Centurion89 Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 Columbus may have learned about a land to the northwest from Portuguese cod fishermen. But then Columbus sailed due west. In any event, if the Vikings discovered America, they didn't tell anyone. Columbus did. Vikings may have landed on North America, but there is no record of their return. Please excuse me for this - its a little off thread - but Columbus did not sail due west. Thats the popular story they teach in schools, but its far more likely he crossed the atlantic further south than presumed given where he landed up. I don't remember the reasons why he would have done that - sailing isn't exactly my subject and I can't remember the arguement - but doesn't the sargasso sea have something to do with it? In fact, if columbus avoided getting stuck then he either already knew about the hazards of being becalmed or was incredibly lucky in choosing his route. We now resume normal service... OK!, due southwest. He was becalmed. Some people feel that Columbus didn't know where he was going nor where he was when he got there. Remember, he was searching for the Indies and he knew that the Earth was round and that sooner or later he would bump into them. Adm. Morrison feels that this was the greatest voyage to date - including that to the Moon. Yes Columbus sailed to the west Indies. And as a result more exploreres came. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion89 Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 Columbus may have learned about a land to the northwest from Portuguese cod fishermen. But then Columbus sailed due west. In any event, if the Vikings discovered America, they didn't tell anyone. Columbus did. Vikings may have landed on North America, but there is no record of their return. Please excuse me for this - its a little off thread - but Columbus did not sail due west. Thats the popular story they teach in schools, but its far more likely he crossed the atlantic further south than presumed given where he landed up. I don't remember the reasons why he would have done that - sailing isn't exactly my subject and I can't remember the arguement - but doesn't the sargasso sea have something to do with it? In fact, if columbus avoided getting stuck then he either already knew about the hazards of being becalmed or was incredibly lucky in choosing his route. We now resume normal service... OK!, due southwest. He was becalmed. Some people feel that Columbus didn't know where he was going nor where he was when he got there. Remember, he was searching for the Indies and he knew that the Earth was round and that sooner or later he would bump into them. Adm. Morrison feels that this was the greatest voyage to date - including that to the Moon. Yes Columbus sailed to the west Indies. And as a result more exploreres came. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 (edited) Columbus blew the whistle. Whilst many ship crews may have sighted land in that region (or even landed) they hadn't told anyone for fear the secret would get out and some valuable resource lost to someone else. Cross-ocean trade was difficult then, and a possible source of great wealth - not the sort of thing to be shared. Columbus was after status as much as wealth, and chose to go public. He wanted a monopoly from the crown and the fame of finding the route to the east indies, the orient. As I mentioned, it seems even from the standard yarn that he was already aware of the existence of the landmass we know as the americas, that was the whole point of staging the expedition. Edited September 30, 2007 by caldrail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Manicus Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 You folks may be interested in the following: Friday 10/26/07 The Vikings Science Channel - 2:00pm Next showing: Blood of the Vikings Archaeologists study Viking lifestyle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longbow Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Havent had time to read the thread but if it hasnt allready been mentioned,the Viking's gave us a trading network the envy of the Europe, which eventually made the Saxon Aenglish a very rich people. pax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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