Who Discovered America? With Another Question: Has America Been Discovered?

The discovery of the American continent is one of the most controversial topics in history. Some say that Christopher Columbus first found America in 1492, while others claim that Vikings, Chinese and even Muslim sailors reached this continent before. So, who really discovered America? Is there a definitive answer to this question?

The first name that comes to mind when it comes to the discovery of America is Christopher Columbus. Columbus, who set out to reach Asia with the support of the king and queen of Spain, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the Caribbean. Columbus, who met the indigenous people here, thought he was in India and called them “indio”, which means “Indian”. That is why today Native Americans are called “Indians”.

After Columbus, many European explorers came to the American continent. One of them was the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. Vespucci realized that, unlike Columbus, this was a new continent and named it after him on maps. Thus the name America appeared.

But the discovery of America is not limited to Columbus and Vespucci. According to some researchers, the first to reach America were Scandinavian sailors. Vikings, who settled in parts of Greenland and Canada in the 10th century, clashed with the indigenous people here and returned. These events also take place in Scandinavian folklore.

According to some claims, they were the first Muslim sailors to reach America. In the early 12th century, Muslim sailors living in the Andalusia region of Spain allegedly reached the Americas by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. He says that these sailors sailed westwards from the Strait of Gibraltar and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean. However, since there is not enough information and evidence to support these claims, no definitive conclusion can be reached about the discovery of America.

Moreover, the discovery of the Americas should not be judged only from the perspective of Europeans. Because these lands have been inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years, it can be misleading to pretend that they are not the ones who discovered this continent. Therefore, it is important to consider different perspectives and histories on the discovery of America.

As a result, when the subject of the discovery of America is raised, it does not seem inconceivable that this situation is a discovery considering that there are cultures and people living in these lands rather than a debate about who discovered it.