Summer trading posts had been built in Markland in earlier years, but the first permeant settlers did not arrive until 1164. In the 14th Century, Vinland established an wealthy trading monopoly in the Great Lakes and in New England. References indicate that Vinlandic merchants made contact with the Tolecs and the Aztecs in 1359. It was struck by a the Bubonic Plague in 1362, losing one third of its population putting the Vinland Council into decline, with its population not recovering until 1420.