What Is the Name of the Only American City From Which One Can Travel Due South to Reach Canada?

Public Historian and co-author of "Exploring American Girlhood in l Celebrated Treasures" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021).

Answering the question "Who discovered America offset?" will be a continuous struggle. History is never certain. While we can know dates and names and events, we can never be certain when a "first" happened. This is because archaeology is continually revealing new evidence on our origins and historical events.

For a very long time, everyone assumed that Columbus had commencement discovered America. Yet in recent years, the very term "discovery" has come under fire. In that location were people in America before Columbus. More than chiefly, there are ancient texts that refer to diverse explorers who reached America from Europe (and maybe Red china) before Columbus.

So who actually discovered America? To respond this question, we need to go dorsum in time...

Christopher Columbus...or someone else?

ColumbusNavigation.com

In 1492...

Columbus sailed the body of water blue. In the year 1492 Advert, Columbus "discovered" America. Well, not really. He really bumped into a giant land mass that had been visited by Europeans (and possibly others) before. It also happened to be inhabited, at the fourth dimension, past anywhere from ii million to 112 million people. The population estimates are still nether debate by scholars, such as Henry Dobyns and Douglas Ubelaker. All the same, what is certain is that Columbus - and all the fabled tellings of his "discovery" - was non the first time to set human foot on the soil of the Americas.

Were Africans first?

There is some evidence of African contact in pre-Columbian civilizations. In United mexican states, stone head portraits of basalt on the eastern declension comport a striking resemblance to African peoples. Arab sources from the eighth century also item contact betwixt Africans and the Americas.

Additionally, Portuguese sources speak of migrations from West Africa between 1311 and 1460 CE. These sources tell united states that Africans (and most likely Arabs as well, who inhabited the northwestern portions of Africa every bit well) had sailed to Haiti, Panama, and mayhap Brazil. Columbus, after his first contact, encountered the Arawaks who told him of obtaining guanine spear points from black traders that came from the south and east. Captain Balboa provided further evidence in his business relationship of natives who had blackness slaves.

Sailing to Vinland

Ah, the Vikings. Fabled seamen and storytellers. In the Nordic sagas, the Vikings accept recounted the tale of Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson (son of Erik the Red) who sailed to a country chosen "Vinland." Little credit had been given to the reality of this story until archaeological discoveries started yielding surprising information.

In 1362, the Kensington Stone was inscribed, referring to an expedition of Norweigens and Goths who reached southwestern Minnesota in 1362. The stone was discovered in 1898 by a Swedish-America farmer nigh Kensington, Minnesota. Scholars initially labeled this stone equally a fraud, but research done past H. R. Holad in 1907 showed that the inscription could exist from the 1300s based upon its word forms and numerals. This bear witness was farther corroborated when an business relationship dating to 1355 past a king of Sweden/Norway referred to a western settlement ("Vest Bygd") in Greenland that helped colonists in Vinland.

The Kensington Rock

Ohio State University

Other accounts - notably of Gudrid, constitute in The Far Traveler - also mention Vinland. Gudrid, as a side note, is thought to be the commencement European woman to take a baby in America.

The sagas refer to Leif Eriksson making landfall in Vinland as early as g CE and his father, Erik the Blood-red, making landfall near 984 CE. They refer to Native Americans as "Skraelings" in the sagas. Well-nigh of these come up from Nordic folklore, but many other aspects of their folklore have been proven true in recent decades. Is it plausible that the Vikings could have reached America? Yes, their ships were fully capable of such a voyage.

But is at that place hard evidence? Actually, yes. A Viking-era settlement, bearing hitting resemblances to Viking settlements in Scandinavian countries, was found at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1960. Since and so, digs at the site have revealed over 300 years of sporadic contact between the Vikings and Native American peoples, concentrated primarily in the Canadian Chill. A good series of manufactures, with artifacts, tin can exist found at this Smithsonian website, further detailing what may have occurred at the settlements.

Irish Monks and Behemothic Sea Turtles

The Vikings, unfortunately, were not first.

St. Brendan, an Irish gaelic monk, claimed in his writings to have institute "enchanted islands" far out in the Atlantic around 400 CE. Nearly legends merits that St. Brendan traveled beyond the Atlantic on the dorsum of a sea turtle, but ancient descriptions claim that he traveled in a tiny currach (a traditional Irish boat of wood and leather). One reason St. Brendan rose to popularity was due to the account of his travels in the 9th century The Voyage of St. Brendan, a Latin book full of fantastic tales near his journey.

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No hard show of his visit has been found, though it is plausible that ship engineering science of the fourth dimension might have reached Nordic settlements on Republic of iceland or Greenland. This was tested in 1976 past historian Tim Severin, who built a traditional currach named Brendan and attempted to sail to Due north America from Republic of ireland. Severin was successful.

Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that St. Brendan'due south tale is true. Information technology is more plausible that the accounts of St. Brendan reflect stories of visits to the Americas, since these stories were written down centuries after they had occurred (and likely had been passed downwards orally, and thus may accept been elaborated with each retelling). Still, St. Brendan's story did take a direct effect on the search for America: his tale was used by Christopher Columbus as a reference to support his exclamation that lands were reachable across the Atlantic.

