Discovery of America by Columbus: history, facts, mysteries. Columbus, close America - we are tired of it Discovery of America: little-known facts

06.05.2022 Complications

When, on her last visit to Russia, journalist Megyn Kelly met with Putin and asked him the main question for Americans, whether Russia interfered in the last elections American President, I hoped that this “messenger dove” received an answer to her question and was at least a little able to understand the President of Russia and the mysterious Russian soul.

In my humble opinion, a whole year was enough for her to understand that Putin is sharply different from other world politicians with whom Kelly had and still has to communicate in her interviews. I still had a glimmer of hope that a rather sincere answer to her question, when VVP told a small piece from the history of besieged Leningrad, would make the meticulous and corrosive journalist at least a little understand that Russian foreign policy is fundamentally different from the policy of the United States: at least in that that Russia has been carrying out the mission of a peacemaker for many centuries, and the United States performs the function of the world gendarme.

However, apparently, Kelly did not have time to reflect on the interview with Putin, let alone draw basic conclusions. That is why the American “homing pigeon” flew in again to not only ask the same question that still haunts the minds of American politicians, but also to try to increase the effect of pressure on others additional question: “Will Russia hand over thirteen of its citizens who, according to the United States, “interfered” in the election of their President?”

Note that she, like most American politicians, does not need evidence of guilt, because the United States is accustomed to passing judgment or labeling without providing any serious evidence. However, we must pay tribute to Putin’s restraint, but this time he continues to patiently ask for evidence, primarily so that the world community, confused by unfounded accusations from American politicians and the media, does not lose touch with reality and does not forget that Such accusations require concrete evidence of guilt.

The second main question that American journalist Kelly couldn’t wait to ask was whether the Russian President was joking when he talked about new Russian weapons, because the American media and politicians reacted to Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly as if he was retelling the contents of “Star Wars.” Well, what can we take from her? Megyn Kelly is used to communicating with politicians of a different kind: those who are accustomed to bluff, indiscriminately label and accuse without any evidence. And her information war in relation to her own President Trump fueled her confidence that all world politicians lie and throw around words: apparently, she expected the same from the President of Russia - suddenly he would pull the red nose of a clown out of his pocket, shed streams of tears or In the end, will he split that he deceived the world community under the charm of a pretty blonde?

In an interview with NBC, the president once again confirmed that all of Russia's latest developments work great

So why did Putin’s words in his Address to the Federal Assembly, especially in the part where he presented new Russian weapons, cause such a shock among Americans? And why are they persistently trying to convince the world community that his speech was a complete bluff, and that Russia does not and cannot have such weapons?

Interesting position of ostriches, isn't it? Americans are like children: it seems to them that if they say out loud to themselves, and then to the whole world, that Putin is bluffing, they will create a different reality in which, instead of a Russia capable of defending itself, they will once again see the weak geopolitical player they dearly loved in the 90s and early 2000s.

On the one hand, everything is true: no one likes strong players, much less equal players, so for the EU and the USA the illusion of a weak Russia is much preferable. But now the question has arisen not about equality in the geopolitical arena, but about the fact that a niche has appeared in which Russia has surpassed everyone. This is what causes unbearable toothache in Americans!

For a quarter of a century, the United States called Russia a “gas station country,” but it broke away from its dependence on the price of a barrel of oil and began trading in arms again, regaining the niche that brought the USSR the lion’s share of income to the treasury:

At the same time, the head of state emphasized that in the field of military-technical cooperation Russia will never put commercial benefits above the interests of global security.

In other words, while our overseas “partners” predicted that Russia would be bled dry by sanctions, low oil prices and the suspension of construction of a gas pipeline to Europe, it managed to perform a real miracle: it got off the oil needle, finding two new niches that bring considerable income to its treasury - trade in grain and weapons.

This means that it has become much more difficult to manipulate Russia by playing on lower oil and gas prices. It is this moment that drives the US crazy: they didn’t have enough duct tape for us!

A strange paradox at first glance:

In order to start bombing Iraq and Libya, the Americans did not hesitate to bring a test tube with a dubious powder to the UN Security Council as proof that Hussein had biological weapons:

Everyone is really tired of America, most countries around the world are simply afraid of it, and this feeling is not even close to another feeling - respect.

It is precisely because of the vileness of the entire American foreign policy that all the exhortations to the United States from Russian diplomats and requests to stop terrorizing the countries of the Middle East, terrorizing Afghanistan, putting sanctions on Russia, while remaining on the sidelines, but forcing European businesses that suffer from these losses, sanctions are much stronger than Russia itself, until now they were like Sisyphean work: US politicians don’t hear us!

There are different ways to enforce peace: from reconciling words to threats of retaliatory strike. However, not every country can afford such an outright “bluff,” but Russia can now afford such a luxury. Moreover, if this doesn’t help, she can still feed bream, like back in 2008 in Georgia.

That is why I believe that the President of Russia, who was born in the USSR, said wise words, remembering how he was taught this in childhood: “Fifty years ago, Leningrad street taught me one rule: if a fight is unavoidable, you must strike first!”

But Hyena is not ready to enter into an open military confrontation with us: they can put pressure on us with sanctions, put obstacles in front of us in sports, wage an information war with us, even a hybrid one, but the United States will not be able to come face to face with us on the battlefield - they have little guts for this. They have been too relaxed over the past thirty years, because all their victories have been over weaker opponents, and this is what has gone to the head of the American Bull Terrier.

After the events in Georgia, there was a scandal on the American Fox News channel:

In the United States, an unexpected scandal occurred on the famous Fox News channel. A girl who visited the very epicenter of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and her aunt were invited to the live broadcast. Unexpectedly for the presenter, they voiced not the most common point of view on these events in the American media.

The presenter tried to quickly change the conversation, but the aunt joined the dialogue and shared her even more radical vision of the situation.

The presenter noted that “this is exactly what the Russians want” and concluded the program by acknowledging that there are “gray areas” in reporting on the war in South Ossetia.

“According to Putin, the way the American press and television behaved and behaved leaves no doubt that there is no question of any objectivity and openness in the United States in this area:

V.V. Putin:

- Let's remember how the interview went with the little girl and her aunt, who live in the United States and who witnessed the events in South Ossetia. How on one of the largest Fox News channels she was constantly interrupted by the presenter: as soon as he didn’t like what she was saying, he began to interrupt her, coughing, wheezing, creaking... All he had to do was shit his pants, but do it so expressively that they would shut up . That's the only thing he didn't do! But figuratively speaking, he was in exactly that state."

What can journalist Kelly convey to Americans? We are still talking to them on different languages: they take the truth for a lie, and our ability to stand up for ourselves as a bluff and carefully camouflaged weakness.

For some reason, during Putin’s interview with journalist Megyn Kelly, I remembered another of his interviews with CNN.

Once upon a time, our oppositionists took Putin’s phrase “She drowned” out of context in response to an American journalist’s question about what happened to the Kursk submarine: they ran around with this nonsense for many years all over the Internet and relished what the President of Russia said with a smile these terrible words. However, take a look at the entire video:

How and what should Putin have answered, looking into the eyes of an American journalist at the beginning of the 2000s, when Russia was essentially sawed up and sold under the hammer, and the previous traitor President practically turned it into a US colony? All the intelligence services in the world understood perfectly well who was to blame for the death of the submarine, and it was not possible to allow foreign rescuers in, because this is stated in the oath and order: we could not allow the boat to fall into the hands of foreign intelligence services. Moreover, in those years, any accusation of the sinking of a submarine would automatically mean a declaration of war, but could Russia, drained and weakened by Yeltsin’s rule in the 90s, afford such a luxury?

Therefore, Putin restrained his emotions and answered what he had to answer, despite the fact that this question caused great pain in his heart - it is written on his face, despite the fact that the President of Russia has the face of a poker player and practically does not show his emotions.

Do you know what the first thing came to my mind when Putin made that statement to the Federal Assembly and proudly announced that we can now stand up for ourselves? I remembered exactly this question about the submarine, and how he had to answer.

I believe that his happy face at the time of the report on modern Russian weapons, and the pride with which he said:

All promising military developments, as I have already said, are based on outstanding achievements that can, should and will in due time be used in high-tech civilian industries. But what I want to especially note is that such unique, highly complex weapons can be successfully developed and produced only by a state with the highest level of fundamental science and education, a powerful research, technological, industrial, and personnel base. And you see that Russia has all these resources.

and those new Russian weapons that the whole world has seen are a worthy response to the Americans for the Kursk submarine.

