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Did an Irish Monk 'Discover' America?
- Apocryphon 6y agoProbably not, but this stuff is fascinating: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian_trans-oceanic_contact_theories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian_trans-oceanic_co...
- teilo 6y agoWell, there's the Duhare: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/irish-colony-south-carolina-christopher-columbus https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/irish-colony-sout...
- Apocryphon 6y agoSorry, even if true there was also a different bunch of Celts around: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoc#Welsh_Indians https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoc#Welsh_Indians
- selimthegrim 6y agoEven more fascinating: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_metel#Compelling_evidence_for_pre-Columbian_introduction_from_the_Americas_to_India_and_Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_metel#Compelling_eviden...
- throw0101a 6y agoFor a good run-down of the various folks that may (or may not) have crossed the Atlantic, see Simon Winchester's book Atlantic (ISBN13: 9780061702587): * http://www.simonwinchester.com/atlantic http://www.simonwinchester.com/atlantic * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Winchester https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Winchester
- Apocryphon 6y agoFor a more crackpot work, there's Boland's They all discovered America https://archive.org/details/theyalldiscovere00bola https://archive.org/details/theyalldiscovere00bola https://www.amazon.com/discovered-America-Charles-Michael-Boland/dp/B0007E9DMU https://www.amazon.com/discovered-America-Charles-Michael-Bo...
- WarOnPrivacy 6y agoWhat's odd about this conversation is that it's fairly undisputed that Far East Asian natives discovered America and settled it.
- bpodgursky 6y agoIt was 16,000+ years ago, so calling them "Far East Asian naives" kinda undersells that the natives at the time were a completely different group than the ones we think of as current East Asian natives.
- barneygale 6y agoThere's some evidence (linguistic and otherwise [1]) that the Ket people [2] of Siberia are a remnant of the peoples that populated the Americas. 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M0QnAqQUmw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M0QnAqQUmw 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ket_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ket_people
- konjin 6y agoThere is evidence for trans Beringian trade and population mixing well into the 15th century: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-blue-beads-european-artifact-north-america-old-180976966/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-blue-beads-eu...
- WarOnPrivacy 6y ago> calling them "Far East Asian naives" kinda undersells Fine. Far Northeastern Asian Upper Paleolithic Hunter Gatherers then.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- EdwardDiego 6y agoI do recommend Tim Severin's book on his recreation of the alleged voyage, firstly for their attempts to use period correct construction techniques, and also how the boat itself handled in the Atlantic. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1088116.The_Brendan_Voyage https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1088116.The_Brendan_Voya...
- bmc7505 6y agoIf you get a chance, the leather currach which Tim Severin built and sailed across the Atlantic is now on display and can be visited at the Irish Heritage Museum at Craggaunowen, Co. Clare. It's a remarkable vessel and hard to imagine a monk from the 5th century climbing aboard one and sailing across the Atlantic, although stranger things have happened.
- jfengel 6y agoMakes ya wonder how many monks climbed aboard such boats and failed to cross the Atlantic.
- willhslade 6y agoEspecially since they did this in the 80s, the leather boat punctured, and they had to repair it while emptying the boat in frigid waters. Good times.
- swagtricker 6y agoYou mean, like a Brother Shamus?
- mamon 6y agoDepends on your definition of "discovery". Christopher Columbus's trip to America changed the course of history. Any previous visits by the lost at sea sailors are not important.
- babelfish 6y agoReally, America was first "discovered" by the indigenous folks who lived here before any European
- mamon 6y agoAnd what of significance did they accomplish? Learnt how to build tents? Got proficient at making human sacrifices? Built a few pyramids? As i said, the real history of America started when Europeans came in.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- AlotOfReading 6y agoYou can dismiss any region by ignoring everything they've accomplished. If you absolutely insist on silly "comparative metrics" though, many areas of the pre-columbian Americas were home to incredibly advanced agricultural civilizations whose productivity far exceeded that of their European contemporaries. This isn't a useful perspective for academic work, but maybe it'll help you come to grips.
- saalweachter 6y ago4 of the 10 major food staples were domesticated by the pre-Columbian New World.
- willhslade 6y agoBuddy, Cahokia may have had as many people as London. Disease ravaged the Native American population and estimates are that 90% died. History doesn’t start with European arrival.
- marshmallow_12 6y agois this where tolkien got his inspiration for silmarillion? There too, earendil took a quest to find the lost paradise West over the ocean succeeding after many tribulations
- JdeBP 6y agoAccording to Tolkien scholars: in part, yes. c.f. The Voyage of Earendel the Evening Star and The Notion Club Papers.
- 65a 6y agoHe wrote one of his best poems about St. Brendan: https://englewoodreview.org/poem-the-death-of-st-brendan-j-r-r-tolkien/ https://englewoodreview.org/poem-the-death-of-st-brendan-j-r...
- ngcc_hk 6y agoLuckily not chinese otherwise USA may be in trouble. So far only claim Mexico.
- Grustaf 6y agoThere's a Donald Duck cartoon by Carl Barks called The Golden Helmet that deals with the discovery of America by the Vikings, and then Don Rosa made a follow up that brings up the Celtic theory, among others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Helmet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Helmet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Charts_of_Columbus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Charts_of_Columbus