Question:
Who was the first person to discover the land of what is now the U.S.A?
2012-04-27 23:14:30 UTC
Before the Jamestown Colony, who was the first peron to realize there was land north of what was discovered in 1492 by columbus??


And why did it take them nearly 100 years to settle it, and which was the first attempt to settle it before the failed colony of roanoke?
Ten answers:
ALAN
2012-04-28 08:09:54 UTC
"Ameryka", named after the Bristol Merchant Venturer who financed the expedition, was "discovered" by John Cabot in 1497 - he was looking for a sea-route to "Cathay" (China).

In 1498 he led a larger expedition from Bristol, which sailed as far South as Florida. (Henry VII wouldn' let him go further that way to avoid trouble with Spain - he was arranging a Spanish marriage for his son.)

This expedition established that the "new-found land" was NOT China - and a serious obstacle to getting there, so,in 1500, Sebastian Cabot tried to find a way around it by a "North-West Passage", but was stopped by ice. It also showed that there were no opportunities for trade there - no great civilization to trade with - or conquer and plunder, as in Central and Soth America - and so the area was "written off" as valueless..

70-odd years later, Ralegh and Grenville made three attempts to set up a colony on Roanoke Island

in Chesapeake Bay,but all failed.The war with Spain then itervened, and it was not until early in the next century that a permanent settlement was established at Jamestown in "Virginia", for commercial purposes, especially tobacco-growing. Then came the 1620 "Pilgrim Fathers",dumped much further North, but managing to survrve. They were NOT seeking "religious freedom" - but freedom for their OWN particular sect - not the same thing at all !)



As regards earlier "discoveries", probably the first European to do so was the early-mediaeval Irish monk, Brendan. The story of his voyage was thought to be mythology - until, in 1976, Tim Severin built an identical boat and sailed it there, with most of Brendan's observations coming up "on schedule" !
2012-04-27 23:34:33 UTC
We do not know. It is likely that the first explorer's 'hopped' down the coast from the Bering land-bridge at least 15,000 years ago. An alternate hypothesis is that an inland route was viable through central Alaska. When the first explorers reached below the 49th parallel and who they were will never be known. The best we can hope for is to determine the earliest dates that settlements or camps were established. I find it odd you are discussing 'discovery' 14,500 years after the continent was settled. Are you unaware of history or just choose to ignore the facts?

I also should note that there is paleological evidence that certain settlements in South America seem to indicate habitation 30,000 years ago. I don't believe time is being kind to this conclusion.

If that were the case however, your question about a vast land NORTH of the Caribbean would seem even less informed.

My opinion is that there are crazy people and always have been. Once the technology existed to travel the world's oceans, some nut job was probably doing it. A very old book, Kon-Tiki is about using rafts of reeds to travel between South America and the South Pacific /Southeast Asian islands.

I imagine one crazy or another set foot on the continental Western Hemisphere (south of the 49th) long before 15,000 BCE.

If you mean who was the first caucasian christian to document a trip to continental North America, I suggest you should have asked that question, making you, of course a racist and implying that you are a bigot.
capitalgentleman
2012-04-27 23:47:42 UTC
Natives were first, by a long way.



The next "known" ones from Europe were the Vikings, in about 1000AD. I've been to L'Anse Aux Meadows where one of their villages was. There are supposed to be a couple more, but, they have not been definitively found yet.



However, there are stories of others before that. St. Brendon the Navigator is said to have come from Ireland in the 800's? Something like that. Farley Mowatt has a book, "The Wayfarers" that speculates that "Albans," or people from England came over before the Vikings. Thor Heyerdahl speculated that Egyptians, or Phoneticians may have done it. He made the voyage across the Atlantic in a reed boat, to show it could be done.



Basque, Portuguese, and Spanish fisherman were fishing on the Grand Banks, and probably used Newfoundland as a summer base. In fact, Columbus is said to have spoken to these sailors to gather information before he headed West.



I'm not sure who was next after Columbus. John Cabot landed in 1497 though.
2012-04-28 02:18:03 UTC
http://www.davidpratt.info/americas1.htm#a2



map by the Venetian cartographer, Albertin de Virga, shows Marco Polo’s “Southern Continent” southeast of Asia. The island-continent is called “Ca-paru or Great India.” The map was made between 1410 and 1414



The efforts of Zheng He’s surveyors in Florida can be seen on a map that Andrea Bianco compiled for Portugal in the year 1436. According to Western historians, the first European to reach Florida was Ponce de Leon. He arrived in 1513—seeking a fountain of youth. Once more, we see a somewhat humorous situation in which a latecomer from Spain claimed to discover a new land that was already on the map.
Derek
2012-04-28 06:24:37 UTC
The first person was Leif Ericsson, a Viking, in around the year AD1000. He landed on the North American mainland, and a small colony was established.
fuscaldo
2016-10-23 13:45:06 UTC
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Go Arizona
2012-04-27 23:23:27 UTC
From: http://www.keyshistory.org/FL-Fla-Sp-1.html



In 1497, Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, sailed the coasts and English John Cabot made two trips in 1497 and 1499. In 1511, Diego Velasquez occupied Cuba and by 1515 had established six settlements, including Havana.

Fifty-three-year-old Juan Ponce de Leon obtained a patent to explore and possess the legendary island of Bimini and surrounding lands, which would include Florida. Ponce de Leon had some knowledge of the New World as he had sailed with Columbus on his second voyage. Ponce himself was not a navigator, but more of a rich conquistador who had gained Indian experience in controlling the Tainos and Caribs in the West Indies. His pilot was a self-made Spaniard named Anton de Alaminos who had also once sailed with Columbus. Anton later sailed the first Spanish treasure fleet north using the Gulf Stream in 1519.

It was during the Easter holidays of "Feast of the Flowers" in 1513 that he landed on the northeast coast of Florida between April 2 to 8. This area is said to have been called "Cautio" by his Lucayan natives and "Bimini" by the Tainos natives - the Fountain of Youth fable is just a unverified myth. He promptly named and claimed possession of "La Florida" for the King of Spain. Some early maps show the entire present-day eastern United States as La Florida. However, Ponce thought Florida was an island. Later England and France also made claims and Florida shrank to its present size in about 1821.
JOSH HARLOW
2012-04-27 23:21:57 UTC
The first people to "discover" what is now the US were indigenous people who were nomads. They eventually settled here in present day North America.
Cullen
2012-04-27 23:25:09 UTC
people were scared to come over because they did not have a trusty environment. it was only when they wanted freedom of religion when they took their chances. leif erickson discovered america way before columbus.
Nelson
2012-04-27 23:34:50 UTC
Amerigo Vespucci, from whom "America" gets her name.


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