And his answer to Russian journalists not only dispelled the illusion in the United States and Europe that Putin is a liberal and does not regret the collapse of the USSR, but rather made them believe that he is creating a New and Strong Russia, which will be as strong and strong as it was his USSR:

Fly home, American homing pigeon, and tell your owners: if you don’t stop putting pressure on Russia, or are going to start a war with us through the hands of the same Ukrainians, for example, then we may die...

And what? Let's listen to the words of the Daily Express:

The Russian Embassy in the USA decided to expand the geography of the naming competition for the latest systems weapons and announced it on Twitter, writes the Daily Express. According to the publication, one of the social network users suggested naming the Russian cruise missile with a nuclear power plant in honor of Christopher Columbus, explaining: “He discovered America, and he will close it.”

Alexey Durnovo talks about how history would have changed if Columbus's famous voyage had not taken place.

Could this happen?

Easily. The idea of going to India through the west came to Columbus long before the Santa Maria, Niña and Pinta set sail. But the Genoese could not find a sponsor for such an expedition. Before Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile agreed to finance this project, Columbus managed to receive several refusals. He did not receive support in his native Genoa, he was almost ridiculed at the Portuguese court, and even in England his ideas did not find understanding. Henry VII Tudor, to whom Columbus presented his idea, was clearly not in the mood for overseas travel.

Columbus received many rejections before Spain supported him

Likewise, Ferdinand and Isabella initially considered Columbus’s proposal unpromising. They agreed to it only when the risk of losing the race for India to Portugal became too great. Yes, yes, if you didn't know it before, Columbus had to find a way to India. Even if the Spanish monarchs knew that far to the west lay a vast and almost uninhabited land, they would have been much less interested in it than in rich India and the prospect of taking possession of it.

If Columbus had been completely refused

Treaty of Tordesillas

Nothing would have changed in terms of the race for India, because Spain would have lost it anyway. Isabella, Ferdinand and Columbus, of course, managed to spend some time in captivity of dreams that they had overtaken the Portuguese, but by the fourth voyage of the Genoese it became clear that the land he had found was not India at all. For Columbus, this whole story turned out to be a complete collapse of hopes; he died without knowing what a great discovery he had made.

In 1494, Spain and Portugal divided the world into spheres of influence.

But the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 between Spain and Portugal could hardly have been signed. The powers agreed to divide the world along the so-called papal meridian: everything that was to the west went to Spain, everything to the east went to Portugal. The subject of the division would not have existed if Columbus had not reached America. The powers would have divided India and, most likely, would have waged bloody wars with each other there, giving local rulers a chance to strengthen their borders and repel the greedy Europeans.

What would happen to America?

Who knows if we would now call Magellan the discoverer of America?

It must be said that the idea of looking for ways to India in the West was not entirely revolutionary. And it would certainly have occurred to someone. Not Columbus, but another seeker of wealth and privilege. Let's say, the same Magellan, who managed to visit India during the Portuguese-Indian War. Magellan knew about the existence of the Spice Islands and, quite likely, even without Columbus’s discovery, he would have decided to go to them through the west, and not bypassing Africa. In any case, even if America had been discovered 30-40 years later, this would have been enough for the course of history to change greatly.

England, late to the division of new lands, quickly made up for lost time

Francis Drake destroyed the Invincible Armada. But who knows, maybe he would have commanded her if everything had turned out a little differently

In Europe at the end of the 15th century there were two maritime powers - Spain and Portugal. A hundred years later there were already four of them (plus England and the newly liberated Holland); by the beginning of the 17th century, France had already been drawn into the general game. Moreover, at the time of Columbus's voyage, Spain had both the time and resources to explore new territories. With the coming to power of Charles I, this goodness in the country diminished, for it plunged into a series of endless wars for European domination.

Imagine if Peruvians or Bolivians spoke English

Columbus's expedition opened Pandora's box: many other adventurers rushed to the west, their claims actively sponsored by the treasury. This would hardly have been possible in the middle of the 16th century, provided that America had not already been discovered. The conquest of Mexico by Cortez enriched not only the conquistador and his comrades, but also the Spanish treasury. Without the Aztec treasures, funds would have to be saved, and adventurers would be forced to seek their fortune in other courts. For example, in the same England.

