Year of discovery of America - 1492
The first discovery of America by the Normans
The voyage of the Normans to the shores of North America was unthinkable without their substantiation in Iceland. But the first Europeans to visit Iceland were Irish monks. Their acquaintance with the island took place approximately in the second half of the 8th century.
“30 years ago (that is, no later than 795), several clerics who were on this island from February 1 to August 1 informed me that there, not only during the summer solstice, but also on the previous and subsequent days, the setting sun seemed to only hides behind a small hill, so that it is not dark there even for the shortest time… and one can do whatever work one wants… If the clerics lived on the high mountains of this island, the sun might not hide from them at all… As long as they are there lived, days always gave way to nights, except for the period of the summer solstice; however, at a distance of one day's journey further north, they discovered a frozen sea ”(Dikuil - an Irish medieval monk and geographer who lived in the second half of the 8th century AD)
About 100 years later, a Viking ship accidentally washed up on the shores of Iceland
“They say that people from Norway are going to sail to the Faroe Islands…. However, they were carried to the west, to the sea, and there they found a large land. Entering the eastern fjords, they climbed a high mountain and looked around for smoke or any other signs that this land was inhabited, but they did not notice anything. In autumn they returned to the Faroe Islands. When they left for the sea, there was already a lot of snow on the mountains. Therefore, they called this country the Snow Land."
Over time, a large number of Norwegians moved to Iceland. By 930, there were about 25 thousand people on the island. Iceland became the starting point for further travels of the Normans to the West. In 982-983, Eirik Turvaldson, who became Eric the Red in the Russian tradition, discovered Greenland. In the summer of 986, Bjarni Herulfson, sailing from Iceland to the Greenland Viking settlement, lost his way and discovered land to the south. In the spring of 1004, the son of Eric the Red, Leyv the Happy, followed in his footsteps, discovering the Cumberland Peninsula (south of Baffin Island), the eastern coast of the Labrador Peninsula and the northern coast of Newfoundland Island. The northeastern shores of North America were then visited more than once by Viking expeditions, but in Norway and Denmark they were not considered important, since they were not very attractive natural conditions.
Prerequisites for the discovery of America by Columbus
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the fall of Byzantium under the blows of the Ottoman Turks, the birth of the Ottoman Empire in the east of the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor led to the cessation of overland trade links with the countries of the East along the Great Silk Road
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the critical need of Europe for the spices of India and Indochina, which were used not so much in cooking as as a hygiene item, for making incense. After all, Europeans washed their faces in the Middle Ages rarely and reluctantly, and a kintal (a measure of weight, 100 pounds) of pepper in Calicut or Hormuz cost ten times less than in Alexandria.
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erroneous idea of medieval geographers about the size of the earth. It was believed that the Earth evenly consists of land - the giant continent of Eurasia with an appendage of Africa - and the ocean; that is, the maritime distance between the extreme western point of Europe and the extreme eastern point of Asia did not exceed several thousand kilometers
Brief biography of Christopher Columbus
Born in Genoa in 1451. He was the first-born in a large weaver's family. Participated in the production and trade enterprises of his father. In 1476, by chance, he settled in Portugal. He married Felipe Moniz Perestrello, whose father and grandfather were actively involved in the activities of Henry the Navigator. He settled on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago. He was admitted to the family archives, reports on sea voyages, geographical maps and sailing directions. Frequently visited the harbor of Porto Santo Island
“in which nimble fishing boats scurried and anchored ships going from Lisbon to Madeira and from Madeira to Lisbon. The helmsmen and sailors of these ships whiled away the long hours of stay in the port tavern, and Columbus had long and useful conversations with them ... (I learned from) experienced people about their voyages in the Sea-Ocean. A certain Martin Viseinte told Columbus that 450 leagues (2700 kilometers) west of Cape San Vicente, he picked up a piece of wood in the sea, processed, and at the same time very skillfully, with some kind of tool, obviously not iron. Other sailors met boats with huts beyond the Azores, and these boats did not capsize even on a big wave. We saw huge pine trees along the Azorean coast, these dead trees were brought by the sea at the time when strong western winds were blowing. Sailors came across on the shores of the Azores island of Faial the corpses of broad-faced people of "non-Christian" guise. A certain Antonio Leme, “married to a resident of Madeira,” told Columbus that, having passed a hundred leagues to the west, he came across three unknown islands in the sea ”(I. Light“ Columbus ”)
He studied and analyzed contemporary works on geography, navigation, travel notes of travelers, treatises of Arab scientists and ancient authors, and gradually drew up a plan to reach the rich countries of the East by the western sea route.
