Poll: Who was the first European or Asian to 'discover' America?

Be advised that this is a public poll: other users can see the choice(s) you selected.

Results 1 to 30 of 57

Thread: Get in line, Columbus!

Threaded View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Get in line, Columbus!

    Yet again, it is being theorized that Christopher Columbus was not actually the 1st explorer sent by a developed nation in the Eastern Hemisphere to 'discover' the Americas. This time, it turns out, the Chinese claim their admiral, Zheng He (poor guy was a eunuch, what else to do with his free time?) sailed across the Pacific and discovered the Americas around 1418. Maybe I can find some magical potion to regrow 'em...

    Other explorers that have been offered as possibly 'beating Columbus to the Punch': St. Brendan (legend has it he sailed the North Atlantic in a currach, an ancient Irish leather canoe) and Leif Ericsson (sailing from Iceland in a drakkar). I believe Leif Ericsson could have (and did) make it to what's now NewFoundland, but I have a hard time imagining any leather canoe tough enough to make a trans-Atlantic voyage, AND be large enough for supplies. And of course, Thor Hyerdahl claims the Ancient Egyptians made it to Central America somewhere around 700B.C. Comments? Opinions? Fighting words? What dastard did the unthinkable and deserves to be flogged with a wet noodle for unleashing the horrors of the New World on the old?

    Sidenote: Italian Americans and other Columbus fans can always take comfort in the fact that Columbus was the first to establish any sort of permanent settlement here.
    Last edited by Don Corleone; 01-13-2006 at 20:11.
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO