Columbus discovered America because he wanted a shortest route from which to trade with the far east. Those two words take away "explorer" to me. He actually bumped into a giant land mass that had been visited by Europeans (and possibly others) before. We never know the full answer. And from what I've heard, Columbus wasn't that nice of a dude anyway...raping and pillaging? A Viking-era settlement, bearing striking resemblances to Viking settlements in Scandinavian countries, was found at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1960.

There were people in America before Columbus. Yes, their ships were fully capable of such a voyage. Arab sources from the eighth century also detail contact between Africans and the Americas. Because America was first discovered by humans over 15,000 years ago. America was later named for Vespucci. Theories About Who Really Discovered America Saint Brendan. SHARING. So there is no "one" answer to who discovered America, because it's all about who actually got to the continent first (and hence, we will never have a name/face for the Bering Strait travelers). However, some Chinese legends and cultural similarities exist between Native Americans and the Chinese.

Kitty Fields from Summerland on July 23, 2012: Very intriguing!

So glad to hear this article helped. There is speculation that Egyptian technology could have travelled as far the Canary Islands (off the coast of Spain) or Ireland, though it has been untested (to date) as to whether their technology could have reached the Americas. References: The chances are that his voyages and the fame that arose out of them did more to advertise the New World to would-be colonists much better than anyone may have done so previously. HP sends it and your email address is not revealed unless you choose to respond. Tiffany (author) from USA on November 06, 2013: @Derp - Thank you! While records indicate that there was a monk named Brendan, no real evidence exists of a voyage to America. It is done confidentially through the HP servers; no one can contact you directly. Perhaps by now, the fact that he was not the first to step foot in the Americas may be well established. you know people, it is me who ask this question but it is her that get all the glory :). Theresa Ast from Atlanta, Georgia on March 24, 2012: Hi Southern Muse - just read this hub again, and it is just as good as it was the first time I read it.

The sagas refer to Leif Eriksson making landfall in Vinland as early as 1000 CE and his father, Erik the Red, making landfall about 984 CE. The Chinese really didn't need to try to find a short cut to Europe because they had the most sought after goods in their own country so they were content to stay put. These sources tell us that Africans (and most likely Arabs as well, who inhabited the northwestern portions of Africa as well) had sailed to Haiti, Panama, and possibly Brazil. In 1362, the Kensington Stone was inscribed, referring to an expedition of Norweigens and Goths who reached southwestern Minnesota in 1362. The possibility of so much activity on what we thought was the last frontier. The landing of Christopher Columbus in 1492.