The main sources of knowledge on the issue of interest were five books for Columbus
- Historia Rerum Gestarum by Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini
- "Imago Mundi" by Pierre d'Ailly
- "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
- The Book by Marco Polo
- Parallel Lives of Plutarch
1492, April 30 - the royal couple approved a certificate of awarding Columbus with the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all the lands that will be opened to them in navigation along the named Sea-Ocean. Titles complained forever “from heir to heir”, at the same time Columbus was elevated to a noble rank and could “name and title himself Don Christopher Columbus”, had to receive a tenth and an eighth of the profits from trade with these lands, had the right to resolve all litigations. The city of Palos was approved by the expedition preparation center
“He talked heart to heart with the inhabitants of Palos and everywhere said that the expedition needed brave and experienced sailors and that its participants would get great benefits. “Friends, go there, and we will go on this campaign all together; you will leave poor, but if, with God's help, we manage to open the land for us, then, having found it, we will return with gold bars, and we will all get rich, and we will get a big profit. Soon, volunteers were drawn into the harbor of Palos, wishing to take part in the voyage to the shores of an unknown land.
Columbus ships
Discovery of America. Briefly
- 1492, September 16 - Diary of Columbus: "We began to notice many bunches of green grass, and, as could be judged by its appearance, this grass had only recently been torn off the ground."
- 1492, September 17 - Diary of Columbus: "I found that since the departure from the Canary Islands there was not so little salt water in the sea."
- 1492, September 19 - Diary of Columbus: “At 10 o'clock a dove flew into the ship. We saw another one last night."
- 1492, September 21 - Diary of Columbus: “We saw a whale. A sign of land, because the whales swim close to the shore.
- 1492, September 23 - Diary of Columbus: "Since the sea was calm and warm, people began to grumble, saying that the sea is strange here, and the winds that would help them return to Spain will never blow."
- 1492, September 25 - Diary of Columbus: “The earth appeared. I ordered you to go in that direction."
- 1492, September 26 - Diary of Columbus: "What we took for the earth turned out to be the sky."
- 1492, September 29 - Diary of Columbus: "Sailed their way to the West."
- 1492, September 13 - Columbus noticed that the compass needle does not point to the North Star, but 5-6 degrees northwest.
- 1492, October 11 - Diary of Columbus: “Sailed west-south-west. For all the time of the voyage, there had never been such excitement at sea. We saw "pardelas" and green reeds near the ship itself. People from the caravel "Pinta" noticed a reed and a branch and fished out a hewn, possibly iron, stick and a piece of reed and other herbs that would be born on earth, and one plank
1492, October 12 - America is discovered. It was 2 a.m. when on board the faster, slightly ahead of the Pinta, there was a cry of “Earth, earth !!!” and a shot from a bombard. The contour of the shore stood out in the moonlight. Boats were lowered from the ships in the morning. Columbus with both Pinsons, a notary, a translator, a royal controller, landed on the shore. “The island is very large and very flat and there are many green trees and water, and in the middle there is a large lake. There are no mountains,” wrote Columbus. The Indians called the island Guanahani. Columbus designated it San Salvador, now Watling Island, part of the Bahamas.
- 1492, October 28 - Columbus discovered the island of Cuba
- December 6, 1492 - Columbus approached a large island called Borgio by the Indians. Along its coast "the most beautiful valleys stretch, very similar to the lands of Castile," the admiral wrote in his diary. apparently that's why he called the island Hispaniola, now Haiti
- 1492, December 25 - "Santa Maria" ran into reefs off the coast of Haiti. The Indians helped to remove valuable cargo, guns and supplies from the ship, but the ship could not be saved.
