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Who were the first sea- going sailors and what were early ships used for ?

Norse sailors, commonly known as the Vikings, became the first true sea- going adventurers, when they set out in their longships from the firods of Seandinavia and Denmark and began their invasions of England about AD 800. It is known that they crossed the Atlantic Ocean in their open boats to North America about AD 1000-500 years before Christopher Columbus !

Although in Ancient Times, from 4000 BC, the Egyptians, the Minoans (or Cretans), the Phoenicians and later the Greeks, used boats extensively for trading and warfare, it was really rather primitive sailing. They were not, in fact, true ocean voyagers as they were not, in fact, true ocean voyagers as they used to hug the coast. Having only the square sail, and therefore limited by being able to sail only before the wind, their sailing power was supplemented with a vast number of rowers or oarsmen, usually slaves. They also thought that if they moved too far away from the land they might fall off the edge- as they believed the earth was flat.

They were probably fearful too of the unknown power of the sea, perhaps half – believing their own horrific tales of sea monsters and supernatural beings – stories they aerated in order to keep knowledge of certain highly profitable trade routes secret from their competitors.

It was the Phoenicians living in the Eastern Mediterranean in about 1500 BC who greatly developed trade by sea with North Africa, Syria, Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes and other Greek Islands, as well as the Western Mediterranean. The Phoenicians were manufactures and they exported metal and especially tin, copper and silver. As money was not very widely used, most of the trading was done by direct exchange of goods for goods – called bartering.