why do white people think columbus discovered america when he did not?

Answer 1

Columbus was not the first to stumble across the American continent, but his "discovery" was the first to have a major impact on the world.

Obviously, the first group to "discover" America are the native peoples whose descendents are still here today, but their discovery did not change the course of world history. It is thought that a very small band, perhaps as few as 50 people, came across the land bridge of the Bering Strait and made this new land their home, spread and prospered. They developed into numerous tribes with rich cultural traditions, but they never returned to Asia to exchange colonists or ideas. These new cultures thrived in isolation.

The next group is the Chinese who for a very brief period built a large ocean going fleet for warfare and exploration, but then the Emperor turned his country inward, burned the ships and most of their records. So while it looks like the Chinese made it to California, they never returned or did anything with their discovery.

The last group are the Vikings. Archeological evidence shows that they returned many times to Labrador, but their discovery had very little impact as well. The Vikings only came to the American shores to fish and preserve their catch. Their villages were temporary summer communities that eventually were abandoned. They had little or no contact with the native peoples. They did not attempt any permanent settlements, and the Vikings did not share their discovery with anyone else.

Now we get to Columbus. Columbus made something of his discovery, and he returned. The Spanish saw potential and sent colonists. Columbus' discovery irrevocably changed American and European culture and the course of history. Columbus' discovery is the one of lasting importance and impact because it is the one that changed the world.

Answer 2

Nor did he prove the world was flat, Aristotle did. The orginal mix ups actually came from a book by Washingtong Irving called Columbus.
The reason why it is still being taught at a young level is because, although he did not actually discover America, he did however ignite the large majority of exploration that followed thereafter, which led to colonization which in turn led to the creation of the America we know today. So he didn't discover it, but he helped lead the way to the creation of what we have today.

Answer 3

Ben Franklin once said, "History is told by the winners."

Good PR is one of the reasons. Since the White Europeans "discovered" America and wrote down their adventures and escapades, it became the "truth" that White European textbooks preached. Now that we are in the Information Age and people are more in-tune with the fact that every story has three sides (your side, my side and reality), people are starting to understand that no one could "discover" something that other humans already had.

Look at the story of the radio. When asked who invented it, most people say Marconi around 1895 (sent signals a mile and a half), but the reality is that as early as October of 1866, Mahlon Loomis sent signals between two mountaintops, about 15 miles apart, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The difference was the patent and who "announced" it to the world.

The other reason is semantics. The word "discovered" was incorrectly used (and is still incorrectly used) for the term "reported." As we look into space, deep into the ocean, and into microscopic worlds, people "discover" new things all the time; in reality, they are only "reporting" them to us for the first time.

Answer 4

Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering America because he was the first one to record it's location and return to where he came from with news and location of the discovery and most important the fact that it was a previously unknown continent and not the continent of Asia that he had set out for.

Recent discoveries have led to the theory that the "Native Americans" migrated from Asia around 400AD. But since they did not return the knowledge of the American continents remained unknown.

The same for the "discovery" by the Vikings, even thought hey had a settlement they had no knowledge that another continent existed. Merely the knowledge that Greenland existed.

Answer 5

Neither Columbus nor the Native Americans 'discovered' America b/c neither of them knew where they were. The Native Americans just wandered accross the Bering Straight chasing game. And Columbus thought it was India.

Answer 6

Alright then.......who did? I would absolutely love to know. Personally I think the vikings discovered America before christopher colombus did.

Answer 7

It is part of the indoctrination schoolchildren get. It is a put down of the Native peoples who were already here, implying that the only "discovery" worthy of the name is one done by Europeans.

Ironically, there are Scandinavians who object too--they claim Eric the Red as the first European discoverer, since he built a temporary village in Labrador.

Answer 8

It's some of the propaganda we were taught all through school. Native Americans crossed the Bering Straight (or came by boat) into a previously uninhabited land, didn't they discover it?

Answer 9

well he really didn't.There's evidence that shows the vikings landed here and so did the chinese.the title people give him is really vague because a)he died not knowing he had discovered America and b)he thought he had landed in India.Hopefully this helps.

Answer 10

Let's not forget that Muslims from Western Africa went to America before Columbus.