If we assume that America would have been discovered by Magellan or someone else in the 10s or 20s of the 16th century, then not only the Spaniards, but also the Portuguese and the British would have rushed to the west. The text of a potential treaty on dividing the world into spheres of influence would be much more complicated, since it would have to be divided not into two, but into three. But these are still flowers. At the beginning of the 17th century, when England, Holland and France unanimously laid claims to the colonies that Spain considered its own, the three powers, by and large, presented a united front. They all needed to grab their piece of the giant pie that stretched from North Pole to the South. If England had managed to partition before this, the disposition would have been different. England and Spain would enter into a joint defense agreement (which was beneficial to them), and France and Holland would attack them. It is not at all a fact that they would have managed the Anglo-Spanish alliance. However, one can go further and assume that England in such a situation would become an ally of Spain in Thirty Years' War, and it is unlikely that then France and Sweden would have won such an easy victory over the Catholic League.

What would the world be like now

Imagine Peruvians or Colombians speaking English, Habsburgs rather than Bourbons sitting on the Spanish throne, Magellan or, say, Martin Frobisher as the discoverer of America. Or, for example, the United States, whose date of independence is closer to the middle of the 19th century and did not have time to gain economic power by the beginning of World War II. However, it is not at all a fact that it would exist at all. But we can say with confidence that in any case the states of the Aztecs and Incas would have been destroyed. Not Cortes and Pissarro, but some English or French colonists. When dividing up new lands, these states were clearly superfluous.

Alexey Durnovo talks about how history would have changed if Columbus's famous voyage had not taken place.

Could this happen?

Columbus

If Columbus had been completely refused

Treaty of Tordesillas

But the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 between Spain and Portugal could hardly have been signed. The powers agreed to divide the world along the so-called papal meridian: everything that was to the west went to Spain, everything that was to the east went to Portugal. The subject of the division would not have existed if Columbus had not reached America. The powers would have divided India and, most likely, would have waged bloody wars with each other there, giving local rulers a chance to strengthen their borders and repel the greedy Europeans.

What would happen to America?

Who knows if we would now call Magellan the discoverer of America?

Francis Drake destroyed the Invincible Armada. But who knows, maybe he would have commanded her if everything had turned out a little differently

If we assume that America would have been discovered by Magellan or someone else in the 10s or 20s of the 16th century, then not only the Spaniards, but also the Portuguese and the British would have rushed to the west. The text of a potential treaty on dividing the world into spheres of influence would be much more complicated, since it would have to be divided not into two, but into three. But these are still flowers. At the beginning of the 17th century, when England, Holland and France unanimously laid claims to the colonies that Spain considered its own, the three powers, by and large, presented a united front. They all needed to grab their piece of the giant pie that stretched from the North Pole to the South Pole. If England had managed to partition before this, the disposition would have been different. England and Spain would enter into a joint defense agreement (which was beneficial to them), and France and Holland would attack them. It is not at all a fact that they would have managed the Anglo-Spanish alliance. However, one can go further and assume that England in such a situation would have become an ally of Spain in the Thirty Years' War, and then it is unlikely that France and Sweden would have won such an easy victory over the Catholic League.

What would the world be like now

Imagine Peruvians or Colombians speaking English, Habsburgs rather than Bourbons sitting on the Spanish throne, Magellan or, say, Martin Frobisher as the discoverer of America. Or, for example, the United States, whose date of independence is closer to the middle of the 19th century and did not have time to gain economic power by the beginning of World War II. However, it is not at all a fact that it would exist at all. But we can say with confidence that in any case the states of the Aztecs and Incas would have been destroyed. Not Cortes and Pissarro, but some English or French colonists. When dividing up new lands, these states were clearly superfluous.

The navigator Christopher Columbus is considered the discoverer of America throughout the world. But in this regard, two questions may arise. Firstly, can you be considered the discoverer of something that you haven’t even swum to? And secondly, should we make a hero out of a person who did not fulfill his original plan? In addition, according to some data, America - its continental part - was discovered approximately 500 years before the birth of Columbus...

Have you ever thought about why a seemingly great discovery today has become a proverb and carries not only a negative, but some very mocking meaning? Surely each of us at least once in our lives grinned: they say, he discovered America for me too... At this moment we are not thinking about Columbus at all, are we? We think that before us stands a man who has long been presenting well-known facts as something that will make a revolution in the brightest minds of our time. And we laugh quietly at him. He allegedly discovered America...

