I found this online it has good info but the author left out some important evidence that would have helped prove his point. I couldnt find this persons name either.
African Presence In America Before Columbus
Traditionally history had been taught from a eurocentric point of view. The reason is the content of education, textbooks, religious teachings and the Bible itself had been controlled for 500 years by Europeans. Sometimes this point of view obscures reality. There were some recent finds which might indicate an error in our translation of history. Sometimes we are so reluctant to change our way of thinking that we need overwelming evidence, far beyond a reasonable doubt. This article will attempt to lay the foundation for African presence in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus, not as slaves, but as explorers and traders who helped to build the Olmec civilization.
This line of thinking is not new. In 1920, Leo Weiner wrote Africa and the Discovery of America. He is a Harvard graduate and thought to be the originator of the idea even though he did not have all of the recently discovered facts necessary to support his theory. Later in 1962, Harold G. Lawrence wrote African Explorers of the New World. He believed that Mandigos from the Mali and Songhay Empires carried on trade with the natives of the Americas. In 1969, an article was written by Basil Davidson, titled "Africans Before Columbus?" This article reflected on the information Columbus brought back from the New World. Alexander Von Wuthenau is a South American historian and he taught Pre-Columbian Art History at the University of the Americas. He also founded the Humanitas Americas Collection at San Angel. Von Wuthenau wrote Unexpected Faces in Ancient America in 1975. These are just a few of the historians who support this theory. There are many more. The leading researcher on this subject today is Ivan Van Sertima, who has written several books on the subject. Van Sertima is a professor at Rutgers University. He delivered a lecture to the Smithsonian Institute on November 1, 1991, as part of the symposium "Race", Discourse and the Origin of the Americas: A New World View of 1942. Many historians deny this Pre-Columbian African Presence, and believe ignoring it is the best way to deal with it, except for Micheal Coe and Ignacio Bernal. They chose to take a stance against the presence and wrote several books on the subject.
Christopher Columbus is believed to have discovered the New World, his route was not a straight westerly route as one might expect. His route consisted of four legs. The first leg took him southwest to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. After arriving at the Islands he changed sails from a lateen sail to a square sail. The lateen sail was designed to tack against the wind. The square sail could only sail with a following or side wind, but it was stronger and faster with less wind. This change would only have been performed if you knew you had a following or a side wind. This indicates that Columbus received feedback from someone who traveled this route before. The second leg of Columbus's route had a following or side wind twelve months out of the year. If he had gone west from Spain he would have encountered head winds the entire trip. The third and fourth leg returned him along a northern route home. So why did he travel to Africa? Other previous expeditions led by Europeans and or Vikings, traveled northwest. These facts are a strong indication that Columbus was aware of the winds and the currents off the coast of Africa. These facts are still disputed by some historians. One historian named Morrison believed that it was good fortune that the wind carried Columbus's fleet to the New World. Another historian Bjorn Landstrom thinks it was God's will that he was the only one to discover the N.E. Trade Winds and currents.
In the Atlantic Ocean there are currents and winds that move in the same direction all year round with little variation. These currents and winds are strong enough to pull a ship off course and move it from one side of the ocean to the other. Once in this current, it would be next to impossible for a ship without a motor to break free. There are two currents that originate off the coast of Africa and flow west to the Americas. The two currents are the Guinea Current and the Canary Current. The Guinea Current starts about mid-Africa just below the equator and flows to South America just around Brazil. The Canary current originates at the Canary Islands and flows along North Africa to Cape Verde where it runs into the North Equatorial Current. This current along with the N.E. Trade Winds would deliver a vessel at North America around the Bahamas Islands, which was right in the heart of the Olmec civilization.
There have been several important experiments with African boats and the Atlantic currents. Starting in 1952, Dr. Alain Bombard sailed from Casablanca to Barbados in an African raft. In 1955, Dr. Hannes Lindemann sailed for fifty-two days from the Cape Verde Islands to the South American coast. Both journeys were made alone and the men arrived in good health. In 1969, Thor Heyerdahl conducted two experiments, one with the Ra I and the other with the Ra II. The Ra I and the Ra II were ships built identical to an earlier model African ship. The ships were built out of papyrus and were constructed the way they would have been during the Pre-Columbian era. The Ra I was built by the Buduma people first. The Ra I started at Safi in North Africa and sailed to Barbados. The Ra I fell short of making the journey across the Atlantic. The Ra II was built by a native American tribe, the Aymara, this ship made it from Africa to America successfully. These experiments prove that if these simple vessels could negotiate the Atlantic Ocean using one of the two currents, then some of Africa's more sophisticated ships could have made the trip.
The civilization of Africa developed very sophisticated vessels. They built reed boats with a and without sails, log rafts lashed together, dugouts as wide-berthed, Viking ships, double-canoes, lateen-rigged dhows, jointed boats, and rope sewn plank vessels with straw cabins and cooking facilities. These vessels could be found navigating the Nile and Niger rivers. The vessels covered a distance of 2,600 miles carrying cargo from food and people, to elephants and building material. Africa at it's nearest point is 1,500 miles away from America. This point puts a possible voyage to the Americas in perspective.
