Really?

 Sometimes it is difficult to sort out the facts from fiction. Beliefs and legends sometimes get confusing.

Soon, we will  enjoy a national holiday called “ Columbus Day”. The day  we chose to recognize ’The Discoverer of  America'. We learned in our elementary school days that “Columbus sailed the ocean blue” in his famous three ships named ‘Nina’, ‘Pinta’ and ‘The Santa Maria”.   A catchphrase designed to help cement that fact into our memory.

Christopher Columbus

When Christopher landed, he was greeted by  “Indians”, the local inhabitants who were not happy to learn more about this visitor as time went on. However, Columbus gets the credit for ‘Discovering America’ and the story is repeated every year in October.

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Leif Erikson

Every red-blooded  American-Norwegian knows that Columbus was far from being  the first European to find these shores. That distinction goes to the Vikings, the legendary Norse warriors and explorers who were raiding and settling many parts of the world from the late 8th to mid 11th century. And so it was the Vikings, not Columbus, who first made contact with the ‘Indians’. It is believed that Norse explorer Leif Erikson  reached Canada perhaps 500 years before Columbus was born. We don’t take the day off, but we will quietly celebrate ‘Leif Erikson Day’ October 9th.  Erikson  is a patronymic and not a family name. (he’s literally Erik’s son’). Evidence seems to point to Vikings making contact with American Indians back in the 10th century, as they explored the northeast coast of America, what they called Vineland (or Vinland).

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Every European ‘Discoverer’ was met by the local inhabitants known as ‘Indians”. Research and artifacts  left behind  have been found in both North and South America and dated to 14,000 BP,( present time). Asian nomads are thought to have entered the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge while the water levels were much lower. Beringia, now the Bering Strait was used as travelers continued  along the coast. Even the Vikings were not the first to set foot on the New World.

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Vikings roamed the European coasts  as settlers as well as raiders. Some did not wish to submit to the wishes of their rulers. Many left their land due to the tyrannical reign of Harald Hårfagre, who united all the petty kingdoms under his rule. Many Norwegian chieftains who were wealthy and respected posed a threat to Harald; therefore, they were subjected to much harassment from Harald, prompting them to vacate the land.

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They, in turn, sailed to nearby islands where

various settlements were established. These ‘settlers’ came into contact with the ‘natives’, who for the most part, were routinely dispatched when found. One of these island refuges was a group of  18 islands situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland and also close to England. This group of islands became known as The Faroe Islands whose inhabitants were religious and solitary beings thought to be
from England, quietly  living their  anchoritic life , one of the earliest forms of Christian monastic living. Anchorites were supposed to remain in their cells in all eventualities. Their survival in encounters with the wild Viking visitors more than likely resulted in escaping across the Atlantic, perhaps becoming ‘Indians of North America’.

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The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948.

The Danish name translates as "the islands of sheep". Norse settlement in these Islands can be traced back to sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries CE, with the first Viking to ever set foot on the Faroe Islands around the late 8th century. A Viking longhouse was unearthed during an excavation . Excavations continue, however little evidence of the earlier settlers is likely to be found, but archaeologists believe the anonymous people living in the bleak location in the 4th to 6th centuries AD must have been able to build boats and navigate the surrounding seas.

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The Faroes were the first stepping stone beyond Shetland for the travel of European people across the North Atlantic, continuing on the shores of continental North America in the 11th century AD, about 500 years before Columbus made his famous voyage.

These ‘Anonymous’ people, escaping the harsh treatment of the invading Vikings might have been groups of Europeans who traveled to settle elsewhere.  Early migrants from northeastern Asia could have walked to Alaska with relative ease when a land area now named Beringia was above sea level . This land bridge joined northeast Asia to modern Alaska and formed part of a much larger province called Beringa during the ice age.  20th century  travelers might have found additional
routes by which human beings first reached the Americas, following the southern coastline of Beringia and Alaska, then southward along the coast all the way to the southernmost tip of South America, establishing their new life just in time to greet their Spanish guests, the Italian Columbus and the Scandinavian Leif Erickson . When Columbus landed, he insisted that he was on the western side of "The Indies", so he eventually named the whole island chain "The West Indies". Of course, he called the natives "Indians".

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In this modern age,  in elementary school we still recognize Columbus as an important American
‘discoverer’. By the time we reached high school, we realized he didn’t even reach North America. Researching the event, we even

discovered his ships' names were different. The Santa Maria was known at the time as La Gallega, meaning “The Galician.” The Niña is now believed to be a nickname for a ship originally called the “Santa Clara”, and the Pinta was probably also a nickname, though the ship’s real name isn’t clear. We may have heard that his real name wasn’t even Columbus! Born in Italy, Cristoforo Colombo wanted ships to establish a "round-the-world" route to the wealth of the Indies. He could not get any backing from Italian nobles or merchants, so he went to Spain, and changed his name to Christopher Columbus . The King and Queen reluctantly provided the money and ships, sending  him and his crew sailing to ‘India’ to establish a shorter route to silks, spices and riches. 

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Leif Erickson sights land.

At least, Leif had a good idea where he was going, and the ‘Indians’, however named, were the 'Common Denominator’ in all events, always being the receivers on shore , and always getting ‘the short end of the stick!”

                                 But our history books scarcely recognize Leif Erickson while  Columbus’ journey is highlighted. Columbus even named the inhabitants who greeted the voyagers and the 'Indian' label of the Original Native American has never been changed.

            Happy Cristoforo Colombo Day!