Some scientists joke that Christopher Columbus was greeted in much the same way in his homeland by some educated Spaniards, who knew that parts of the American continent were discovered by the Scandinavians 500 years before the birth of Columbus. And even this is not the only controversial hypothesis now! Scientists managed to find Chinese maps from 1421, on which... both North and South America were already drawn. So the list of those to whom you can say “thank you” for the discovery is growing every day.

Don't throw stones!

Nobody claims to be the ultimate truth. All over the world, Christopher Columbus is considered the discoverer of America, and it is unlikely that the Americans themselves will decide to celebrate their country’s birthday on another day. And period.

However, in the history of Columbus and America - both together and separately - there are more questions than answers. And for completely objective reasons, we are not looking for answers - this is not in our power! We are just providing a list of questions here. Perhaps someone will find it interesting.

Question one: what and how did Columbus discover?

Columbus never wanted to be the discoverer of anything. Setting off on his famous voyage, he tried to find a short route to India, from where he could bring spices. In those days they were worth their weight in gold. The first expeditions in which Columbus participated as a minor (in the 1470s) were entirely trade expeditions, and there was no sign of any discoveries.

In 1492, Columbus set off on his first expedition to the shores of India. The ships plied the Atlantic Ocean for two months: Columbus, based on calculations, decided that it was most convenient to sail through the Canary Islands to Japan, and from there to India. True, after two months of the expedition, when the Canary island of La Gomera was long behind him, Columbus suspected that something was wrong. Deciding that they had simply “overtaken” Japan, he ordered the team to change course, and within a week they saw land. But this, of course, was not Japan.

On October 13, 1492, Columbus's team landed on the island, later named San Salvador. The island's natives pronounced the name Guanahani. Today it is one of the Bahamas. Taking several natives as guides (or rather, capturing them), Columbus and his crew moved south, landing on a variety of islands, and gradually sailed to Cuba. Very soon the team turned back. Columbus decided that he had already discovered some of the environs of India, and he clearly did not have enough funds for further voyage. Again, it should be noted that Columbus’s expedition was of a commercial nature: the discovered islands turned out to be so poor that they simply did not interest the traveler. Instead of gold there was tobacco, instead of spices there was cotton and maize, and the natives did not look like rich people. Therefore, Columbus went home to report on the discovery of the sea route and collect ships for new expeditions, through “Western India” to its richest eastern parts.

The questions start here. Columbus openly admitted that he falsified the logbook entries. “I walked nineteen leagues in one day, but decided to consider the distance traveled less than the actual distance,” he wrote in his logbook dated September 9, 1492. How much less? For what purpose did he decide this? There is no answer to these questions.

By the way, there are no logbooks themselves either. There are restored and edited copies, the authorship of which belongs to the Spanish priest Bartolomé de Las Casas. If not for his work, we would not even know where and when Columbus sailed. But now, on the other hand, we don’t know which of what is written in the “magazine” is true, which is Columbus’s imagination, and which is the figment of Las Casas’ imagination. By the way, it should be noted that Bartolomé de Las Casas fiercely defended the rights of Native Americans and was horrified by the atrocities committed by European conquerors. Therefore, he could approach the editing of “flight magazines”, to put it mildly, biasedly.

The issue with Guanahani has also not been completely resolved to this day. Agree, when it comes to the discovery of a specific country, posing the question “maybe this one, or maybe that other one” smacks of unprofessionalism of scientists much more than a firm answer with some reservations. So it was decided that Columbus discovered San Salvador in the Bahamas and that in those days it was called Guanahani. The problem is that already in 1530, not a single indigenous inhabitant remained on the island, so no one could check not only the correct spelling of this ancient name, but also the very fact of its existence. Some believe that Columbus invented the name, and emphasize that it is quite difficult to determine which of the Caribbean dialects this strange “Guanahani” may refer to.

Finally, judging by the descriptions, Columbus could have discovered any of the Bahamas. Let us remember that in the “flight log” he seemed to deliberately cover up the traces of his trip so that no one would know where he really was. Today, the right to be the first discovered island in the Bahamas off San Salvador is being contested by: Samana Key, Plana Keys and Grand Turk. There are also 5 more islands, but we will not list them - these are the least likely candidates for victory.

