Viking Age
By the 9th century, a strong central authority was established in Jutland, and the Danes were looking beyond their own territory for land, trade and plunder. Norway had been settled over many centuries by Germanic peoples from Denmark and Sweden who made farming and fishing communities around its coasts and lakes. The mountains and fjords formed strong natural boundaries. The communities remained independent of each other, unlike the situation in Denmark which is lowland. By the year 800, there were 30 small kingdoms in Norway. The sea was the easiest way of communicating between these Norwegian kingdoms and the outside world. In the eighth century Scandinavians began to build war ships and send them on raids. The Viking longships were capable of travel on the open seas but also had a very shallow draft, meaning they could sail into shallower bays and farther up rivers than other ships of their time. This led to the term Viking, which came from the Old Norse word vīk (meaning inlet or bay). A person who went on raids was said to go "viking".