first European to see the new world. Later on Erikson returned with a number of others and sailed around the coast for a while. Erikson discovered that the land was full of vines and grapes, so he named it Vinland. He set up a settlement on the very northern tip of Newfoundland called Leifsbúðir. He left after the winter to return home, yet in 1004 his brother returned. This voyage was destroyed after seven natives were killed, with another returning with a force to kill the Norsemen. After this a number of other voyages were made to the same areas, yet none really stayed. In my ATL, The Norsemen defeated the local natives around Newfoundland and set up their own Norse kingdom in the new world.