Who Discovered America First?

Many have claimed to have "discovered" the America's first. From Christopher Columbus, to Leif Erikson, all the way to the first paleoindians who set foot on the continent during the last ice age. But the nature of discovery is tricky, and has left many stories of alternate discoveries by other groups all around the world.

Tales ranging from Irish monks sailing over to get some peace and quiet to shipwrecked Japanese fishermen, there's enough information out there to make you question who really did discover America first?

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[Hawaiian_Shirt_guy]

You missed something very important with the Polynesians: their voyages of discovery sailed *into* the wind. This was so that the return voyages would be faster, in case they ran short of food and water, or their ships were damaged by storms.

[eostyrwinn]

The winds also give credibility to the Polynesians for another reason. We know that when exploring, they would often sail against the prevailing winds. That way, if they found nothing, they could turn around and zip right back home

[corystevens]

One thing you missed is the Polynesian habit of sailing against the wind.
It might seem counterintuitive, but, when searching for new islands our ancestors found that it was safer to sail as far as you can with your resources into the wind, and if no land was found the winds would bring you back faster. This is why the Polynesian settlement pattern goes against the wind from Sāmoa to Rapa Nui.

[bobsmoot]

Without metal fasteners, maps, compass, or even a written language, Polynesians found every speck of land with fresh water in an area that's 1/3 of the Earth surface. Respect...

[footsteps]

The Polynesians did make it to Easter Island, so it isn't a stretch to think they ran into South America

[rovsea-]

To be fair, the polynesians also traveled thousands of kilometers against those same big prevailing currents and winds you mentioned, to get to hawaii, I see no reason they would be unable to take that one step further and make it to America.

[hughdanielson]

Some Peublo tribes in the southwestern US are known to carry DNA from Japan, they also share some words, art forms, and customs. They even have legends of people that crossed a great ocean.

[jahsiahbowie]

The guy who “discovered” the Amphore actually admitted that he placed them there so that’s insignificant now

[shootgroundhog]

I remember the day I discovered Canada. It was back in the summer of 1998. It was a very strange and hostile land. Not fitting for human inhabitants. After only a few days I decided it was no longer worth enduring the hardships that land brought upon us. I made the decision to return to the United States along with my crew and tell my heroic story of exploration to the north. But the people who write the history books refuse to include my story despite showing many types of physical evidence proving the validity of my claim. Most notably the shot glass I purchased at a gift shop with the words "Niagara Falls, Canada" very clearly printed on the side.
This is the true story of discovery they won't teach in school.

[sammjust]

After watching this I'm convinced even if each example is sketchy there was probably small sporadic exchanges going on over the many thousands of years

[jawanzieivey]

Worth mentioning is a exploratory fleet lead by the uncle of Mansa Musa's may have sailed to the America's from Africa. Historical records of the time reports that his uncle, who was the king of Mali at the time, became obsessed with the notion of land to the west of the Great Sea, going so far as to build two giant fleets eventually sailing off with the second one leaving Mansa Musa as king until his return. Neither fleet were ever heard from again, but it's interesting to consider how those that survived the voyage may have lived out their lives.

[MSA]

The story of the Inca Tupac Yupanqui (emperor of the incas of south América) discovering the polynesia, leaving even a temple in the Easter Island (Ahu Vinapu) is amazing to me. Theres an Island on Mangareva where people still talk about a king called like Tupa (as of Tupac) and their god called Kom Tiki was taught by Tupac (Viracocha the incas god was also called like that). Theres also potatoes, skuls and chickens found in Chile that come from the polynesia meaning that they also reached the country several times. The globalization is just older than we thought

[Eldrich]

Oh boy! Is it leif Erickson day? Hinga dinga durgen

[valentinaaugustina]

There’s this cool thing you missed out on- it’s theorized that the Polynesians intentionally sailed into the opposing winds so that if something went wrong they would eventually find land as they were pushed back. That would explain the more northern contact they had in South America

[foodfan]

Every time he said, "but before we move on to that point" I was expecting an ad from the sponsor lol

[iansteelmatheson]

well the polynesian one has been proven beyond doubt now, as genetic evidence was found in 2020

[nikoladimitrov]

Vikings:We found America first
Colonists:No it was us
Native Americans:Am I a joke to you?

[jumpingoverlakes]

I come from Aotearoa New Zealand and was shocked to learn that the word we use for sweet potato, kumara, is almost exactly the same in indigenous languages of the Americas.

[patientidentified]

The Olmecs developed a wide trading network, and between 1100 and 800 bce their cultural influence spread northwestward to the Valley of Mexico and southeastward to parts of Central America.

[yoursotruly]

Just watched the Pangaea video, so we all lived on one continent at one time and lost a bunch of continents in the divorce? Didn't anyone notice that the Americas were drifting away and say, "Somebody should hop on there!"?
"Hey, perfect place to build a house for your mother, sweetheart!"