At school they taught me that the discoverer of the American continent -logically for the Europeans, because the pre-Columbian peoples were already there- was Christopher Columbus in 1492 , but from those years to today -and it has already rained a lot-, many hypotheses have been emerging that debunk "my teachings" from school; not as a discoverer, with all that that implies (to explore and make known), but as the first non-native to set foot on the new continent. Some more solid, others more pilgrim, here I expose some of them and each one draw their own conclusions from it:
- Leif Eriksson the Fortunate , son of Erik the Red , was a Viking explorer who in the year 1003 left Greenland heading west. He managed to reach a land he called Viland , which due to its description and the remains found could be identified with Newfoundland . The following year he returned and his brother Thorvald took over. . He followed the same route and was the first to have contact with the natives.
- Zheng He He was a Chinese soldier, sailor and explorer, especially known for his naval expeditions, carried out between 1405 and 1433. During his travels he explored Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Ceylon, India, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa until the Mozambican channel. In 2006, following the discovery of a copy of an ancient map from 1418, it is claimed that Zheng also reached the American continent. Although the "Chinese tradition" already speaks of a Buddhist monk, Hui Shum , who in 485 was already preaching in the Yucatan peninsula. And to top it off, Guatemala owes its name to Gautama (Buddha is the title by which Siddhartha Gautama is known worldwide).
Zheng He map
- Abubakari II , mansa of the empire of Mali, was a king interested in maritime expeditions. In 1310 he sent one to the Atlantic of 400 ships, made up of soldiers and representatives of almost all the guilds, of which only one returned. This disaster did not discourage him from searching for him and he embarked on another one a year later reaching Central America. This would allow a rational explanation for the existence of traces of African civilization in Brazil, prior to the deportation of the slaves.
- Madog ab Owain Gwynedd He was, according to tradition, a Welsh prince who embarked in 1170 heading west, fleeing from the fratricidal violence of his country and reaching the American continent. He established a settlement in which he left more than 100 people, returning to his land. In 1190 he organized another expedition to continue exploring but upon arrival the settlement was devastated, being himself a victim of the indigenous.
- Hindu legends tell of Indian navigators reaching the continent 2,000 years before Columbus. Votan is named who lived among the Mayans, Sume in the area of Brazil...
Now, let everyone draw their own conclusions from it.