The history of the discovery of America briefly. Who is the discoverer of America. Lands discovered by Christopher Columbus

America is a part of the world whose official discovery is attributed to Columbus, but its history is full of dark spots.

The modern United States plays a key role in political strife and has a serious influence on other countries and the world economy. But the path to such a high level was long and thorny. It all started with the discovery of America.

Christopher Columbus was a Spanish navigator who discovered two new continents for Europeans. He made 4 expeditions, each sent by kings, hoping to find a short trade route with India.

The first expedition consisted of three ships with a total complement of 91 people. She ended up on the island of San Salvador on October 12, 1492.

The second expedition, consisting of 17 ships and 1,500 people, lasted from 1493 to 1496. During this time, Columbus discovered Dominica, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and about 20 more Lesser Antilles. In June, he already reported to the government about his amazing findings.

The third expedition, which included 6 ships, set off in 1498, and two years later returned to their native shores. Several more lands were discovered, including Trinidad, Margarita, the Araya and Paria peninsulas.

The last expedition, sailing in 1502, included 4 ships. Within two years, the islands of Martinique, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica were discovered. Columbus was wrecked near Jamaica, and help arrived only a year later. The travelers arrived in their native Castile in November 1504.

Date when America was discovered - Vikings in 1000

Erik the Red was known as a great Viking. His son, Leif Erikson, was the first to set foot on American soil. After spending the winter in its vastness, Erickson and his expedition returned to Greenland. This happened around the year 1000.

Two years later, brother Torvald Erikson, the second son of Erik the Red, founded his settlement on the territory discovered by his brother. Less than a month later, his men were attacked by local Indians, killing Thorvald and forcing the others to return home.

Subsequently, Erik the Red's daughter Freydis and his daughter-in-law Gudrid also tried to conquer new spaces. The latter even managed to trade with the Indians, offering various goods. But the Viking settlement was never able to survive in America for more than 10 years, despite constant attempts.

When did Amerigo Vespucci discover America?

Amerigo Vespucci, after whom, according to some historians, the continents are named, first visited the New World as a navigator. The route of Alonso de Ojeda's expedition was chosen using a map created by Christopher Columbus. Along with him, Amerigo Vespucci took about a hundred slaves who were indigenous to America.

Vespucci visited the new territory twice more - in 1501-1502 and from 1503 to 1504. If the Spaniard Christopher wanted to stock up on gold, then the Florentine Amerigo wanted to discover as many new lands as possible in order to gain fame and preserve his name in history.

What does Wikipedia say about the dates of the discovery of America?

The famous Wikipedia talks about the discovery of the American continents in unprecedented detail. In the vastness of the world encyclopedia you can find information about all the expeditions to the New World, about each of the possible discoverers, and the further history of the Indians.

Wikipedia names the date of the discovery of America as October 12, 1492, speaking about Christopher Columbus.

It was he who managed not only to discover new territories, but to capture them on his map. Amerigo Vespucci was able to provide Europeans with a more complete picture of what the continents look like. Although his “complete” map was significantly different from the modern one.

In what year after the discovery did the settlement of America begin?

The settlement of American soil began many thousands of years before its official discovery. It is believed that the ancestors of the Indians were the Eskimos, Inuits, and Aleuts. The Vikings, as you know, also tried to take over the territories of the New World. But they failed - the indigenous people protected it too zealously.

After the discoveries of Columbus and Vespucci, almost 50 years passed before the first European settlements appeared.

In the American city of St. Augustine, the first small settlement of Spaniards was organized in 1565.

In 1585, the first British colony of Roanoke was created, which was destroyed by the Indians. The next attempt by the British was a colony in Virginia, which appeared in 1607.

And finally, the first colony in New England was the settlement located in Plymouth in 1620. This year is recognized as the official date of colonization of the New World.

Possible discoverers before Christopher Columbus

There are many people on the list of possible discoverers. Historians cannot find reliable facts about this, but there are sources indicating that the information is still correct.

Among the hypothetical discoverers it is worth highlighting:

• Phoenicians - 370 BC;
• ancient Egyptians;
• Hui Shen, who was a Buddhist monk who made the first, as it turned out, trip around the world - 5th century;
• Irish monk Brendan, who followed in the footsteps of Shen - 6th century;
• Malay Sultan Abubakar II - 1330;
• Chinese explorer Zheng He - 1420;
• Portuguese Joao Corterial - 1471.