No matter how hard scientists try, the answer still cannot be found. There are plenty of excuses! The ocean currents in those places were oh so strong... Magnetic compasses in those distant times, oh how they fooled travelers... The helmsmen, after all, were also people and also sometimes lost attention due to great fatigue... And the lights that Columbus noticed on the night of 12 October 1492, they definitely could not have been in San Salvador: judging by the entries in the “journal”, the ship was 35 miles away from it. Although how can one judge anything based on such a “magazine”!..

However, scientists can be understood. They, in the end, must analyze the data that is confirmed by at least something, and on the basis of this analysis either draw final conclusions or reason about newly emerging questions. They are talking! Trying to understand what was in Columbus's head is practically useless. And putting forward abstract theories is also not the business of science. If scientists now decided that Columbus simply lied, the world would think that the scientific community had given up.

But we are not a scientific community, so we boldly share with you one more assumption: Columbus managed to deceive the whole world. By and large, traveling across the Atlantic Ocean for ships built in the 15th century seems not only very difficult, but practically impossible. By the way, one of the ships was eventually lost - the Santa Maria did not return home. Columbus wrote in his “magazine” that a fort was founded at the site of her wreck. There is no fort and there never was - at least, its remains could not be found, although Columbus allegedly left 39 sailors and supplies there for a year. The remains of the ship were also not recovered from the bottom. The question arises naturally: are they even there?

Let us remind you once again: the journey was a trade one. Consequently, the ships were also trading ships. But they are not designed to wander around the ocean for two months with virtually no stops and fight currents, storms and calms. In tropical waters there is the concept of “calm stripes” - areas of the ocean with such a weak current (or no current at all) that ships get stuck in them like in a swamp. Subsequently, ships much more advanced than Columbus's avoided these areas a mile away, just in case there was a fireman. Columbus knew nothing about them. Therefore, he walked straight through them. And passed?..

On the way he met and described the natives. Each time they turned out to resemble someone, most often - the Canarians. The inhabitants of the Bahamas were presented to them as “well-built, with beautiful bodies and faces.” In fact, only the Lucayan aborigines themselves considered them beautiful: they artificially flattened the heads of all newborns, since a flattened forehead was for them the standard of beauty.

Based on all this, and also from the ship's logs mysteriously burned during the riot, some scientists timidly make the assumption that Columbus and his crew did not sail far beyond Homera. At least for the first time. Columbus definitely visited the Canary Islands. And right after them, most likely, he fell into a “calm zone” and, under pressure from the team, was forced to turn back. He didn’t know how to get around it then. That’s when the idea was born to invent fabulous voyages, and openly lie in ship’s logs about travel times, distances traveled, and island coordinates. Columbus understood perfectly well: if he returned with nothing, he could give up on future expeditions. The end of glory, the end of the possible search for wealth... But he had already even received from the Spanish crown the right to become the master of all open lands!

By the way, in those distant times, when the American continent had not yet been discovered, the Earth was considered much smaller than it actually is. Then Ptolemy’s “Geography” was translated, in which the undoubtedly great scientist mistakenly almost doubles the area of Asia and halves the area of the ocean. Columbus planned his entire expedition based on Ptolemy's map. And what’s strange is that I found “Western India” exactly where Ptolemy assumed its presence!

And the fact that in the end there really was land there is only for the better for science and for life in general, right? The reports (or tales - decide for yourself) of Columbus pushed the sailors to a whole series of exciting journeys, as a result of which, by the way, the same America and a lot of other lands were once again discovered.

In 1498, Vasco da Gama, having habitually set out from Portugal to the east, finally reached India and brought from there spices, descriptions of the aborigines, and detailed maps. He called Columbus a deceiver, and Spain, which supplied Columbus with money for expeditions, was made a fool. True, the navigator was later acquitted and continued to search for a route to India through new lands - he even almost approached the shores of Central America... but in the end he never approached. Soon Amerigo Vespucci visited Brazil and suggested that the open lands had nothing to do with India. For his ingenuity, the new continent was named after him.

Question two: where did the Scandinavians sail to?

In 982, the great Viking Erik the Red, sentenced to exile in his native Iceland for murdering a man, sailed west and soon came across a land that would later be called Greenland. When his sentence ended, he returned home, but not for long. Having recruited a crew of faithful people, he again sailed to Greenland.

