Is there a possibility that the Islamic civilization visited America before Columbus?
score:57
Columbus was not, in fact, the first to cross the Atlantic. There were Norse communities living in Greenland from the 10th Century. They even had some temporary settlements in North America proper. However, the Norse weren't as good at eking out a living in the North Atlantic as the Inuit, and (after 500 years) eventually got wiped out by some combination of their attacks and climate change.
However, this was far before the printing press, and at the extremes of European settlement, so it wasn't well-known in Europe.
There are several other tales of possible transatlantic crossings. However, none of them left the physical evidence behind that the Vikings did, so they are all generally regarded as just tales.
To be fair, we should also note that Inuit peoples regularly crossed to America from Asia, as did all the other indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere at some point. The island chains between Siberia and Alaska aren't all that much of a barrier for people used to living in that ecosphere. There is also indirect evidence of Polynesian contact with South America across the tropical Pacific.
What was important about Columbus was not his primacy. It was that when he came back, all of Europe (and probably the educated all over the Old World eventually) heard about it in detail, thanks to the recently invented printing press. Additionally, the society he came back to had both the means and the motivation to follow up. This is what the Norse, and the folks behind any other tall tales of Atlantic crossings that may happen to be true, did not have.
Upvote:-3
Something that has not being mentioned here is Piri Reis map.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_Reis_map
It used ten Arabian sources, four Indian maps sourced from the Portuguese and one map of Columbus
If accurate, most of the maps were previous to Columbus discovery, therefore someone "discovered" America before him, probably someone from Arabia or India...
Upvote:5
It's technically not impossible, but extremely unlikely. Thor Heyerdahl proved Polynesians could travel to South America. It still is an open question if they ever did that.
Claims of Mohammedans crossing the Atlantic I take with a grain (read: ton) of salt. Claiming is easy enough. Proving those claims is a very different matter. There is absolutely no proof at all they ever did.
That doesn't say it didn't happen. We have found evidence the Vikings did set up camps in Newfoundland. So far that is only evidence they visited America. Not that they settled down permanently. Until that proof of mohammedans visiting America is found, I don't think they ever went there.
Upvote:6
There is absolutely no evidence that various Islamic Caliphates "visited America before Columbus".
Now of course Islamic civilization has been present in Morocco for 1300 years and the Iberian Caliphate was present in Southwest Europe for nearly 800 years. The Medieval Muslims of the greater Iberian peninsula, as well as Morocco would have known about the Atlantic Ocean, since it was their backyard-(certainly in the cases of Western Morocco, as well as the Portuguese coast). However, in all likelihood, the Atlantic Ocean, for the Muslims, would have been just that..... an Ocean; a large, seemingly eternal waterway with no imaginable peoples or tangible lands in distant sight.
I am doubtful that the Medieval Muslims would have known about the Incas, Aztecs or the Cherokee and Mohawk nations within the Eastern region of Ancient America. If they had any knowledge of their existence, it did not appear to be a high priority for future conquest and conversion. However, the Medieval Muslims would have been aware of the Canary Islands-(West of Morocco), as well as the Atlantic coastal regions of Spain, France and Britain, though probably not beyond the West European coast. As far as I know, there are no maps, travel writings, historical texts or other primary sources which document, state or sketch a Muslim expedition to the Americas during Medieval times. Of course, with advancements in archaeological technology, as well as Geographic Information Systems/GIS, one may discover a retrieve a lost history that would prove the existence of such expeditions. However, until such a discovery materializes, there is currently no evidence that the Medieval Muslims "visited America before Columbus".
Upvote:26
Sure, it's possible. Many things are possible. Likely, however, is another question.
The link you posted describes a vague story of sailing west into the Atlantic, finding an island, trading with the locals, and returning home. Could the island be in the New World? It could, but it could just as easily be one of the islands in the Atlantic.
For me to consider the story at all plausible, I'd want to see an account of the journey that describes something you'd only find in the Americas and was definitely written before 1492. To move it from plausible to probable, I'd want to see physical evidence of the contact.
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