These people had pure intentions, did not seek fame and gold, and therefore did not tell the general public about their discovery. They were not trying to bring evidence or enslave Native Americans. Perhaps that is why their names are not familiar to most contemporaries, and the more cruel and greedy Christopher Columbus is indicated as the discoverer of the new land.

The fate of the Native Americans

The story of the discovery of America is presented in modern history as a joyful event that laid the foundation for a new nation of “emigrants.” But it also became a nightmare for many Indians, who had to endure unspeakable horrors created by the conquerors.

The Spaniards killed several thousand native Americans and took several hundred into slavery. They made fun of the Indians and killed them with extreme cruelty, not even sparing babies. The “Whites” who arrived on the new lands sprinkled them with blood, reducing the joyful discovery to a bloody massacre.

One of those who observed the fate of the Indians, the priest Bartolome de Las Casas, who arrived with Columbus, tried to protect the Indians, even went to the Spanish court in the hope of their pardon. As a result, the court decided whether it was worth calling the Indians people at all, whether they had a soul.

The negative attitude is explained by the fact that Columbus left his crew to look after the New World and went home. When he returned, he saw all his people dead. As it turned out, the Spaniards became impudent, beating the men and raping the women of the tribe, as well as killing the rebellious. The Indians, who initially considered the “whites” to be gods, quickly realized how things were and began to defend themselves. This is what led to further tragic incidents.

In any case, the discovery of America- a worthy event, which today is considered one of the loudest in the history of civilization.

The purpose of the educational material is to familiarize schoolchildren with the history of the discovery and exploration of the North American continent. Provide comprehensive information about the researchers who made scientific contributions, whose names are known to everyone. Determine the role of Russian researchers in this issue.

Who discovered North America?

Christopher Columbus is officially recognized as the explorer who discovered America.

Rice. 1. Christopher Columbus

Every second Monday in October, Columbus Day is celebrated at the state level in the United States.

But long before Columbus’s first voyage, and there were four of them in total, the Vikings, the descendants of the current inhabitants of Norway, had already become familiar with the territory of the mainland. By the end of the 10th century, the northern peoples carried out an attempt to establish a settlement in Greenland.

The Normans then had no idea that they had become discoverers of new lands. But due to the harsh conditions in which the geographical discovery was made, the success of experienced navigators did not have a stunning effect.

Rice. 2. Vikings on a drakar

Active colonization of the mainland began only after the voyages of Columbus, who later became the discoverer of America.

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Then came the notoriously brutal Spanish colonization, which marked the beginning of the desire of other European countries to gain rights to the resource-rich lands.

Canada began to exist in the middle of the 16th century. It owes its appearance on the world map to English travelers. Among them:

• John Davis;
• Henry Hudson;
• Robert Bylot;
• William Baffin;
• Alexander Mackenzie.

The achievement of Russian navigators of the mid-18th century was also significant in the study and development of the western shores of North America.

History of discovery and exploration of North America

The expedition, led by Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov, explored the coast of the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula. Previously unknown islands and the Pacific coast of the mainland were discovered and described.

There are cases when new territories and transport routes were named after explorers. Vitus Bering was no exception and the sea and the strait were named after him. The natural passage represents a visible symbol of the strength of the border between the United States of America and the Russian Federation.

Rice. 3. V. Bering

The first Russian settlements in North America were founded by Grigory Shelikhov.

North American explorers of Russian origin made a historical and geographical contribution to the development and study of new territories. Thanks to the scientific research activities of the pioneers, the northwestern part of the continent began to belong to Russia and was subsequently called Russian America. But then the Russian Empire did not have sufficient opportunities to develop distant lands. Many geographical objects and discoveries bear the names of the people who revealed them to the world.

1867 is known as the period when the Russian Empire sold Alaska to the United States.

What have we learned?

From the article we learned who became the involuntary discoverer of the continent. Why was the discovery not known? It was possible to find out that in addition to the craving for the unknown, people were also driven by a thirst for profit through the enslavement of indigenous people in the occupied territories. The rich contribution of Russian navigators and scientists in the study and development of distant lands is assessed. A fact has been discovered indicating the presence of Russian settlements in North America, and who was their founder. The reason why Alaska was transferred to the possession of the United States has been revealed.

