- Christopher Columbus and Leif Eriksson were the most credible of the first people to sail and land in the Americas, and there are other myths that rival this title.
- Columbus is said to have discovered the "New World" because he used a wrong number in calculating the circumference of the Earth.
- According to Irish legend, St. Brendan was the first non-indigenous inhabitant to set foot in North America in search of the Garden of Eden.
Discovering the American continent may not be as simple as we think. Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, and students were taught a rhyming poem to remember: "In 1492, Columbus sailed on the blue ocean." What is not known, however, is that 500 years before Columbus was born, a Norwegian explorer named Lev Eriksen set out from the coast of Greenland to find a new world, and he may have been the first European to set foot on the land of the "new world".
01 The Story of Columbus
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451 to the son of an Italian wool merchant. Columbus spent most of his adult life as a sailor, eventually studying mathematics and cartography while pondering his idea of finding a new world.
The purpose of Columbus's voyage was to discover a revolutionary waterway from Europe to Asia. Land travel at the time was extremely dangerous and time-consuming, and the route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa is now a long route through dangerous waters. Columbus began looking for a safer and more direct route.
In Columbus's time, the colonial mentality of European countries was deeply rooted. The monarchs of Britain, Portugal, and Spain were all expanding their lands and thus their spheres of influence. For explorers, it's normal to be attracted to a leader who is not their citizen. Columbus was Italian, but eventually he made his first expedition voyage for the Spaniards.
Columbus first landed in the Bahamas as we now know it, then traveled to Cuba, thinking it was China, and further into present-day Venezuela. Along his expedition route, Columbus and his crew established trade relations with people they met on the New World and established settlements for the Spanish royal family. Columbus's interactions with the local population were fraught with problems, and coupled with clashes with Spanish settlers, people complained about the administration of the land he had appointed governor.
Eventually, Spain sent an agent to arrest Columbus and bring him back to face the charges. He cleverly shrugged off these accusations and avoided harsh punishments, but most of the gold, gems, spices, and profits he had conscripted at sea were lost.
The United States celebrates Columbus Day on October 12, celebrating the day columbus first set foot on the land he discovered.
02 The Story of Lev Eriksen
Norwegian culture and mythology capture our imaginations with wild adventure stories, obscene celebrations and rugged landscapes. Lev Erikson's saga doesn't disappoint. Although Christopher Columbus's history is more widely known. This ancient Norse man was probably the first European to set foot on the American continent.
Leif Eriksson was born in Iceland around 970 AD and spent most of his adult life in Greenland, where his father was exiled after his father murdered a neighbor in his native Iceland. In true Norwegian style, Lev Eriksen's father was known as "Erik the Red", and his noisy lifestyle shaped the adventurous spirit of his sons. Red Eric established his first settlement in Greenland, where his son later began his voyage to discover the New World.
As has been the case in many historical encounters, the first Europeans to reach the North American continent discovered that they were not actually the first to get there. Lev Erikson's team met the Aboriginal people of present-day Canada, who fought them fiercely as they tried to harvest wine grapes and wood to bring back to Greenland. Many historians believe this is why Nordic explorers did not remain in North America — despite the abundance of resources they brought back, they suffered heavy casualties in the conflict with Canada's First Nations.
There are no conclusive records to support this theory, but it is estimated that the Norsemen continued to sail to the area about a decade after Lev Erickson's first expedition, and thereafter there has been less archaeological evidence of their existence.
While Christopher Columbus explored wealth—gold, pearls, gemstones, spices—Leo Erikson's men were looking for Greenland's scarce resources that were vital to survival. Wood and wine grapes were their primary concern, and their adventures on the ocean paid off handsomely. Explorers arrived in a sloop boat that is believed to be today's Baffin Island. Although Baffin Island is the fifth largest island in the world, it is desolate and lacks the resources that explorers set out to find.
They continued on to present-day Labrador, where they found a large amount of wood, so they named the land "Land of Forests". Erikson's band bravely continued their march south, and they are believed to have spent a winter in the northernmost tip of Newfoundland. This new land was planted with the wine grapes they had sought, many of which were harvested and brought back to Greenland.
Lev Eriksen returned to Greenland the following year, and he will not venture back to North America. Presumably, it may have been because his two brothers were killed in a battle with the natives over their land, but whatever the reason, Erikson never returned.
Every year, October 9 is Lev Erikson Day, but it is far less well-known than Columbus Day.
03 Other possible finders
Christopher Columbus and Lev Erikson were the most credible of the first people to sail and land in the Americas, and there are other myths that rival this title.
Most of these stories are unconfirmed and most likely created to support the myth of a monarchy or religious figure, and one of the more interesting ones is that of St. Brendan of Ireland and his search for the Garden of Eden. After hearing St. Barition's story about heaven, St. Brendan meditated and prayed for 40 days until he was instructed to head to Paradise Island. St. Brendan sailed to lush tranquility, also stayed for 40 days, and then he was instructed by a higher authority to return to Ireland.
Cartographers and explorers, including Columbus and the Vikings, noticed the story of St. Brendan and struggled to find the mysterious island. When they couldn't, theoretically, the island could actually be North American, and St. Brendan might actually be the first European to set foot on its shores.
Sources of information; Who Discovered The Americas And When? https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/who-discovered-the-americas-and-when.html