Ancient American Explorers The Ice Age to Early English Attempts Christopher Wren Association Lecture 3 Outline Lecture 3 More legendary voyages to America Spanish and French Explorations England begins to expand into the New World Failed attempts to settle northern lands Irish Monks St. Brendan, Irish Mariner Brendan may have sailed as far as America in the 6th century Brendan’s Voyage Brendan took 17 monks with him Sailed for 7 years Made landfall at many islands Searched for the Land of Promise of the Saints Arrived at a fabulous new land Then returned to Ireland Brendan’s Voyage Possible Tim Severin sailed a skin boat from Dingle peninsula in Ireland to Newfoundland (St. Brendan’s Isle) in 1976, proving that the voyage was possible Ocean Winds & Currents Severin’s Voyage in Brendan Brendan Was On the Map St. Brendan’s Isle Map by Abraham Ortelius ca. 1570 Medieval Warm Period From 800 to 1300 CE Northern Hemisphere experienced a more temperate climate Glaciers retreated in Europe, Greenland, etc. Corresponds with the colonization of northern areas by Vikings Faroes settled by Norse ca. 800 Shetlands and Orkney Islands came under Norse control ca. 875 Iceland colonized 874-930 Erik the Red Fled Norway with his father Thorvald due to some “manslaughters” and settled in Iceland Erik continued the family tradition of murder Erik slew Eyjolf the Foul; he slew also Hrafn the kinsman of Eyholf … Erik Had to leave Iceland Sailed west following a course taken by Gunnbjorn Who had been blown there in a storm and returned with a story of a new, fertile land west of Iceland Norse Voyages to America Vikings sailed to America in 1000 A. D. Norse Vinland Voyages The Greenlanders’ Saga Leiv Eiriksson Stone Lamp L’Anse aux Meadows, Bronze Pin Newfoundland Viking Settlement Artifacts The Saga of Erik the Red Subsequent Norse Voyages The sagas tell tales of additional voyages after Leif, and Gudrid and Thorfinn Karlsefne. Legend of White Man’s Land or Great Ireland Refer to White monks living on a continent to the west Kidnapped Indians told the story Probably the same area as Vinland Generally accepted in medieval times that Irish monks had settled territory in the area we now know as North America Known Viking Voyages to America Kensington Rune Stone 1362 AD Discovered in 1898 by Olof Ohman, a Swedish farmer living near Kensington, Minnesota Kensington Rune Stone is a dressed sandstone 31 inches high, 16 inches wide, six inches thick & weighs 202 pounds. Root Scars Olof Ohman Front: 8 : göter : ok : 22 : norrmen : po : Translation: ...o : opdagelsefärd : fro : “Eight Götalanders and 22 Northmen on vinland : of : vest : vi : hade : läger : ved : 2 : skjär : en : (this?) acquisition journey from Vinland dags : rise : norr : fro : deno : sten : far to the west. We had a camp by two vi : var : ok : fiske : en : dagh : äptir : (shelters?) one day’s journey north from vi : kom : hem : fan : 10 : man : röde : this stone. We were fishing one day. After af : blod : og : ded : AVM : we came home, found 10 men red from frälse : äf : illü. Side: blood and dead. Ave Maria save from evil. här : (10) : mans : ve : havet : at : se : There are 10 men by the inland sea to look äptir : vore : skip : 14 : dagh : rise : after our ships fourteen days journey from from : deno : öh : ahr : 1362 : this peninsula (or island). Year 1362 Welsh Settle North America Prince Madoc ap Gwynedd Illegitimate son of Welsh Prince Owain Gwynedd and Brenda, daughter of a Viking lord in Ireland Traveled extensively during his youth Led naval forces against English King Henry II Sailed to America with his brother, Riryd Ships called Gwenan Gorn and Pedr Sant Ships reported sailing from Welsh waters in 1170 And reported missing in 1171 Welsh Settlers in America Ships probably similar to Viking design Madoc had Viking, Irish and Welsh ancestry Probably accompanied with settlers from Wales, Ireland and perhaps some Vikings Final landfall was Mobile Bay His story was contained in Welsh and English documents published during the centuries after his disappearance The Spanish believed in this story and looked for traces of Madoc’s settlers in the 1500s Madoc’s Route Welsh Settlers Migration Up Alabama River To the Coosa River To the Tennessee River To the Ohio River To the Mississippi River To the Missouri River To Heart River near Bismarck ND The Fate of the Welsh Settlers Cherokee lore tells of a battle between the Indians and white settlers on the Ohio River In times long before the coming of the English settlers in the 17th and 18th Fort Mountain, Georgia centuries. The white settlers retreated to the Mississippi River and then north. Memorial in Wales The white settlers built stone forts. Plaque at Fort Mountain, Georgia "The legends about a prehistoric white race are the most popular of all. They are based on tales handed down by word of mouth, among the Cherokee Indians. Ancient tribal chiefs said