Columbus discovered America

The year when this Spanish navigator discovered a new land is indicated in history as 1492. And by the beginning of the eighteenth century, all other areas of North America, for example, Alaska and the regions of the Pacific coast, had already been discovered and explored. It must be said that travelers from Russia also made an important contribution to the exploration of the mainland.

Development

The history of the discovery of North America is quite interesting: it can even be called accidental. At the end of the fifteenth century, a Spanish navigator and his expedition reached the shores of North America. At the same time, he mistakenly believed that he was in India. From this moment begins the countdown of the era when America was discovered and its exploration and exploration began. But some researchers consider this date inaccurate, arguing that the discovery of a new continent occurred much earlier.

The year Columbus discovered America - 1492 - is not an exact date. It turns out that the Spanish navigator had predecessors, and more than one. In the middle of the tenth century, the Normans arrived here after they discovered Greenland. True, they failed to colonize these new lands, since they were repelled by the harsh weather conditions of the north of this continent. In addition, the Normans were also frightened by the remoteness of the new continent from Europe.

According to other sources, this continent was discovered by ancient sailors - the Phoenicians. Some sources call the middle of the first millennium AD the time when America was discovered, and the Chinese as the pioneers. However, this version also does not have clear evidence.

The most reliable information is considered to be about the time when the Vikings discovered America. At the end of the tenth century, the Normans Bjarni Herjulfson and Leif Eriksson found Helluland - “stone”, Markland - “forest” and Vinland - “vineyards” of land, which contemporaries identify with the Labrador Peninsula.

There is evidence that even before Columbus, in the fifteenth century, the northern continent was reached by Bristol and Biscay fishermen, who called it the island of Brazil. However, the time periods of these expeditions cannot be called the milestone in history when America was truly discovered, that is, it was identified as a new continent.

Columbus - a true discoverer

And yet, when answering the question of what year America was discovered, experts most often name the fifteenth century, or rather its end. And Columbus is considered the first to do this. The time when America was discovered coincided in history with the period when Europeans began to spread ideas about the round shape of the Earth and the possibility of reaching India or China along the western route, that is, through the Atlantic Ocean. It was believed that this path was much shorter than the eastern one. Therefore, given the Portuguese monopoly on control of the South Atlantic, obtained by the Treaty of Alcázovaz in 1479, Spain, always striving to gain direct contacts with eastern countries, warmly supported the westward expedition of the Genoese navigator Columbus.

Honor of opening

Christopher Columbus was interested in geography, geometry and astronomy from an early age. From a young age, he took part in sea expeditions and visited almost all the then known oceans. Columbus was married to the daughter of a Portuguese sailor, from whom he received many geographical maps and notes from the time of Henry the Navigator. The future discoverer carefully studied them. His plans were to find a sea route to India, but not bypassing Africa, but directly across the Atlantic. Like some scientists - his contemporaries, Columbus believed that, having gone west from Europe, it would be possible to reach the Asian eastern shores - those places where India and China are located. At the same time, he did not even suspect that on the way he would meet an entire continent, hitherto unknown to Europeans. But it happened. And from this time the history of the discovery of America began.

First expedition

For the first time, Columbus's ships sailed from Palos harbor on August 3, 1492. There were three of them. The expedition proceeded quite calmly to the Canary Islands: this section of the journey was already known to the sailors. But very soon they found themselves in a vast ocean. Gradually the sailors began to become despondent and begin to grumble. But Columbus managed to pacify the rebellious, maintaining hope in them. Soon signs began to appear - harbingers of the proximity of land: unknown birds flew in, tree branches floated up. Finally, after six weeks of sailing, lights appeared at night, and when dawn broke, a green, picturesque island, all covered with vegetation, opened before the sailors. Columbus, having landed on shore, declared this land to be the possession of the Spanish crown. The island was named San Salvador, that is, the Savior. It was one of the small pieces of land included in the Bahamas or Lucayan archipelago.

The land where there is gold

The natives are peaceful and good-natured savages. Noticing the greed of those who sailed for the gold jewelry that hung in the noses and ears of the aborigines, they told with signs that in the south there was a land literally abounding in gold. And Columbus moved on. In the same year, he discovered Cuba, which, although he mistook it for the mainland, or rather, the eastern coast of Asia, he also declared it a Spanish colony. From here the expedition, turning east, landed in Haiti. Moreover, along the entire route the Spaniards met savages who not only willingly exchanged their gold jewelry for simple glass beads and other trinkets, but also constantly pointed to the southern direction when asked about this precious metal. Which Columbus named Hispaniola, or Little Spain, he built a small fortress.

