Who Really Discovered America Essay - 1225 Words

History Paper Who discovered America? By: Deanne Mastrocola Why is it that American culture today attributes its geographic discovery to a man named Christopher Columbus? Could it be that he was the first European to claim this land as part of an Imperialistic expansion or is it merely out of convenience for the history books? It is known that the American continent was populated by 1000 AD which is long before settlements by Viking fisherman and even longer before the arrival of Columbus. In spite of this fact every October, we as a culture celebrate a holiday in honor of the man who is believed to be the discoverer of America. Like so many other aspects of enculturation past down through American families, generation after†¦show more content†¦And lastly Viking technology aloud them to sail across harsh seas and reach the Americas before Christopher Columbus. Leif Erickson was the son of Eric the Red, Eric the Red was an explorer that became a leader of a colony in Greenland, the colony that Eric the Red owned was later handed over to his son Leif. Leif Erickson was born in Iceland in the year 980, after Leif was born he was moved to Greenland with his father Eric the Red and some of his brothers. Later in his life around 1000 A.D., about 500 years before Christophers voyage, Leif set out to discover new lands. Trying to follow Bjarnes tracks Leif Erickson led his Vikings over the Atlantic Ocean to the new land. Leif Erickson had drifted by the wind way out of course and spotted a flat wooded coastline far westward, this was the new world. When Leif got to this new land he founded a place named Vinland, he called it that because of all the grape vines the Vikings found there. It was later named America, after an Italian named Amerigo Vespucci. After a few years the colony in Vinland was abandoned after hostile attack by the native people along with the fact that it got too cold. The settlers moved across the land until their population numbered 3,000. But in the 1400s the climate changed dramatically for th e worse and the settlement had disappeared within a few decades. Leif Erickson had opened a new land rich with resources for the Vikings to explore, but for some reason, the Vikings onlyShow MoreRelatedPersonal And Professional Ethical System1134 Words   |  5 Pagesmentioned it surprising because it is discovered by one of the regular tax clerk while calculating bank’s earnings in order to prepare its reports for first-quarter. In fact, this mistake goes back to 2008. That really started when Bank of America acquired investment bank Merrill Lynch. And, companies like Bank of America have own audit committee that do annual internal auditing. As a result, Bank of America shows to Federal Reserve $4 billion capital more than they really have, which is considerable amountRead MoreThe Age Old Question Of Who Discovered America1421 Words   |  6 Pagesold question of who discovered America first has been debated over for uncountable years now. Throughout history, innumerable p eople have been given the credit as being the first to arrive, or discover, America over the time span of hundreds of years. A few theories of who discovered America are Leaf Erikson, Native Americans, China, and surprises Muslims. All of these people, nation, or group of religion, have been justified or thought of to have arrived, lived, or landed in America before ChristopherRead MoreWhy Did Christopher Columbus Not Discover America?887 Words   |  4 Pages Why did Christopher Columbus not discover America? â€Å"In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.† One of the first things we learned in primary school was that Christopher Columbus discovered America, they also made us read Christopher s Journals (1493) such as: â€Å" They †¦ brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks bells. They willingly traded everythingRead MoreI Am From There Is No Such Holiday As Thanksgiving974 Words   |  4 Pages In America thanksgiving is a day that families shares meals that contains either turkey or ham and say what they are grateful for this year and give thanks. After eating, the men either watch football or people just hang out with each other. One thing that I learned about America is that Americans like to romanticize history, they always like make up their own story or version of history so that history don’t seem so tragic. The ir stretched up version is nothing like reality or what really happenRead MoreWhy Did Christopher Columbus Not Discover America?874 Words   |  4 PagesWhy did Christopher Columbus not discover America? â€Å"In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.† One of the first things we learned in primary school was that Christopher Columbus discovered America. But they also made us read Christopher s Journals (1493) such as â€Å" They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks bells. 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Before Christopher Columbus and the rest of Europeans set foot in America, the land that they discovered was a land of almost unbelievable wealth as they discovered two vast continents teeming with life, they have discovered more thanRead MoreTow ard Something American: The Immigrant Soul by Peter Marin749 Words   |  3 Pagesmixture of past cultures. American life is slightly different. Marvin writes American although influenced by past cultures struggles to find home. Marvin states â€Å"home† is for us, as it is for all immigrants, sometimes to be regained, created, discovered, or mourned†. There are qualities and aspects that make up culture which can be defined as American or Western. In this essay we will explore the distinction between life and culture and if culture can be easily be distinguished between AmericanRead MoreEssay Christopher Columbus1212 Words   |  5 PagesColumbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen-hundred-ninty-two. 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Since San Francisco Chinatown is so famous and successful, it gives me an inspiration of comparing