Did you know that Brazil was colonized by Phoenicians 1.000 years before Portugal discover it?

Question

I would like to know if there is some research in North America about this interesting fact. I didn't find much information in Brazil. I just know that they stayed here about 800 years, they built some cities in Amazon, northeast coast and Rio de Janeiro was first habited by them (there is some writing in phoenician alphabet in a place called Pedra da Gavea). There is some descriptions in Greek ancient texts talking about cities in Amazon region. These researches are new, and (I don't know why) we don't learn it at school.

Answer 1

Not the main point, but you begin with mistaken dates -- the Phoenicians, IF they made any such voyages, did so in the sixth century BC or earlier, which would be at least TWO thousand years before the voyages of the "Era of Exploration"

On the claim --

I too am a skeptic. In fact, scholars are well aware of these claims, and very few take them very seriously. A few problems, and things to keep in mind:

1) In general -- beware of archaeological hoaxes, esp. of things showing up 'far from home'. There have been quite a number of them in the past two centuries. (How do you come up with "Phoenician inscriptions" in the Americas? Well, one way would be to copying from the many KNOWN inscriptions.)

2) Purported mentions of "cities in the Amazon" in ancient Greek texts (and just how did we get from Phoenician to Greek here?) need to be looked at closely. It is easy to read a lot into texts, to read obscure references and imagine things that 'sound like' New World places, etc

3) Numerous features in the inscription at Pedra da Gavea (the one you cite) fail to match up with known Phoenician inscriptions (esp. those close to its supposed time)

Examples:

a) it refers to "Phoenicians", something these people did NOT call themselves. This was a GREEK term used collectively for the cities of the general region of Tyre and Sidon (and these cities did NOT even refer to themselves collectively). I'm not even too sure the Greeks themselves were using this term yet in the time of "Ethbaal" esp. if this is supposed to be the earlier king of that name (9th century BC [later Ethbaal reigned a century later]). In any case,the term "Syro-Phoenician" (which seems to be what we have in this inscription) is MUCH later (came into use, I believe, during the Greek Empire, that is, the 2nd -3rd century BC)

b) the spelling of "Tyre" is very odd -- it uses two letters (tet + zayin), though the Tyrians (as also the Hebrews) used just one letter - "tsade", usually transcribed as ?

c) The name BADZIR [B'DZYR]- is close to the traditional GREEK form of the name (the form in Josephus is "Badezor(us)"). But the first part is almost certainly a Greek corruption of B'L (Baal). That is, the Phoenicians would NOT have written "D" here.

d) the final name is misspelled, repeating a letter (two alephs in a row, should just be B'L)

e) the lettering itself is crude... and no copy of the actual inscription was reported until the 19th century. Also, the letter forms are VERY different from those found on the sarcophagus of Ahiram (Ithbaal's own father)

(I'd have to check into this -- but I also wonder at how this inscription could remain so readable through 3,000 years in such a location, exposed to the wind and salt water of the sea! Was it somehow sheltered from these elements?)


4) As one answer has mentioned, there is no evidence of the TECHNOLOGY to make such a voyage in ancient times... in fact, modern Europeans lacked the technology (including the right sort of ships) to make transatlantic voyages of that distance UNTIL the mid-15th century, shortly before they accomplished it

(While we might be able to imagine how ONE ship, blown by an unusual storm could end up across the ocean, the idea of RETURN trips [which the "Greek texts" would require], let alone MULTIPLE trips, is a serious problem.)

Answer 2

With its bright sandy beaches, leaping hills and picturesque harbour, it's no surprise that Rio de Janeiro is known as the "cidade maravilhosa", or marvellous city and with hotelbye you can get the chance and visit this amazing city. Rio de Janeiro is facing the South Atlantic coast and is the second-largest city in Brazil. This city is blessed with one of the very beautiful normal adjustments for a metropolis in the world. The amazing landscape is one among the causes that readers chose Rio de Janeiro. Throughout carnival year, a festival that everybody seen, the streets fill with audio and ornately costumed performers getting tourists from all around the globe.

Answer 3

You know, the Phoenicians did not exist 1000 years before Portugal discoverd Brazil, so it would be quite impropable for them to colonize any place!

Answer 4

I doubt it. There's no genetic evidence of the Phoenicians nor is there any linguistic evidence. Phoenician techonology wasn't advanced enough to colonize Brazil.

Answer 5

Sounds bullshit to me. And even if it's true, it doesn't matter, because nothing was left. If Phoenicians had such an advanced technology regarding navy why all this technology disaperead? And why don't you find nothing about it in the Middle East historic files?

We don't learn it in school because that's bullshit.

Answer 6

We do not learn too much a Brazil in most schools. That is the reason.

You can find out more information although you seem to have a good handle on it by going to the site below and copying and pasting the URL into your web browser.

Answer 7

That's so cool---Wait so what happened?--That is really fascinating

Im hispanic so maybe I have some greek in me or maybe Asian since I heard asians came from Asia sometime and colonized South America or something like that-The chicken originated in China yet it was found in South America well before Europeans came

Answer 8

Yeah, could be, but we still don't know just who the Phoenicians were, or where, besides Brazil, they came from.

Maybe it was the Brazilians who colonized Phoenicia, or whatever. Hmmm?

Answer 9

That is very interesting. We certainily don't know eneough about history or rather it is manipulated in school so we don't know the details of a lot of important history.

Answer 10

woww youuuuree a coolll guyy.