Return

When the ships landed in Palos harbor, all the inhabitants came ashore to greet them with honors. Columbus and Ferdinand and Isabella received him very graciously. The news of the discovery of the New World spread very quickly, and those who wanted to go there with the discoverer gathered just as quickly. At that time, Europeans had no idea what kind of America Christopher Columbus discovered.

Second trip

The history of the discovery of North America, which began in 1492, continued. From September 1493 to June 1496, the second expedition of the Genoese navigator took place. As a result, the Virgin and Windward Islands were discovered, including Antigua, Dominica, Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher, as well as Puerto Rico and Jamaica. The Spaniards firmly settled in the lands of Haiti, making them their base and building the fortress of San Domingo in its southeastern part. In 1497, the British entered into competition with them, also trying to find northwestern routes to Asia. For example, the Genoese Cabot, under the English flag, discovered the island of Newfoundland and, according to some reports, came very close to the North American coast: the peninsulas of Labrador and Nova Scotia. Thus, the British began to lay the foundation for their dominance in the North American region.

Third and fourth expeditions

It began in May 1498 and ended in November 1500. As a result, the mouth of the Orinoco was also opened. In August 1498, Columbus landed on the coast already on the Paria Peninsula, and in 1499 the Spaniards reached the shores of Guiana and Venezuela, after which - Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon. And during the last - fourth - journey from May 1502 to November 1504, Columbus discovered Central America. His ships sailed along the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua, reaching from Costa Rica and Panama all the way to the Gulf of Darien.

New continent

In the same year, another navigator, whose expeditions took place under the Portuguese flag, also explored the Brazilian coast. Having reached Cape Cananea, he put forward the hypothesis that the lands that Columbus discovered were not China, or even India, but a completely new continent. This idea was confirmed after the first trip around the world by F. Magellan. However, contrary to logic, the name America was assigned to the new continent - on behalf of Vespucci.

True, there is some reason to believe that the new continent was named in honor of the Bristol philanthropist Richard America from England, who financed the second transatlantic voyage in 1497, and Amerigo Vespucci after that took a nickname in honor of the continent named so. To prove this theory, researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the shores of Labrador two years earlier, and therefore became the officially registered first European to set foot on American soil.

In the mid-sixteenth century, Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, reached the shores of Canada, giving the territory its modern name.

Other contenders

The exploration of the continent of North America was continued by such navigators as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Baffin. It was thanks to their research that the continent was studied right up to the Pacific coast.

However, history knows many other names of sailors who landed on American soil even before Columbus. These are Hui Shen, a Thai monk who visited this region in the fifth century, Abubakar, the Sultan of Mali, who sailed to the American coast in the fourteenth century, the Earl of Orkney de Saint-Clair, the Chinese explorer Zhee He, the Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.

But, in spite of everything, Christopher Columbus is the person whose discoveries had an unconditional impact on the entire history of mankind.

Fifteen years after the time when America was discovered by the ships of this navigator, the very first geographical map of the continent was compiled. Its author was Martin Waldseemüller. Today it, being the property of the United States, is stored in Washington.

The lands were the most common: the founding of cities, the discovery of deposits of gold and wealth. In the 15th century, navigation was actively developing, and expeditions were set up in search of the unexplored continent. What was on the continent before the arrival of Europeans, when Columbus discovered America, and under what circumstances did this happen?

The story of the great discovery

By the 15th century, European states had a high level of development. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, searching for additional sources of profit to replenish the treasury. New colonies were formed.

Before the discovery, tribes lived on the continent. The natives were distinguished by their friendly character, which was favorable for the rapid development of the territory.

Christopher Columbus, while still a teenager, discovered the hobby of cartography. A Spanish navigator once learned from the astronomer and geographer Toscanelli that if he sailed westward, he could reach India much faster. It was 1470. And the idea came just in time, since Columbus was looking for another route that would allow him to reach India in a short time. He assumed that it was necessary to build a route through the Canary Islands.

In 1475, the Spaniard organized an expedition, the purpose of which was to find a quick route by sea to India across the Atlantic Ocean. He reported this to the government with a request to support his idea, but received no help. The second time Columbus wrote to King João II of Portugal, however, he was also rejected. He then turned again to the Spanish government. Several commission meetings were held on this issue, which lasted for years. The final positive decision on financing was made after the victory of Spanish troops in the city of Granada, liberated from Arab occupation.