- January 4, 1493 - Columbus set off on his return journey. He had to sail back on the smallest ship of the Niñe expedition, leaving part of the crew on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), since even earlier the third ship Pinta separated from the expedition, and the Santa Maria ran aground. Two days later, both surviving ships met, but on February 14, 1493 they parted in a storm
- 1493, March 15 - Columbus returned to Palos on the Nina, with the same tide, the Pinta entered the harbor of Palos
Columbus made three more voyages to the shores of the New World, discovered islands and archipelagos, bays, bays and straits, founded forts and cities, but he never found out that he had found a way not to India, but to a world completely unknown to Europe
The task of the educational material is to acquaint schoolchildren with the history of the discovery and exploration of the mainland of North America. Give comprehensive information about the researchers who have made a scientific contribution, whose names are known to everyone. Determine the role of Russian researchers in this matter.
Who discovered North America?
Christopher Columbus is officially recognized as the explorer who discovered America.
Rice. 1. Christopher Columbus
Columbus Day is celebrated every second Monday in October at the state level in the United States.
But long before the first voyage of Columbus, and there were four in all, the Vikings, the descendants of the current inhabitants of Norway, had already familiarized themselves with the territory of the mainland. By the end of the 10th century, an attempt was made by the northern peoples to establish a settlement in Greenland.
The Normans then did not have the slightest idea that they had become the discoverers of new lands. But due to the harsh conditions in which the geographical discovery was made, the success of experienced navigators did not have a stunning effect.
Rice. 2. Vikings on a drakar
Active colonization of the mainland began only after the voyages of Columbus, who later became the discoverer of America.
TOP 4 articleswho read along with this
Then came the notoriously brutal Spanish colonization, which set off the desire of other European countries for the rights to own rich lands.
Canada began its existence in the middle of the 16th century. It owes its appearance on the world map to English travelers. Among them:
- John Davis;
- Henry Hudson;
- Robert Bylot;
- William Buffin;
- Alexander Mackenzie.
In the study and development of the western shores of North America, the merit of Russian navigators of the middle of the 18th century is also significant.
History of the discovery and exploration of North America
The expedition, led by Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov, mastered the coast of the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula. Previously unknown islands and the Pacific coast of the mainland were discovered and described.
There are cases when new territories and transport routes were named after explorers. Vitus Bering was no exception and the sea and the strait are named after him. The natural passage is a clear symbol of the resilience of the border between the United States of America and the Russian Federation.
Rice. 3. V. Bering
The first Russian settlements in North America were founded by Grigory Shelikhov.
Researchers of North America of Russian origin made a historical and geographical contribution to the development and study of new territories. Thanks to the research activities of the pioneers, the northwestern part of the mainland began to belong to Russia and was subsequently called Russian America. But then the Russian Empire did not have sufficient opportunities for the development of distant lands. Many geographical objects and discoveries are named after the people who discovered them to the world.
1867 is known as the period when the Russian Empire sold Alaska to the USA.
What have we learned?
From the article, we learned who became the unwitting discoverer of the continent. Why didn't the discovery get publicity? It was possible to find out that in addition to the craving for the unknown, people were also driven by a thirst for profit by enslaving the indigenous people in the occupied territories. The richest contribution of Russian navigators and scientists in the study and development of distant lands is assessed. A fact was revealed indicating the presence of Russian settlements in North America, who was their founder. It turned out the reason why Alaska was transferred to the possession of the United States.
The discovery of America is one of the greatest events in human history. The history of the discovery of a huge continent is fraught with many interesting and amazing facts. To this day, there is debate about who really discovered America. Everyone knows that the name of the discoverer is Christopher Columbus, why the land is named after Amerigo Vespucci, and who else visited the continent before Columbus ... About this and much more - later in the article.
At the end of the fifteenth century, the Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus reached the shores of North America with his expedition, mistakenly believing that he had arrived in India. It is from this moment that the era of the discovery of America begins and the beginning of its development and research. However, there are researchers who consider this date to be inaccurate, insisting that the new continent was discovered much earlier.
The first information about the existence of a new continent, later called America, appeared in the prehistoric period. These events happened by accident. The motives for discoveries were, as a rule, the search for habitable lands (the desire for survival), the search for gold and large trading cities.
The Paleo-Indians were the first
The first people who settled in America about 15 thousand years ago were people from Asia. In the Pleistocene era, as a result of the melting of the ice sheets (Laurentian and Cordillera), a narrow corridor formed between Russia and Alaska. The so-called land bridge between the western coast of Alaska and Siberia, or the Bering Isthmus, connected the continents of Asia and North America as a result of falling ocean levels.
