Is it true that Christopher Columbus never discover America?

Question

If true, why is it that Americans celebrate a Day In his honor?

Answer 1

My people had inhabited the Americas for thousands of years before Christopher "slave trader" Columbus accidentally landed
here.
I think I will drive to Atlanta, and claim that I have "discovered" it.


;-0

Answer 2

The Vikings (under an expedition led by Erik the Red) were the first to land in North America, setting up an establishment in what is today Newfoundland, Canada. The site has been excavated by archeologists, but for some reason the Vikings only stayed a couple of years and then left again.

Christopher Columbus discovered the Carribean in 1492, which is actually still a part of North America. He did not, however, actually discover the mainland. Samuel DeChamplain and John Cabot were the first to do that (not including the Newfoundland Vikings).

Answer 3

If we include the whole of America, he was the last true finder. It was the theory and the idea that it was possible that we can celebrate. It was his seamanship that made it do able. Many did the trip before him. Good chance the Chinese made it here and they wrote about it too.(minimal evidence here) The Vikings as well, with lots of good evidence for the specifics. Sagas cover the literary end. Maybe the Scots and Irish and the Welsh. There is more evidence for the Scots, but some as well for the others. But who did not discover it are the Amerinds. They walked here from Siberia, never knew they left and went anywhere else. There was no "voyage of discovery." Only a very small group of hunter gatherers who kept walking west, avoiding the ice and following the game. And almost anyone who goes west from Europe, with a lot of food, a good ship (ship technology is key), good sailors and leaves at the right time of year will run into it, Its kind of hard to avoid.

Answer 4

First of all, there's the word "discover." Obviously, he couldn't discover the Americas; they had already been inhabited for at least 15,000 years. Besides, Norse sailors had already visited North America centuries earlier. As to your question about "bumping into" the Americas, that's definitely an accurate way of putting it. Columbus' goal when he sailed from Spain was to prove that east Asia could be reached by a westward sea route, which would free Europe from dependence on the long and dangerous overland routes over which trade with Asia was carried out. The popular belief that he knew the earth was a sphere when everyone else thought it was flat is false. Any educated person in Europe knew that the earth was a sphere. That had been part of the Western world's knowledge since the ancient Greeks figured it out almost 2,000 years earlier. In fact, one Greek genius (Eratosthenes) had even made a remarkably accurate calculation of the earth's size. Columbus, however, used someone else's less accurate calculations, which is why he had such a hard time finding backers for his voyage — there was disagreement about the size of the earth and the size of the known continents (Europe, Africa, Asia). Columbus thought the earth was much smaller than it actually is, and that the continents were much larger. Therefore, he thought that the westward distance from Europe to Asia would be about half of what it actually is. The consensus of Columbus' doubters — using estimates that were much closer to the true measurements — was that the ocean distance was too far, and that no ship would survive the long trip to Asia. On the facts, they were right, but what no one knew was that there was a giant mass of land in the middle of that ocean path. Somehow, Columbus managed to convince Spain to back his voyage, and he got lucky. If the Americas hadn't been there, he and his crew would most likely have disappeared at sea (as it was, they barely survived the trip). And it's worth noting that, even after making three subsequent voyages, Columbus went to his grave believing that he had reached southern Asia. That is why we still have the rather silly habit of referring to the indigenous peoples of the Americas as "Indians." That's where he thought he was. I always refer to Columbus as history's greatest example of dumb luck.

Answer 5

He discovered the North American Contenent but not the United States.

It is believed that people from Greenland and Iceland came here a thousand years before Columbus.

Also, an Italian named Americus took the credit for having discovered North America and he got the money and profit from it and we thus have the name America. Our very name is a lie of course because Americus never even came here but he got Columbus' notes, wrote the story, took the credit, the money and the fame. Plagerism of the worst kind and we named our part of the world for a liar and thief. Interesting...and typical. Its as if the mafia existed in the 1400's...

Columbus actually did the travel and the map making but much later than the Vikings. Columbus just never capitalized on his findings.

Of course when we say "DISCOVER" we mean when White people finally realized the world wasn't flat...other nationalties knew it long before Europeans did as there were already people living here...most likely of Asian descent.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and perhaps I'm wrong and I'm open for correction but I think that what I have said is fact.

Answer 6

Lewis & Clark Found evidence that the Chinese had been crossing the ocean for centuries to trade with the coastal Indians. In Canada there is an ancient viking settlement in Newfoundland called L'Anse aux meadows. Columbus was the first one to exploit and enslave the native peoples. I read an article a few years ago where Columbus was put on "trial" for his crimes against humanity and sentenced to death. it was of course a mock trial but it illustrated what a cruel evil man Columbus was. Why Americans celebrate slavery and abuse is beyond me. Maybe just a reason to take a day off work?

Answer 7

According to the history I had in school a viking Lief Erickson discovered America. Columbus was the first English and they started to colonize the New World.

Answer 8

no. he was not the first to arive here but he was the one to found it. heres some info why.


. The Chinese and Vikings were here first, followed by Columbus, but that's considered discovering America (which is odd since there were already people living here). The British citizens who first arrived here to live colonized America, but it wasn't really founded as a country until Jefferson, Washington, Franklin and the group drew up both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Answer 9

Firstly you cannot really "discover" American as the Native Americans were already living there. But many credit Leiff Erickson with first "discovering" America, but he never bothered to record it so the credit went to Columbus for the first European to discover the New World. We celebrate him because he helped to start the settlement of America by discovering it for Europe.

Answer 10

He did discover land in the western hemisphere that led to the discovery of America, but he though he discovered India while Amerigo Vespucci realised that the land was not India, but a different land mass. Therefore North and South America are named after him.