How Did The Vikings First Attack On England
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The Vikings began their first attacks on England, located south-west to Scandinavia in the summer of AD 789, when three odd-looking longships from Hordaland (found in modern Norway), landed in the Isle of Portland in Dorset on the southern coast of Wessex (northern England). It was the first of its type recorded in the British Isles, including Ireland. They were mistaken for merchants by a royal official who called a reeve to meet. The Reeve of Dorchester went to greet the Vikings after they arrived to the shores of Wessex, welcoming Scandinavian merchants. He gave his instructions as he had authority and he ordered them to be sent to the King’s manor to pay a trading tax on their goods they were bringing to England. Instead, he was killed