The Paleo-Indians, the ancient settlers of America, arrived from Asia to America through the Bering Isthmus following the movement of prey - large animals. Migrations occurred before the closure of the corridor, that is, the closing of the Laurentian and Cordillera glaciers. In the future, the settlement of America already took place by sea or on ice. When the ice age ended and the ice plates melted, the settlers who arrived in America found themselves isolated from other continents.
It turns out that for the first time the American continents were discovered by nomadic Asian tribes, who initially settled in North America, then occupied Central and South America. They later became the native American peoples.
Legend of the Irish Monks
According to a popular Irish legend, in the 6th century, a group of Irish monks, led by Saint Brendan, went west by boat in search of new lands. Seven years later, the monks returned home and reported that they had found a land covered with lush vegetation, which was the current Newfoundland.
However, there is no exact evidence confirming the fact that the Irish monks not only saw, but also visited the coast of North America. In 1976, British traveler Tim Severin set out to prove that such a journey was possible. He made an exact replica of the monastic vessel and set out from Ireland to North America, following the route once described by traveling monks. As a result, the researcher reached Canada.
Vikings and Vinland
In 984, as a result of exploring ancient seafaring routes, the Scandinavian navigator Erik Kras discovered Greenland. In 999, his son, Leif Eriksson, having gathered a crew of 35 people, went on one ship from Greenland to Norway. Around the year 1000, Leif Eriksson traveled across the Atlantic to North America. There, on the territory of the modern Canadian island of Newfoundland, he founded a Norwegian settlement.
Because of the abundance of vineyards on this land, the Vikings called the settlement "Vinland", which means "Grape Land" in English. But Erickson and his team did not stay there for long. Due to hostile relations with the native North Americans, they stayed only a few years before returning to Greenland.
In the sagas of the Vikings who settled in America, they are referred to as Native Americans - "Skrelings". The source of most of the sagas is Scandinavian folklore, but in 1960 Helge Ingstad, a Norwegian archaeologist, found in the northern tip of Newfoundland (Canada) the first European Viking settlement of the late 11th century, which is identical to the settlements in the Scandinavian countries. This historical and archaeological site, called "L" Anse-o-Meadows, is recognized by scientists as evidence of transoceanic contacts that took place before the discovery made by Columbus.
Sailors from China
In the debate “who discovered America”, even facts about the visit of the Chinese to America emerge. Gavin Menzies, a British naval officer, put forward the theory of the colonization of South America by the Chinese. According to him, a Chinese explorer named Zheng He, who commanded an armada of wooden sailing ships in the early 15th century, discovered the continent in 1421. According to the officer, Zheng He explored areas such as Southeast Asia, India and the east coast of Africa using advanced navigation methods.
In his book 1421 - The Year China Discovered the World, Gavin Menzies wrote that Zheng He was heading towards the east coast of the United States and supposedly established settlements in South America. Menzies' theory is based on evidence from ancient shipwrecks, Chinese and European maps and reports compiled by navigators of those times. However, the theory is being questioned.
Accidental discovery of Columbus
1942 is considered the year of the discovery of America, although some historians consider this data to be rather approximate. Columbus discovered America by accident. Discovering new lands and islands over the course of four expeditions, Columbus did not even imagine that this was a completely different continent, which would later be called the "New World". Each time, arriving in new and new lands, the traveler believed that these were the lands of "Western India".
All of Europe thought so for quite a long time, until another navigator Vasco da Gama declared Columbus a deceiver, since it was Gamma who found a direct route to India, visited there and brought local gifts and spices. There are suggestions that Columbus died being convinced that he had discovered a new way to India, and not at all a new side of the world, unfamiliar until that time.
The mysterious name of the continent
Why was the new continent named not after Columbus, who discovered it, but after the navigator Amerigo Vespucci? The visit of this part of the "New World" by the traveler Vespucci is the first widely known and recorded fact. In 1503, he sent a letter to his friend the Medici with the following text: “These countries should be called the New World ... Most of the ancient authors say that south of the equator there is no mainland, but only the sea, and if some of them recognized the existence of the mainland there, then they did not consider it inhabited. But my last journey proved that this opinion of theirs is erroneous and completely contrary to the facts, since in the southern regions I found a continent more densely populated by people and animals than our Europe, Asia or Africa, and, in addition, the climate is more temperate and pleasant. than in any of the countries known to us ... "
It was he who first put forward the assumption that the discovered lands are not India or China, but a new unknown mainland. And a quote from his letter, which spread around the world, became a good reason for the decision to name the new continent in honor of an unknown trade representative at that time, and not in honor of the famous discoverer. The name America first appeared in 1507 in Martin Waldseemüller's Introduction to Cosmography. Under the same name, a new continent is also presented on the first globe of Johann Schoener (1511).