Whether he was in North American lands, history is silent, although some believe that it was he, and not Columbus, who for the first time in history tried what real Indian tobacco was like. But his son, born in Greenland, Leif Eriksson the Happy, has definitely been to those parts. As you can see, this happened 500 years before the discoveries of Columbus.

Around the year 1000, Leif Eriksson the Happy and 35 of his companions set off from the coast of Greenland to the west. Along the way, they discovered the lands of Helluland, Markland and Vinland, which are today known as Labrador, Baffin Island and Newfoundland. However, the warlike Scandinavian could not find a common language with the aborigines, so the founded settlements were soon collapsed.

The history of those distant years is reflected in Scandinavian literature. “The Saga of Eric the Red” and “The Saga of the Greenlanders” tell us that this discovery, like many others, happened by accident. Trader Bjarni Herjulfsson's ships were caught in a strong storm on the way to Greenland, and he was simply thrown ashore on the shores of America. However, the merchant, first of all, tried to correct the course - he was of little interest in discoveries. Having sailed to Greenland, he sold both his ships and all the onboard records to the son of Eric the Red, Leif the Happy, who set off on a journey along a new route and named the land that appeared to him Vinland for its rich vineyards.

In 1960, explorers discovered the settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Today it is an archaeological site that proves that European settlements existed on the shores of North America back in the 11th century.

And even that's not all! Archaeological finds suggest that these same Vikings also went to the middle part of America. In 1898, an American farmer found a stone supposedly inscribed with Scandinavian runes associated with travel and discovery. True, around this time world history I felt a certain reverence for the Scandinavian culture (in other words, the Scandinavians were in fashion). In addition, the farmer himself was “from there” - with roots in Sweden. Therefore, the authenticity of the find, which was called the Kensington Runestone, has not been confirmed. However, the debate has continued for more than a hundred years.

Question three: when did China discover America?

The Chinese have their own national heroes, about whom we Europeans are very poorly aware. One of them is Admiral, the great naval commander Zheng He from the Ming Dynasty. It’s difficult to even make a list of the countries he visited with his team, especially since different sources give different information. If we compare them, the number of lands he visited will be 56.

Well, it will be, so what?

And the fact is that in 1763 the Chinese created a map that accidentally ended up in the collection of Chinese businessman Liu Gang, our compatriot. This is not the original, but a copy of an older map dated 1418. This map shows the round earth and all the continents. Note - everything, including the two Americas. Moreover, scientists note that the edges of the continents are drawn with amazing accuracy.

The authenticity of the card has not yet been confirmed by European historians. Of course: if this happens, it will turn out that the Chinese admiral discovered the Northern and South America, North and South Poles, and also made the first trip around the world in history.

By the way, James Cook, who examined the coast of North America in 1778, discovered things of Chinese origin among the Indians. Even the tribal chest ornaments turned out to be melted down from Chinese bronze coins. True, this has already been proven by modern expertise.

Afterword: and Columbus again?..

And just as we wanted to wrap things up nicely, another fact from a series of unconfirmed, but very interesting facts suddenly surfaced. Some scientists who are fans of Columbus's version of the discovery of America claim that he actually landed there for the first time, but not in 1492, but in 1485, 7 years earlier. Allegedly, this is evidenced by Turkish maps, on which in place of America it is written: “These lands were discovered by an infidel from Genoa in 890 of the Arab era.” The inscription requires easy deciphering: 890 Arab Era - 1485 AD, and the infidel from Genoa may be Christopher Columbus. Officially, Genoa is considered his small homeland, although today this honorary title is disputed by Italy and Spain.

The mystery surrounding this journey is due to the fact that it was personally organized by Pope Innocent VIII, and Columbus's goal was to search for gold to finance the Crusades. There is one evidence of this - mysterious and full of poetry. On the tomb of Innocent VIII the tombstone reads: “The Glory of the Discovery of the New World.” But the Pope died in July 1492, when America had not yet been officially discovered...

There are clearly more questions than answers. And this, you see, is much more interesting than clear and precise answers to any questions! Perhaps it is much more difficult for modern travelers to find an island that has not yet been found by a faceless satellite. But they have the opportunity to correct the mistakes of scientists from the past and who knows - maybe even rewrite the history of great discoveries!