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

Map by Abraham Ortelius ca. 1570

St. Brendan’s Isle

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

L’Anse aux Meadows,

Artifacts The Saga of Erik the Red

Newfoundland Viking Settlement

Stone Lamp

Bronze Pin

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 :

...o : opdagelsefärd : fro :

vinland : of : vest : vi :

hade : läger : ved : 2 : skjär : en :

dags : rise : norr : fro : deno : sten :

vi : var : ok : fiske : en : dagh : äptir :

vi : kom : hem : fan : 10 : man : röde :

af : blod : og : ded : AVM :

frälse : äf : illü.

Side:

här : (10) : mans : ve : havet : at : se :

äptir : vore : skip : 14 : dagh : rise :

from : deno : öh : ahr : 1362 :

Translation:

“Eight Götalanders and 22 Northmen on

(this?) acquisition journey from Vinland

far to the west. We had a camp by two

(shelters?) one day’s journey north from

this stone. We were fishing one day. After

we came home, found 10 men red from

blood and dead. Ave Maria save from evil.

There are 10 men by the inland sea to look

after our ships fourteen days journey from

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

Fort Mountain, Georgia

Memorial in Wales

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

centuries.

The white settlers retreated to the

Mississippi River and then north.

The white settlers built stone forts.

"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."

Plaque at Fort Mountain, Georgia

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

Mandan bull boats Coracles on River Teifi

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

North

Africa

Map asserts that a Chinese

Ship sailed below Africa in 1420.

That was the time of Zheng He.

South

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

Sons return in 1501 & 1502

Both lost at sea Gaspar Corte-Real Statue

St. John’s, Newfoundland

Joao Corte-Real

Map of the World by Abraham Ortelius, 1570

Christopher Columbus

Born 1451

Died 5/20/1506

Columbus’ Voyages

Cabot’s Voyage to Newfoundland 1497

Matthew Replica at Bristol

78’ LOA, 85 Tons

Born ca. 1455 at Gaeta

Died in England in 1499

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

Sailed later to Brazil

Killed “and eaten” by Carib Indians at Guadeloupe in 1528

Erroneous “Verrazano Sea” perpetuated

the search for the Northwest passage

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.

Born 1460, Valladolid, Spain

Died from poisoned arrow wound, July, 1521, Havana, Cuba.

Buried Old San Juan Cathedral

Spanish Exploration of OBX Detail from Guiterrez map

of 1562

Spanish occupied bases in

Florida and South Carolina

Had explored the

Chesapeake Bay

Annexed the Outer Banks

in 1566

French Explorations Jean Ribault & Rene Laudonniere made

settlements in Florida & South Carolina

Ft. Caroline near Jacksonville

Charlesfort near Parris Island

1562-1565, landed hundreds of men, women

and children

Spanish Captain General Pedro Menendez de

Aviles eradicated them in September 1565 Ft. Caroline

Spanish Occupation

Founded in 1565 immediately

after the eradication of the

French settlers.

St. Augustine is the oldest

continuously occupied

settlement of European

origin in the United States.

Oldest City in USA?

Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico Occupied since ca. 1100 A. D.

English Colonization of America

Sir Martin Frobisher

Sir Humphrey Gilbert

Map or World by Abraham Ortelius 1570

Possible Northwest Passage Shown in Yellow

Sir Martin Frobisher Born Yorkshire 1535

Began life at sea as slave trader

Launched search for NW passage in northern

Canada in 1576

Ship Gabriel

Reached Baffin Island

Abandoned 5 of his men

Returned with “black earth” reputed to be gold

ore and three Inuit (Eskimo) hostages

Frobisher’s Route

Frobisher’s Next Voyages Now they abandoned the search for a passage

Gold was their quest

1577 Three ships with royal backing (£1,000)

200 tons of “gold ore” proved worthless

1578 Fifteen Ships sent with royal backing

Attempted to establish a settlement in Frobisher Bay

Dissension put an end to the settlement

Returned with more useless dirt.

Frobisher later distinguished himself in battle against Spain

Successful privateer

Died of wounds received in battle in 1594 in France

Buried at St. Giles-without-Cripplegate, London

Frobisher’s Hostages

Captaine Frobisher in a ship of our queenes of

the burden of 200 tonnes came into [Bristol]

from Cattai, who brought certaine oare from

thence, which was esteemed to be very ritch and full

of gowld....They brought likewise a man called

Callicho and a woman named Ignorth. They were

sauage people and fed only uppon raw flesh. The

9th. of October [the man] rode in a little bote

made of skinne in the water at the backe, where he

killed 2 duckes with a dart, and when he had done carried his bote through the marsh upon his

back. The like he did at the weare and other places, where many beheld him. He would hit a

ducke a good distance of and not misse. They died here within a month.

Painted by John

White

Sir Humphrey Gilbert

Born ca. Greenway, England 1539

Died at sea September 9, 1583

Soldier and Mariner

Interested in finding the “Northwest

Passage”

Elected to Parliament as member from

Plymouth

Half-Brother of Sir Walter Ralegh

Founded colony in St. John’s Newfoundland

1583

Died at sea on the return voyage later that

year.

Gilbert’s Second Voyage

The same Monday night, about twelve, the frigate Squirrel

being ahead of us in The Golden Hind, suddenly her

lights were out…in that moment the frigate was devoured

and swallowed by the sea.

Captain Edward Hayes, Master of The Golden Hind

Questions

and Answers