Who was first to discover America/?

Answer 1

According to Icelandic sagas written in the 12th and 13th centuries (but based on much earlier oral tradition), in about 985 Bjarni Herjolfsson, a Norse settler in Greenland, was blown off course and sighted a continent west of Greenland, but he did not go ashore. About 15 years later Leif Eriksson (son of Erik the Red) explored the new continent. For the next ten years a number of voyages were made from Greenland to the new land, which the Norsemen called "Vinland" because of the profusion of grapes that grew there.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/vinland.html
Vinland was the name given to a part of North America by the Icelandic Norseman Leifr Eiríksson, about the year (AD) 1000. In 1960 archaeological evidence of Norse settlement in North America was found at L'Anse aux Meadows on the island of Newfoundland, in what is recently now termed the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Although this proved conclusively the Viking's pre-Colombian discovery of North America, whether this exact site is the Vinland of the Norse accounts is still a subject of debate. It must be recognised that the Vikings did not perceive the exploration and settlement of Greenland and Vinland as any different from that of founding Iceland. It was merely an extension of their homeland, and notions of a different world only surfaced upon meeting the natives, noticeably different from Irish monks in Iceland.

There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings encountered North America before Christopher Columbus, although the continent was already inhabited for over 11,000 years by what are now called the First Nations people in Canada, or Native Americans in the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland

Answer 2

People will say Christopher Columbus. This is complete nonsense. Before Mr. Colummbus, Amerigo Vespucci discovered the continent. But then again, the Vikings were making day trips here a long long time before Vespucci. Then again, a bunch of Mongols crossed over from Asia way before them and were the first humans on the continent.

If you're talking about when did Europeans realize it existed, then it really goes back to the Vikings.

Answer 3

Well if you mean the North American continent, and not the United States of America, then the answer is the Asiatic nomads who migrated here across the beringia land bridge during the last ice age. (Beringia being a land bridge between Asia and Alaska.)

Next, were the vikings, led by Lief Erickson, who settles a small colony in Launx-au-meadows, Newfoundland, and are believed to have traveled as far south along the coast as Nova-Scotia, or New England. (To what they called "Vinland" or a land where grapes grow.)

Finally, after that was Christopher Columbus with his three ships, who landed in the Caribbean on his way to China, And finally John Cabbot (Giovanni Cabotto) who landed, once again, in Newfoundland. (Thus the capitol city, Saint John's.)

Answer 4

Probably no one knows for sure. Certainly there
had been discoveries before Columbus, and the
ancestors of the present native Americans were
presumably the first.

In addition to the pre-Columbus Vikings there may
well have been visits by the Chinese, who at one
time did a great deal of exploring by ship. Also the
Polynesians, who were highly skilled sailors long
before the Europeans, may have visited South
America. I have seen a list that included about a
dozen or more such "discoveries" over along
period of time.

Answer 5

Is almost sure that lot of person had been in america before Colombo (Cristoforo Colombo is the original name - Italian) BUT
doesnt Matter... They was not able to understand what they did
SO -- IS not important who was the first, but who was the first that was able to UNDERSTAND the meaning of the discovery he did
---
P.S. sorry about my english

Answer 6

well at this point nobody kow specificly but so far as much as history can go "The Indians" such as the CHEROKESS etc. But i no for sure it wasnt George bush's ancestors considering the fact that he says this is hes land and wants to kick immigrants out of this country and he is an immigrant to. just goes to show how stupid the goverment is turning

Answer 7

it extremely is ironic yet authentic that historic information are in many instances distorted and written to thrill the prevailing edge which might imply the edge that would dictate words to the author. it extremely is authentic of all wars in worldwide historic previous wherein the victor or the so referred to as civilized edge have been painted as angels and the vanquished or the different edge which did no longer have the capability to get their factors of view for the duration of have consistently been shown as barbarians or worse. the two aspects have dedicated crimes against humanity in equivalent way however the loser is tried and the victor is given a hero's welcome. for this reason if the indigenous anybody isn't credited with saving Columbus and his team from starvation and particular dying in the unusual land, it extremely is basically the techniques of the worldwide, we credit him for studying u.s. while he ought to have been demoted for undesirable navigation!!! those are the techniques of the worldwide and we ought to discover ways to settle for the 0.5 truths as acts of glory???????????

Answer 8

The people who lived here when the Vikings came!

Answer 9

technically native americans since they wer here first. but there is a theory that the norseman might have found a way here even before columbus or vespuci.

Answer 10

According to an inscription in Geez-- I believe that the inscription reads " Hanno son of Tommu." I stand to be corrected.

Boaz.