An interesting fact is that not a single mention was found of Vespucci's initiative to assign his name to open overseas lands.
For the curious
There is good reason to believe that the continent was named after an English patron from Bristol, Richard America, who financed John Cabot's second transatlantic expedition in 1497. Vespucci, on the other hand, took a nickname for himself in honor of the already named continent. Cabot became the first officially recorded European to set foot on the North American continent, reaching the shores of Labrador in May 1497. It was he who mapped the coast of North America - from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. That year, Bristol entered the following entries in its calendar: “... on St. John the Baptist was found in the land of America by merchants from Bristol, who arrived on a ship from Bristol with the name "Matthew".
In 1492, Columbus crossed the Atlantic under sail, and for a long time was considered the first European to set foot in the New World. Then came the evidence of the Vikings, led by Leif Ericson, who predated Columbus by five centuries. Early archaeological uncertainties sparked controversy over the primacy of the discovery of the Americas. Authors have emerged claiming that the Chinese general Zheng He was only a few years ahead of Columbus. Not a European, but since he arrived in the New World by water, and not by a bridge over the Bering Strait, let him take part in the competition. Then, someone discovered petroglyphs in West Virginia that pointed to a sixth-century Irish navigator, St. Brendan (St. Brendan). Possibly St. Did Brendan beat everyone in the discovery of America? In the end, the Muslims joined the competition of the Spanish, Vikings, Irish and Chinese when researchers found evidence that Muslims from West Africa discovered the New World even earlier.
Someone else is claiming their primacy in the discovery of America (as, indeed, in other discoveries too). Today we will consider only the listed five. They can't all be first. Who was the first to discover America? And among those who lost the championship, has everyone been there?
Now no one doubts the veracity of the story of Columbus. He landed in the Bahamas in 1492 and, although he believed he had reached India, he saw a large continent blocking his progress. During his three expeditions over 12 years, Columbus explored the Caribbean, part of South America and the shores of Central America. In the footsteps of Columbus, colonists and other explorers arrived. It was after the discovery of Columbus that the connection between America and Europe was established. Consider now other contenders for the championship in chronological order from the date of the landing of Columbus.
Muslims do not state a specific date for the discovery of America. They express an opinion about the likelihood of Europeans visiting the continent long before Columbus. Piri Reis was an Ottoman navigator and cartographer who died in 1553. His name means Captain Peary and is best known in connection with a map drawn in 1513. Alternative historians mention the Piri Reis map as an incredibly accurate depiction of the Earth's surface, beyond the knowledge of Columbus. Consequently, the Turks traveled all over the world, including America, Brazil, and even Antarctica. All modern claims about the primacy of Muslim sailors in the discovery of America are based on the Piri Reis map.
There is no doubt about the historical significance of the Piri Reis map, but most of the sensational claims based on it are incorrect. The map doesn't reverse history, it fits with what we know. The notes of Piri Reis himself on the margins of the map say that this is a generalized edition that he made on the basis of two dozen existing maps compiled by the seafaring nations of Europe and Asia. Including ancient Greek maps of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, Arabic maps of India, Portuguese maps of Pakistan and China, maps of Columbus describing the Caribbean and the eastern coast of America. The Piri Reis map is far from the accuracy and completeness of the content on which they are trying to rely. Significant differences are obvious at first glance. The lack of comments on the source material led Piri Reis to make mistakes. Peary annexed Brazil to Antarctica. Perhaps it was an attempt to show the "Lands Undiscovered", or perhaps an attempt to squeeze an unfolded South America into one sheet. The Portuguese navigators who followed Henry the Navigator carefully explored the western coast of Africa and crossed the Atlantic to Columbus. Columbus studied navigation in Portugal. Portuguese sailors followed on the heels of Columbus when he reached the New World. Information about the western shores of the Americas, from Newfoundland to Argentina, was collected fairly quickly. In the first decade of the 16th century, there were enough resources to map Piri Reis.
