By Demetrius Dillard
Once again, the Northend Agents revisits one of the most thought-provoking and controversial topics of interest today: the Black Vikings.
This time around, the NEA will take a more riveting angle on the subject matter.
We have transitioned from establishing the fact – based on scholarly research – that Black Vikings existed and will now delve into whether the historical figures were ever present in the West Indies, one of the most culturally rich and diverse regions in the world.
‘Vikings in the West Indies’ may appear as a quaint phrase, considering that the imagery typically associated with a Viking is a tall, muscular, bearded White man.
However, according to a number of Black scholars, researchers and authors, that narrative is a glaring misrepresentation of true history; their findings suggest that “the Vikings had, in fact, been black skinned—not the blond, blue-eyed whites” commonly portrayed in mainstream media.
Being that Black Vikings did exist (not dismissing any historical evidence of their White counterparts), and they were ambitious explorers who traveled various parts of the globe, could it be feasible, or in any way remotely possible, that they either settled, inhabited or set foot on any part of the West Indies?
The NEA’s quest to provide a definitive answer to the abovementioned question begins now.
A baseline internet search of “Black Vikings presence in the West Indies” will not yield anything substantive for the most part. One would need to go beyond a regular Google search and explore European museum archives, scholarly essay databases, encyclopedias and books or novels covering the topic. And that’s hardly scratching the surface.
Expectedly, there is an abundance of research tracing Viking settlement history most notably to Northern Europe, scattered regions of North America (U.S. and Canada) and even some parts of Russia.
As for the West Indies, there is very little scholarly research substantiating Viking presence in those regions, islands and territories, which include Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico (Hispaniola), the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire.
While it may appear that there is little to no historical or documented evidence of Black Viking occupancy in the West Indies or Carribean, that is openly known or accessible at least, there are some samples of research that may suggest otherwise.
An article entitled “First Wave, Pre-Columbian Arrivants” asserted that scholarship challenges the idea that the indigenous Tainos who resided on Caribbean land with the argument that “Vikings, Africans and the Chinese came to the Caribbean before Columbus.”
There’s one piece of usable evidence. Though Viking, African and Chinese explorers might have occupied Caribbean land at some point, it does not discount the reality that the Taino people were original inhabitants.
Mikkel H. Thomsen, a museum inspector with the Viking Ship Museum in Roksilde, Denmark, wrote on one of the company’s web pages detailing Viking sightseeing and exploration that “The great ocean-going voyages, for example from Denmark and the Netherlands to the Colonies in the West and East Indies, went far out beyond the Orkney Islands.”
There’s another piece of evidence. In Thomsen’s explanation of Viking sail through the Pentland Firth, he clearly mentioned their adventure from Denmark and the Netherlands to the West and East Indies. More than likely, he was referring to the commonly known White Vikings, but who’s to say Black Viking voyages didn’t include an excursion to the West Indies?
Speaking of which, Denmark (Copenhagen to be exact) was a destination where Nashid Al-Amin spent a few weeks during his tenure in the Army.
Al-Amin, the author of “True Myth: Black Vikings of the Middle Ages,” introduced a disconcerting-yet-heroic side of Black history that will leave a lasting impact, regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with his evidence-based research, and acknowledges or discredits his scholarship.
The premise of the book, as mentioned in the title, is the Viking being a dark-skinned or “black-skinned” as opposed to the White, blond, blue-eyed portrayals commonly promulgated through films, television and books.
“Why is it that encyclopedias assert the Vikings, or Norsemen, landed in parts of North America, yet the Vikings have never been credited with its discovery? Historians bestow this honor on Christopher Columbus, who ventured here five hundred years after the Vikings, having never set foot on the continent!,” says a review of Al-Amin’s controversial book.
“True Myth: Black Vikings of the Middle Ages takes the reader where he or she has never been before. We have always been told that Vikings, or Norsemen, were tall, blond, white and blue-eyes, an image that has been presented to us in books and films. Now comes a book that challenges this centuries-old assertion, presenting evidence that these vaunted warriors were not the people popular historians have told us they were.”
Based on the research of Al-Amin and other scholars, and the historical evidence suggesting Viking presence in the West Indies, it is safe to presume that Black Vikings may have inhabited, settled or occupied at least one part of the region.
This is the first of a possible two or three-part series. Follow the Northend Agents as we continue to unveil this interesting side of Black history and legacy for our readers. Thank you.
