Do inclusive institutions promote long-run development? In this paper, I use the Viking settlements in medieval England to explore the economic consequences of an early transition to inclusive institutions. The Viking settlements in medieval England originated from the Danish conquest of eastern England in 886. With the conquest followed several waves of Viking immigration to the new Danish territory in England. Most Viking settlers were given the right of freemen, a position that ensured political independence from the feudal lords and exclusive property rights over their own farmland. These new institutions laid the foundation for long-run development because they created incentives to work, save and invest. Using a measure of Viking settlements and detailed data on over 16.000 medieval manors, I document an economic legacy of the Viking settlements on various measures of development in 1086 and provide evidence for my proposed mechanism.