In short, it is not necessary to speak of the journey of the Muslims to the shores of America to explain the origin of the Peri Reis map. In addition, there is no documentary or archaeological evidence of such an event. We give the version of the Muslim discovery of America 0.5 trust points out of 5 possible.
Zheng He was a prominent Chinese Admiral of the 15th century and died 18 years before Columbus was born. Many legends are associated with this name and his travels. It is well known and documented that he traveled south and west from China, reaching the coast of Africa. But there is no evidence that Zheng decided to cross the Atlantic and reach the shores of America. New information emerged in 2006 when the Chinese jurist Liu Gang discovered a 1763 map copied from an original dated 1418 called the Overall Map of the Geography of all Under Heaven. The map, showing America in all its glory, confirmed that Zheng He's cartographers were ahead of Columbus in discovering the New World by coming from the other side.
Unfortunately, the map was not very significant. No one takes it seriously as it is a copy of a well-known French map from the 1600s. On the map, California is an island and has description errors. The title is a common error from a modern simplified language, but is not an error for a user of traditional Chinese during the Qing Dynasty.
Louis Ganges turned out to be his own enemy in this undertaking. In 2009, he published the book The Code of the Ancient Map to promote the map itself. In the book, he goes back 400 years, announcing the discovery of another Chinese map of the world, dated 1093. This "card" is even sadder. Louis shows photographs of Zhang Kuangzheng's tomb from 1093, showing peeling paint and plaster. He changed his interpretation of the map, due to damage to the drawing, to a pitiful version. The discoverer Zheng He scores one trust score out of five, while Louie has a deficit of 15.
Leif Ericsson was the son of Erik the Red, a Viking who landed in Greenland. Leif followed in the footsteps of his powerful father and founded the colony of Vinland. Most of Leif's deeds are known from two sagas: the Greenlander Saga and the Erik the Red Saga. The protagonist of the saga is a person, not historical facts. The manner of presentation of the sagas is narrative in the style of "I came and I say." The main place of action in the sagas is the settlement of Vinland, the time of the story is about 1000 years.
Fortunately, the legend of Leif Eriksson received more significant confirmation. In 1960, archaeologists discovered the ruins at the northern tip of Newfoundland. Jellyfish Grotto (L'Anse aux Meadows or Jellyfish Cove) and some other Norwegian settlements have been discovered. These are more than excellent historical finds. The method of construction, design, materials undoubtedly confirm the everyday traditions of the Norwegians. We do not know for certain whether there was a link between Vinland and L'Anse aux Meadows, or whether Leif Eriksson was there. But there is confidence in the coincidence of the heyday of the Norwegian settlement and the period of the appearance of the saga.
Since we have a Norse settlement in hand, which underpins the far sea crossings of the Vikings and corresponds to a period of about 1000 years, Leif Eriksson gets a 4.5 credibility score, and the Vikings as a whole 5 out of 5 possible.
St. Brendan the Navigator was a legendary 6th century monk who sailed around the British Isles in leather boats. He is only mentioned in two sources: The Journey of Saint Brendan and The Life of Brendan. The story tells about the island of the Blessed or St. Brendan. Presumably off the coast of Africa, but both Brendan and his island live only in legend.
Unfortunately, this statement is followed by a long list of problems. Serious archaeologists do not undertake to decipher the rock paintings. They are too far from the texts. The prevailing opinion is that these are scratches from the sharpening of tools by the ancient aborigines. The footprints on the rock were discovered by amateurs, filled in with ash for contrast, and photographed. Barry Fell, a retired marine biologist, only saw the dashes in the photo and never looked at the original. The Ogham transcription experts disagreed with Barry Fell's findings and refused to examine the inscriptions. It is not known what finds await us, but today no one seriously considers the petroglyphs of West Virginia. St. Brendan receives a 0 out of 5 trust points and petroglyphs 0.5 points until new information becomes available.
Summing up, we have a winner. The Vikings, under the auspices of Leif Eriksson, or maybe in his presence, discovered America earlier than other Europeans. The Portuguese, Spaniards, Irish and Turks appeared on these shores much later. Zheng He would not have received the championship even if he had arrived before the Vikings. Since the New World is sufficiently populated by immigrants from Asia through the Bering Strait, it would still be several tens of thousands of years late for the holiday.
Translation Vladimir Maksimenko 2013
