European colonization of the Americas began as early as the 10th - 11th century, when West Norse sailors explored and briefly settled limited areas on the shores of present-day Canada. These Vikings were Norwegians who had settled Iceland, discovered Greenland, then sailed up the Arctic region of North America alongside Greenland, and down alongside Canada to explore and settle. According to Icelandic Sagas, violent conflicts with the indigenous population ultimately made the Norse abandon those settlements.