If a new route to India was discovered, Columbus was promised not only wealth, but also a noble title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of the lands he would discover. Since Spanish ships were prohibited from entering the waters on the west coast of Africa, this step was beneficial for the government in order to conclude a direct trade agreement with India.

In what year did Columbus discover America?

Officially, the year of the discovery of America in history is recognized as 1942. Having discovered undeveloped lands, Columbus did not imagine that he had discovered a continent that would be called the “New World”. In what year the Spaniards discovered America can be said tentatively, since a total of four campaigns were undertaken. Each time the navigator found new lands, believing that this was the territory of Western India.

Columbus began to think that he was following the wrong route after Vasco de Gama's expedition. The traveler arrived in India and returned in a short time with rich goods, accusing Christopher of deception.

It later turned out that Columbus discovered the islands and continental parts of North and South America.

Which traveler discovered America earlier?

It is not entirely true to say that Columbus became the discoverer of America. Before this, the Scandinavians landed on the lands: in 1000 - Leif Eriksson and in 1008 - Thorfinn Karlsefni. This is evidenced by the historical records “The Saga of the Greenlanders” and “The Saga of Eric the Red”. There is other information about travel to the “New World”. Traveler Abu Bakr II, a resident of the Celestial Empire Zheng He and a nobleman from Scotland Henry Sinclair arrived from Mali to America.

There is historical evidence indicating that in the 10th century the New World was visited by the Normans after the discovery of Greenland. However, they were unable to develop the territories due to severe weather conditions unsuitable for agriculture. In addition, the journey from Europe was very long.

Visits to the mainland by the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.

We all know that America was discovered by Columbus. On September 12, Americans at the state level celebrate America's Discovery Day or Columbus Day. On this day in 1492, the Spanish navigator and his expedition first landed on the North American coast (today it is the island of San Salvador, located in the Bahamas archipelago).

In the last few decades, not only assumptions have been made, but also various facts have been presented that refute the information known to everyone about the discovery of America by Columbus. Among the discoverers, researchers see several candidates and believe that the discovery of the new “promised land” occurred several centuries before Columbus.

So who discovered America first ?

Candidates for the Discovery of America

Sailing to the West across the Atlantic, Columbus was sure that he had discovered a new route to India and China, so he did not even think about discovering new lands. However, according to some accounts, he traversed the path that others had navigated long before his birth.

Fantastic versions

There are several different versions regarding the discoverers of American lands, some of which can be considered more fantastic.

It is believed that:

1. America was discovered by the Atlanteans, who, after the destruction of Atlantis, moved to the American continent.
2. The first ancient Americans were the inhabitants of the mysterious land of Mu.
3. The ancestors of the American Indians came from the “seven tribes of Israel,” i.e. had Jewish roots.

Plausible theories

It is possible that there are other unusual versions that seem crazy at first glance, but in such assumptions, according to scientists, there is a grain of truth. According to the existing theory of the settlement of the American continent, the first settlers sailed to these lands on ice floes through the Bering Strait.

Vikings

Scientists studying the discovery of America claim that the first travelers who repeatedly visited American lands over several centuries were the Vikings. To support their theory, scientists cite Scandinavian folk sagas and legends, which tell about fearless travelers and their sea voyages, as well as archaeological excavations carried out on American lands at the site of ancient Viking settlements.

One of these Scandinavian travelers was the Greenlandic ruler and navigator Leif Erikson the Happy. According to some sources, it was he who visited the American continent five hundred years before Columbus. How did Leif know that there were more lands beyond the Atlantic Ocean? Around the end of the first millennium (980-990), Leif heard from his compatriot Bjani Herjulfsson that there was a beautiful land shape covered in fog across the ocean. The fearless Scandinavian was haunted by the idea of ​​finding these lands, so he set out in search of them, conquering the northern seething waters of the Atlantic.

On the way to the shores of America, the Vikings discovered and mapped new lands - “Markland” (modern Labrador Island), “Vinland” (possibly Newfoundland Island) and “Hellulange” (presumably Baffin Island). Having discovered them, the Vikings founded settlements here, receiving severe rebuff from the indigenous inhabitants of the American coast and abandoning the idea of ​​​​settling on new lands.

Ancient peoples

Despite folk legends about the sea voyages of Leif the Happy, he is also not the actual discoverer of America. Then who discovered America first ? After all, according to legend, Leif learned about distant lands from other sailors. Consequently, before him, someone had already successfully visited the new continent and was able to return safely.

