I think it’s reasonable to say they knew. They probably didn’t realize how enormous the Americas were. But it was certainly known that some landmass existed west of Greenland. The Norse settled Greenland around year 1000 and allegedly founded colonies in Newfoundland around that time.
I think a lot of people don’t know about the settlements. I’ve never been myself, but I’d love to go someday. I want to go walk around it, and see what they saw.
Norse may have been there, but there was no lasting impact. No permanent settlement, no trade, no records other than logs/journals, no memory, no further exploration …. Compare that with the impact of Columbus’ voyage
We actually don’t know how much the Norse may have explored: we have very few records and I believe only one settlement for a couple years.
Someone can have a big impact on history and not be worth celebrating.
The thing I think about all the time is that I think our holidays should have a point. Labor day celebrates the accomplishments of workers and encourages us to adopt their best traits: industriousness, teamwork, determination.
Independence Day is supposed to inspire us to be grateful for the courage showed by the founders who seceded from Great Britain, and model their (supposed) virtues, such as liberty.
Thanksgiving is supposed to celebrate harvests, gratitude, the kindness of strangers, etc. There are certainly problems with the history it exhalts, but it makes sense.
Juneteenth is a celebration of diversity, the achievements of black Americans and of abolitionists, Memorial day is about military valor and sacrifice, etc.
Columbus Day just makes no sense. Even if we ignore that Columbus was a monstrous person hated even by his peers,… what exactly is the point of the holiday? Columbus isn’t known for any particular virtue at all, and the discovery of inhabited Caribbean islands by a Spanish-financed Italian explorer has no clear meaning for us as Americans. It barely has anything to do with us.
He told Europe that America existed. Thats a massive turning point in history.
As everyone knows, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand asked Columbus to set sail and find chill friends to share treats and peacefully hang.
Everyone kicked it and lived happily ever after.
They already knew. The Norse found it 500 years before Columbus.
Knew is a strong word
The norse found it but 500 years is a crazy long time, and they didn’t know it wasn’t just a series of arctic islands
I think it’s reasonable to say they knew. They probably didn’t realize how enormous the Americas were. But it was certainly known that some landmass existed west of Greenland. The Norse settled Greenland around year 1000 and allegedly founded colonies in Newfoundland around that time.
It’s more than allegedly. They founded settlements here.
Nice, last I’d heard we were going off of written records. Didn’t know there was physical evidence.
I think a lot of people don’t know about the settlements. I’ve never been myself, but I’d love to go someday. I want to go walk around it, and see what they saw.
Norse may have been there, but there was no lasting impact. No permanent settlement, no trade, no records other than logs/journals, no memory, no further exploration …. Compare that with the impact of Columbus’ voyage
We actually don’t know how much the Norse may have explored: we have very few records and I believe only one settlement for a couple years.
I find this idea fascinating - they could have ….
— https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/norumbega-tower
So was Hitler starting WW2, but no one celebrates “Hitler Day”
We knew the Americas existed long before Hitler told anyone about it.
I thought that was the primary advantage the British gained from cracking enigma- they learned FDR’s phone number from a cracked German transmission.
Isn’t Hitler Day the day he offed himself, though?
What do you think 4/20 is? That’s Hitler’s birthday! /s
Someone can have a big impact on history and not be worth celebrating.
The thing I think about all the time is that I think our holidays should have a point. Labor day celebrates the accomplishments of workers and encourages us to adopt their best traits: industriousness, teamwork, determination.
Independence Day is supposed to inspire us to be grateful for the courage showed by the founders who seceded from Great Britain, and model their (supposed) virtues, such as liberty.
Thanksgiving is supposed to celebrate harvests, gratitude, the kindness of strangers, etc. There are certainly problems with the history it exhalts, but it makes sense.
Juneteenth is a celebration of diversity, the achievements of black Americans and of abolitionists, Memorial day is about military valor and sacrifice, etc.
Columbus Day just makes no sense. Even if we ignore that Columbus was a monstrous person hated even by his peers,… what exactly is the point of the holiday? Columbus isn’t known for any particular virtue at all, and the discovery of inhabited Caribbean islands by a Spanish-financed Italian explorer has no clear meaning for us as Americans. It barely has anything to do with us.
He told Europe that he had found a route to India, but something seemed off….
Amerigo Vespucci told Europe it was a new continent.