Cleopatra and the Chinese

In 600 BCE, there is the possibility that Phoenicians or Egyptians may have visited the Americas. In that location is speculation that Egyptian engineering could have travelled every bit far the Canary Islands (off the coast of Espana) or Republic of ireland, though information technology has been untested (to date) equally to whether their engineering could accept reached the Americas. Yet, Negroid and Caucasoid likenesses in sculpture and ceramics of the Americas, besides as some accounts in Arab history, suggest that contact may have occurred.

Additionally, in 1000 BCE, it is thought that the Chinese may have reached Central America. The evidence is of fairly depression quality. However, some Chinese legends and cultural similarities exist between Native Americans and the Chinese. No hard prove has been found, to date. (Additionally, prove has been found that the Chinese may take reached America in 1421 CE - 70 years before Columbus.)

Map of potential migration routes into America.

Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

Walking on Thin Ice

Yet, if we are asking who truly "discovered" America - the showtime person to set foot on the soil of any of the American continents - and then nosotros must venture into prehistory. In the Pleistocene era, the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets formed a narrow corridor and land bridge between Russia and what is now Alaska.

Then far, archaeological evidence suggests that the first people - who would become the "get-go Americans" - walked this state bridge and through the corridor into N America. Traveling south, these peoples would take encountered northern deciduous forests of oak, hickory, and beech lining what is now the Gulf Coast. These migrations took place over long periods of fourth dimension, as the ice sheets opened and closed the corridor.

But who were these people? Most likely, they were groups from Asia. In order to observe out, paleoanthropologists utilise many unlike methods: language, dental records, and mitochondrial DNA testing. There are some debates between these methods, revealing that the "showtime Americas" near likely spoke languages of the Amerind family, had dental records that matched those of Southwest Asians (the Sundadont family), simply whose mitochondrial DNA had very dissimilar characteristics than those of modern Asians (suggesting that the "split" between modernistic Asians and Native Americans occurred at least 21,000 years ago).

What we do know for sure, however, is that later on the ice sheets melted and the Water ice Age came to an end, those who had migrated to the Americas - whether by human foot or, possibly, past boat - became relatively isolated from developments in the rest of the earth. This isolation resulted in a loss of immunity to diseases, which would come back to haunt the natives when Europe came calling.

Tiffany Isselhardt (author) from United states on August 24, 2019:

Thank you lot, bong!

bell on Baronial 23, 2019:

I idea that this was a very interesting website

Barbara Jones on Apr 13, 2019:

Americus vespicus and columbus were twins

Shakeel Christ on March 31, 2019:

Nosotros know another Name Amerigo vespucci whose Discover America . Kindly tell me who kickoff discovered America Amerigo or Columbus?

cooper on September 24, 2018:

thank you very much.

Tiffany Isselhardt (author) from United states on September 24, 2018:

Hi Cooper, this information was from a variety of sources, including textbooks, lecture notes from undergraduate courses that I took, and inquiry into the topic. I particularly recommend The Far Traveler by Nancy Dark-brown, works of Gavin Menzies, The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin, and In the Hands of the Smashing Spirit by Jake Page. (I personally love Jake Page'south work and recommend all of what he has written - he is slap-up on American prehistory!)

Cooper on September 24, 2018:

where, sorry

Cooper on September 24, 2018:

were did y'all get this information from?

Tiffany Isselhardt (author) from Usa on September xi, 2018:

Hi Edwar! So glad to hear this article helped. Best wishes for your studies!

Edwar on September 02, 2018:

I LOVE HISTORY! Thank you for the help yous gave me an A+ on my examination!

mark on January 14, 2018:

Columbus was certainly not the first to discover America. Vikings were definitely at that place early 11th century as well Polynesians were in Hawaii in quaternary century so why is Columbus credited for discovering America. Chinese might have at that place also they tin can prove if they were but they can prove they were not besides Irish gaelic writings on a cave prove that these writing are over a thousand years old.

Bob Allen on December 19, 2017:

Just Columbus matters in the discovery of America considering but he reported it in a meaningful way.

Errorsans115 on October 08, 2017:

hi, this stuff looks really great!!

mossabezzat on March 28, 2017:

Neat article

Tiffany Isselhardt (author) from USA on November 06, 2013:

@Derp - Cheers! I'k glad the data was so helpful! I promise to teach academy courses 1 day, so knowing that how I'm writing and presenting information is helping students at present is great feedback!

Derp on November 04, 2013:

Thanks Hub!

I wanted to thank you for the data that y'all gave to me excellent piece of work on the way you put as of data for me and without I wouldn't have got an A+ on my Social Studies Study! I will go here more than often now that I have constitute a site that has given me the correct answers and details to make it easy for me to explain what I have researched. If you guys are reading this now, This site is #1 to go to at a last minute project, Thanks Hub!

Derp on Nov 04, 2013:

I believe that the Indians Perhaps found America starting time, I don't actually know though.... I have a Social Studies Consignment on this and I oasis't even started! AHHH! Aid me please everyone :P

dereon puryear on November 10, 2012:

This was a very advisory text and the vidoes and pictures helped me understand it fifty-fifty more than.