The peoples of Polynesia have legends about the visit of America by Aboriginal Polynesians.

In addition, it is believed that the Chukchi also visited American lands, establishing a trade channel and exchanging whalebone and furs with the inhabitants of the coastal regions of North America. It is this version that is beyond doubt among researchers, because there is archaeological evidence, which, unfortunately, has not yet been possible to date. However, it is also impossible to establish who was the first to undertake the first journey.

Egyptians, Romans, Africans, Chinese and other ancient peoples

When exploring the issue of the discovery of America, supporters of various versions provide unreliable and sometimes false information about the visit of the New World by ancient peoples - the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Phoenicians. Some adherents of such theories, including famous navigators Thor Heyerdahl and Tim Severin, are confident that the discoverers of America were Africans and Chinese. They base their assumptions on the similarities in the cultures of distant ethnic groups, such as the Greeks and Aztecs. In addition, the architectural similarities of the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids, the presence of maize in West Africa, as well as figurines depicting people of African appearance that were found among the American Indians are compared. All these arguments suggest that representatives of the ancient civilizations of the Old World could visit America.

False discoveries

Such fantastic versions can be cited endlessly. True fantasy who discovered America first , begins with the legend that the first Europeans in America were not Vikings.

According to legend, the first Europeans to set foot on the American coast were the Irish, more specifically the seafaring monk Saint Brendan of Clonfert. Hoping to find the biblical Eden across the sea, around 530 he sailed west in search of Paradise, outfitting a ship. According to legend, Brendan managed to reach a certain Island of the Blessed, which quite fit the description of the coast of America. Returning to Europe, the monk talks in detail about this land. No one can reliably say whether the island was American soil, but in the mid-70s. of the last century, the British traveler, writer and scientist Tim Severin followed his path, who crossed the Atlantic on a wooden Scandinavian boat (currach) covered with bull skin, proving that theoretically the monk’s journey could have taken place. The only thing that stops researchers from recognizing the discovery of America by the Irish is the long period of time during which the legend could be embellished beyond recognition with fictitious “facts.”

According to another version, America was discovered in 1390 by wealthy Venetian aristocrats Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, whose descendants published a small book about the discovery of some islands. Having learned about the existence of fertile lands to the west, the Zeno brothers, together with the Earl of Orkney, Henry Sinclair, went in search of them. Having reached an unknown coast (presumably Estotiland or the modern island of Newfoundland), the travelers founded a settlement there. Despite the details of the description of the trip, from which you can learn about battles with local islanders and cannibals from the island. Drodge, there is no archaeological evidence of the presence of the Venetians in America yet. Otherwise, the “palm of championship” would go to them.

In addition to the Europeans, the Malians also want to be “enlisted” as the discoverers of America. According to one version, in 1312, the Sultan of the Empire of Mali Abu Bakr, having equipped an expedition, went west in search of “land beyond the ocean”, found America and stayed there, because. he never returned from his journey. However, archaeologists do not confirm this version.

There is a statement in ancient Chinese writings that the Chinese visited American lands long before the travel of the Irish monk Brendan. In 499, the Buddhist monk Hu Shen described his journey to the amazing and beautiful country of Fusang, which, according to his calculations, was located about 10 thousand km east of China. His notes describe in detail the political system, nature and customs of an unknown country, but these descriptions are more suitable for descriptions of medieval Japan.

Who discovered America first?

Historically, it was Christopher Columbus who discovered America first. Why, having reliable archaeological finds and historical facts, do historians not recognize other discoverers, without giving their travels serious significance? Precisely because these expeditions did not result in the conquest and colonization of American lands, as the Spaniards did. After all, before them, all the travelers did not establish their dominance, or did not consider these lands a continuation of their own lands, like the Chukchi.

It’s just that America has always been open to everyone, and anyone could open it, even without knowing that they were opening new lands. Only the Spaniards were the first to announce their discovery worldwide, making American lands their colonies. That’s why Americans celebrate America’s Discovery Day exactly when Christopher Columbus discovered it and don’t look for an answer to the question “ Who discovered America first ?. After all, whoever did this, it was thanks to Columbus that the Old World learned that there was a new free world, where settlers from Europe rushed. And to this day this worldwide emigration does not stop, and the “promised land” continues to attract everyone, promising freedom, new life and prosperity.