Alternative History
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Vinlandia is the northern continent of the western hemisphere. Norwegian settlers when they first arrived on the continent named it Vinland, after the fabled lands discovered by Erik the Red. When word was received by other nations they began calling it Vinlandia, to differentiate it from the Norwegian colonies.

Etymology

Vinlandia takes its name from a land once discovered by Norsemen around 1000 CE. Norse explorers at the time discovered a land they called Vinland, old norse for Wine-land. When Norwegian explorers and refugees landed on the coast of what is now referred to as Markland, they began attributing the names Leif Eriksson gave for lands he discovered. When more Norwegian settlers began arriving they mostly settled in the lands south of where they first made landfall, calling the land Vinland. Over time as the Vinland colony became more important economically, and other European nations began exploring the new land, people began referring to the land as a whole as Vinlandia, to differentiate it from the Vinland colony itself.

Geography and Extent

Vinlandia occupies the northern portion of the region known as the Western Hemisphere. The continent is

SV - NorthAmericaSatellite

Satellite Image of Vinlandia

generally delimited on the southeast by the Strait of Panama. The islands of the West Indies delineate a submerged former land bridge, which had connected Vinlandia and Cortez via what are now Florida and Venezuela. Much of Vinlandia is on the Vinlandic Plate.

The continental coastline is long and irregular. The Gulf of Mexico is the largest body of water indenting the continent, followed by Hudson Bay. Others include the Gulf of Eriksson and the Gulf of California.

There are numerous islands off the continent’s coasts: principally, the Arctic Archipelago, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Aleutian Islands (some of which are in the eastern hemisphere proper), the Alexander Archipelago, the many thousand islands of the British Columbia Coast, the many islands of the Westhansa Sea, and Vinland. Greenland, a self-governing Danish island, and the world's largest, is on the same tectonic plate (the Vinlandic Plate) and is part of Vinlandia geographically. In a geologic sense, Bermuda is not part of Vinlandia, but an oceanic island which was formed on the fissure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge over 100 million years ago. The nearest landmass to it is Cape Hatteras, Roanoke. However, Bermuda is often thought of as part of Vinlandia, especially given its historical, political and cultural ties to New Coventry and other parts of the continent.

Countries and Territories

Country or Territory Area Population Capital
Vinlandia
SV-AlaskaFlag Alaska New Archangel
Kalifornia Westhansa
SV-CharlesianeFlagCharlesiane New Orleans
Commanche Confederacy
SV-CVSFlag Commonwealth of Vinlandian States Adams, DC
Greenland (Den.) Nuuk
SV-HaidaFlagHaida Skidegate
SV-MexicoFlag Mexico Mexico City
SV-NewAlbionFlagNew Albion Guinevere
SV-VanaheimAsaheim Njordland
SV-VinlandFlag Vinland Liefheim
Caribbean
File:Barbados 1.png Barbados Bridgetown
Cuba Havana
File:Flag of the Dominican Republic.png Dominican Republic Santo Domingo
East Caribbean Federation (UK) St Johns
French Caribbean Fort-de-France
File:Flag of Haiti.png Haiti Port-au-Prince
Jamaika Neuer Kiel
North Caribbean Federation (UK ) Nassau
Puerto Rico (Spa.) San Juan


SV - NorthAmericaPolitical

Political boundaries of modern Vinlandia

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