their early forebears passed along to posterity, these stories that people with fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes occupied the mountain areas until Cherokee Invaders finally dispersed them with great slaughter… Some historians give a measure of credence to a very old legend that a man named Prince Madoc and 200 adventurous Welshmen from Wales in 11 ships in the year 1170 landed on what is now the Alabama coast near Mobile… Repeated attacks by the Indians drove the Welshmen far into the North, until they found refuge in what is now the north Georgia Mountain area. There they lived in peace for many years, so the story goes, until the Cherokee killed many of them and intermarried with the survivors." Mandan Village by George Catlin Mandan Woman George Catlin lived among the Mandan 1832-1833. He found them unlike any other Plains Indians in appearance, customs, and language. Similarity in Watercraft Coracles on River Teifi Mandan bull boats Catlin described the unusual hooked end on Mandan paddles The Mandan Today Soon after Catlin left the Mandan, traders brought small pox to the tribe. In 1836 there were 1,800 Mandan & In 1838 there were 125 The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes combined and have lived together since the Civil War at their reservation In 1971 there were perhaps 30 Mandan Today there is reportedly one elder who speaks the Mandan language, although that language probably is an amalgam of the Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara languages—no trace of Welsh words can be found Back to Fu Sang The Third Chinese exploration of America Ming Emperor Zhu Di Chinese Admiral Zheng He Zheng He (aka Cheng Ho) led a huge fleet of ships from China to India and the east coast of Africa during 1405-1433. The fleet may also have rounded Africa and continued on to America, Antarctica, and Australia. Chinese artifacts have reportedly been found in America dating to the 15th century, 70 years before Columbus arrived there. Clip From History International Channel –Zheng He Chinese Admiral Zheng He Chinese Map ca. 1418 Chinese Admiral Zheng He Brass Medal with Ming Dynasty Message found in North Carolina. Also story of “China” Box reported in 1621. Fra Mauro Map 1459 South Africa Map asserts that a Chinese Ship sailed below Africa in 1420. That was the time of Zheng He. North Re-Discoveries of Newfoundland Bristol Fishermen Portuguese Bristol Fishermen Discover America Bristol Fishermen had discovered Newfoundland about 1480 Richard ap Merrick Richard Ap Merrick born in 1445 in Wales Became Richard Amerike when he moved to Bristol He was a wealthy merchant. He founded Bristol's Society of Merchant Adventurers. A letter ca. 1481 indicates that Amerike shipped salt (for salting fish) to Bristol fishermen in Newfoundland. Chief sponsor for John Cabot's expedition to Newfoundland in 1497 ...on St John the Baptist's Day [24 June], the land of America was found by the merchants of Bristowe, in a ship of Bristowe called the Mathew. America may have been named after Amerike Waldseemueller Map Named America in 1507 Map Corte-Real Explorations 1472 Joao Corte-Real and his sons discover island of Bacalhau (cod fish) Believed to be Newfoundland Joao Corte-Real Sons return in 1501 & 1502 Both lost at sea Gaspar Corte-Real Statue St. John’s, Newfoundland Map of the World by Abraham Ortelius, 1570 Christopher Columbus Born 1451 Died 5/20/1506 Columbus’ Voyages Cabot’s Voyage to Newfoundland 1497 Born ca. 1455 at Gaeta Died in England in 1499 Matthew Replica at Bristol 78’ LOA, 85 Tons Giovanni da Verrazano Born ca. 1485 near Florence Sailed La Dauphine across the Atlantic in 1524 Sailing for King of France Departed Madeira 1/17/1524 Arrived Cape Fear, NC 3/1/1524 Met with Indians there Found OBX and thought that the sound beyond was the Pacific Ocean Giovanni da Verrazano Kidnapped an Indian child near Kitty Hawk Missed the Chesapeake Sailed into New York harbor Then Narragansett Bay Anchored off Maine Bypassed Newfoundland & returned to France Erroneous “Verrazano Sea” perpetuated Sailed later to Brazil Killed “and eaten” by Carib the search for the Northwest passage Indians at Guadeloupe in 1528 Back to Newfoundland 1527 Capt. John Rut, English Navy sent letter to King Henry VIII from St. John’s King commands west-country merchant named Bute To establish a colony there 1528 Bute builds permanent residence at St. John’s St. John’s from Signal Hill Jacques Cartier Cartier born St. Malo 1491, died there 1577 Made 3 voyages to America Named territory Canada Looking for NW passage to Asia Explored St. Lawrence in 1534 Reached Montreal in 1535 Huron told Cartier of “Saguenay” Last voyage looked for Saguenay and its riches unsuccessfully in 1541 Jacques Cartier Spanish Claim North America Juan Ponce de Leon, on Easter, March 27, 1513, landed in North America and claimed the land for Spain, naming it La Florida.