Answer:They were the first to pioneer trade routes down the Volga and the Dnepr; they opened the routes to Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire; they traded with the Franks and the Baltic; and they even opened up the routes to the far east.The exact reasons for Vikings venturing out from their homeland are uncertain; some have suggested it was due to overpopulation of their homeland, but the earliest Vikings were looking for riches, not land.The Vikings originated from the area that became modern-day Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. They settled in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Iceland, Greenland, North America, and parts of the European mainland, among other places.