Tiffany Isselhardt (author) from United states on October 31, 2012:

@caitlin newsome -- this is the beauty of history. We never know the full answer. So there is no "one" answer to who discovered America, because it's all most who really got to the continent commencement (and hence, we will never have a proper noun/face for the Bering Strait travelers). This hub is meant more to testify that Columbus wasn't the kickoff, and history knows it, because there are all these wonderful clues in history that point to lots of "discoveries" of America over a long period of time.

caitlin newsome on October 23, 2012:

I want to know who discovered america outset

anna141 from India on July 23, 2012:

Such a interesting article......

Kitty Fields from Summerland on July 23, 2012:

Very intriguing! Loved this article. I've always been 1 to root for the Natives..they were actually the first, subsequently all. And from what I've heard, Columbus wasn't that nice of a dude anyhow...raping and pillaging? Those ii words take away "explorer" to me. Thanks and voted up!

wba108@yahoo.com from upstate, NY on June 07, 2012:

My theory is that near discoveries occur because there is an economic or armed forces advantages associated with information technology. Columbus discovered America because he wanted a shortest road from which to merchandise with the far e. Megellan had much the aforementioned profit motive equally Columbus.

The Chinese really didn't need to try to find a short cut to Europe because they had the almost sought after goods in their own land so they were content to stay put. The Chinese had hands downwards the about advanced society in their region wheras the Europeans were forced to compete with many other similar nation states in order to survive. This is why the Europeans were in a desperate race to go a leg upwardly on new trade routes and their monarchs were willing to risk much to accomplish their goals.

Its really surprising the viking were able to reach America because their culture was fairly primative other than their weaponry.

I've never heard that Arab sources from the eighth century

wrote near contact betwixt Africa and the Americas.

Island Tropical on March 27, 2012:

you know people, information technology is me who ask this question simply information technology is her that get all the glory :)

Paul Swendson on March 24, 2012:

I imagine that as time passes and new information comes to light, the textbooks of the time to come, when addressing this topic, will be very different from those today.

Instead of describing Columbus equally the discoverer of America, information technology is all-time to think of him equally the human being who introduced Europeans of the tardily 15th century to the "New World." And this introduction of the Old World to The New would ultimately transform the entire planet. So whether he is referred to equally a discoverer or not, he is nevertheless 1 of the nearly of import historical figures of the last 500 years.

Rebecca Mealey from Northeastern Georgia, USA on March 24, 2012:

This has some fascinating information. The possibility of and so much action on what we thought was the last frontier. Cleopatra in America! She might have discovered Hollywood! LOL!

Theresa Ast from Atlanta, Georgia on March 24, 2012:

Hi Southern Muse - just read this hub again, and it is simply every bit adept every bit it was the first fourth dimension I read information technology. Well written, very interesting, and total of lots of information about a variety of visitors and discoverers. Well done. SHARING

Tiffany Isselhardt (author) from U.s.a. on March 07, 2012:

Cheers! I tried to plow on the link, and then hopefully it is working now! I'm always happy to meet new colleagues in the field. Our passion is such a wonderful starting point for collaborations and friendships, and it certainly makes for interesting discussions!

Tiffany Isselhardt (author) from United states of america on March 07, 2012:

@phdast7 - Thanks for letting me know most that, I had forgotten! Hopefully the east-postal service link is working now. I'm ever happy to appoint in conversations with fellow historians - passion is such a wonderful thing!

For everyone else, thank you then much for your lovely comments. I'm always happy to provide interesting and informative hubs for the public, and promise to continue to do so every bit my own knowledge base develops! :)

Island Tropical on March 06, 2012:

you got lots of readers, this is indeed a peachy topic to write about...

shea duane from new jersey on March 05, 2012:

Fantastic hub!

Micheal from United Kingdom on March 05, 2012:

What an interesting summing upwards of the various groups that have visited America. The Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl, sailed beyond the Pacific in a gunkhole based on an Arab republic of egypt design, made from reeds.

It is possible that the Egyptians made it to America, 5,000 years ago too. Nifty hub voted up and interesting.

John Sarkis from Winter Haven, FL on March 05, 2012:

Great hub. It's betwixt Erickson and Columbus, and so I've been told. Furthermore, I don't like the term "discovered," as there were people living here already.

Enjoyed your hub and gave it "thumbs up"

John

Theresa Ast from Atlanta, Georgia on March 04, 2012:

Excellent Hub. Very interesting and informative.

Your Dwelling house Page does non have the connection, for someone to send you an email. HP sends it and your electronic mail address is non revealed unless you choose to respond. I am a fellow historian and would love to discuss a couple of problems with you. It is washed confidentially through the HP servers; no one tin contact you directly.

James Kenny from Birmingham, England on March 04, 2012:

A very interesting and informative hub. The part about St. Brendan and his sighting of enchanted islands was particularly fascinating. I wonder what those showtime Native Americans thought when they encountered the American Megafauna, probably thought they'd entered the Garden of Eden.

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Source: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Who-Discovered-America

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