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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
Paul Burke BS: Romans Discovered America? (108* d) RE: BS: Romans Discovered America? 21 Dec 15


It's almost certain that many people got blown out into the Atlantic. The point is that there is no discernible evidence of any of them having any effect on any culture in either of the Americas, apart from a very tenuous trace of Vikings (used as a genberic term for seagoing Scandinavians) in Newfoundland, and a possibly rather more frequented presence on the islands north of the Canadian mainland, such as Baffin Island.

The Vikings had very good ships, designed for Atlantic travel- though mostly sticking to the eastern seaboard where the best raiding territory was, they colonised the Shetlands, the Faeroes, Iceland and Greenland. And the only thing really stopping them colonising parts of America was lack of manpower because of the far richer pickings elsewhere- Ireland, England, France (they became the Normans), Russia, North Africa, Byzantium.

When it came to colonial conflict, a few dozen people with iron age weapons didn't have a sufficient advantage over thousands with stone age weapons. It took thousands of gunpowder age invaders to create permanent colonies.

Romans, Welsh, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Irish. Berbers etc. had boats designed for daytime fishing and coasting. They didn't carry water for the two to three months it takes to cross the Atlantic, let alone the problems of food and heavy seas. I think a lot of people imagine the Atlantic to be like the park boating lake, and not a lot bigger.


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