It has been documented that two different African civilizations made the voyage to the Americas. The first one was the 25th Dynasty of Egypt (751-656 B.C.E.). Any voyages made during this time would have resulted accidentally. The Nubians quest for iron ore deposits took them up and down the African coast. They might have journeyed into the Atlantic after iron ore deposits or a storm could have driven them into the Atlantic. Once in the currents it would have delivered them to the Americas. This would put them in the Olmec heartlands at the time of the founding of the Olmec civilization. The second voyage was made by the Mandiga people of the Mali Empire in 1310 and 1311. In 1324 Mansa Kankan Musa stopped in Cairo and reported that his predecessor, Prince Abubakari II, launched two expeditions to explore the limits of the Atlantic Ocean. The first expedition he sent out 200 ships of men, and 200 ships of trade material, food, water. One ship returned and told of the current that seemed like a river in the middle of the ocean. The captain watched the ships get sucked away, and then returned with the news. Prince Abubakari II, after listening to the captain, decided he would lead the next voyage himself. He took 1,000 ships of men and 1,000 ships loaded with supplies.
Some of these Africans must have made it to the Americas, because there were sightings that indicated their presence in the New World. Columbus himself reported that the American Indians of Hispaniola had told him that "there had come to Hispaniola people who have the tops of their spears made of a metal which they call quanin, of which he had sent samples to the Sovereigns to have them assayed, when it was found that of 32 parts, 18 were gold, six of silver and eight of copper." These samples were sent back to Spain on a mail boat, and the proportion was found to be identical to what was being forged in African Guinea. On his third voyage he journeyed to the Cape Verde Islands. There he found that "canoes had been found which start from the coast of Guinea and navigate to the west with merchandise." A personal friend of Columbus, named Las Casa, who traveled with him later left the following message:
"Certain principal inhabitants of the island of Santiago came to see them and they say that to the southwest of the Island of Huego [Fogo, or Fuego] which is one of the Cape Verdes distance 12 leagues from this, may be seen an island, and that the King Don Juan [Dom Joao II of Portugal] was greatly inclined to send to make discoveries to the southwest, and that canoes had been found which start from the coast of Guinea and navigate to the west with merchandise."
African Presence In America Before Columbus
Traditionally history had been taught from a eurocentric point of view. The reason is the content of education, textbooks, religious teachings and the Bible itself had been controlled for 500 years by Europeans. Sometimes this point of view obscures reality. There were some recent finds which might indicate an error in our translation of history. Sometimes we are so reluctant to change our way of thinking that we need overwelming evidence, far beyond a reasonable doubt. This article will attempt to lay the foundation for African presence in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus, not as slaves, but as explorers and traders who helped to build the Olmec civilization.
This line of thinking is not new. In 1920, Leo Weiner wrote Africa and the Discovery of America. He is a Harvard graduate and thought to be the originator of the idea even though he did not have all of the recently discovered facts necessary to support his theory. Later in 1962, Harold G. Lawrence wrote African Explorers of the New World. He believed that Mandigos from the Mali and Songhay Empires carried on trade with the natives of the Americas. In 1969, an article was written by Basil Davidson, titled "Africans Before Columbus?" This article reflected on the information Columbus brought back from the New World. Alexander Von Wuthenau is a South American historian and he taught Pre-Columbian Art History at the University of the Americas. He also founded the Humanitas Americas Collection at San Angel. Von Wuthenau wrote Unexpected Faces in Ancient America in 1975. These are just a few of the historians who support this theory. There are many more. The leading researcher on this subject today is Ivan Van Sertima, who has written several books on the subject. Van Sertima is a professor at Rutgers University. He delivered a lecture to the Smithsonian Institute on November 1, 1991, as part of the symposium "Race", Discourse and the Origin of the Americas: A New World View of 1942. Many historians deny this Pre-Columbian African Presence, and believe ignoring it is the best way to deal with it, except for Micheal Coe and Ignacio Bernal. They chose to take a stance against the presence and wrote several books on the subject.
Christopher Columbus is believed to have discovered the New World, his route was not a straight westerly route as one might expect. His route consisted of four legs. The first leg took him southwest to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. After arriving at the Islands he changed sails from a lateen sail to a square sail. The lateen sail was designed to tack against the wind. The square sail could only sail with a following or side wind, but it was stronger and faster with less wind. This change would only have been performed if you knew you had a following or a side wind. This indicates that Columbus received feedback from someone who traveled this route before. The second leg of Columbus's route had a following or side wind twelve months out of the year. If he had gone west from Spain he would have encountered head winds the entire trip. The third and fourth leg returned him along a northern route home. So why did he travel to Africa? Other previous expeditions led by Europeans and or Vikings, traveled northwest. These facts are a strong indication that Columbus was aware of the winds and the currents off the coast of Africa. These facts are still disputed by some historians. One historian named Morrison believed that it was good fortune that the wind carried Columbus's fleet to the New World. Another historian Bjorn Landstrom thinks it was God's will that he was the only one to discover the N.E. Trade Winds and currents.
In the Atlantic Ocean there are currents and winds that move in the same direction all year round with little variation. These currents and winds are strong enough to pull a ship off course and move it from one side of the ocean to the other. Once in this current, it would be next to impossible for a ship without a motor to break free. There are two currents that originate off the coast of Africa and flow west to the Americas. The two currents are the Guinea Current and the Canary Current. The Guinea Current starts about mid-Africa just below the equator and flows to South America just around Brazil. The Canary current originates at the Canary Islands and flows along North Africa to Cape Verde where it runs into the North Equatorial Current. This current along with the N.E. Trade Winds would deliver a vessel at North America around the Bahamas Islands, which was right in the heart of the Olmec civilization.
There have been several important experiments with African boats and the Atlantic currents. Starting in 1952, Dr. Alain Bombard sailed from Casablanca to Barbados in an African raft. In 1955, Dr. Hannes Lindemann sailed for fifty-two days from the Cape Verde Islands to the South American coast. Both journeys were made alone and the men arrived in good health. In 1969, Thor Heyerdahl conducted two experiments, one with the Ra I and the other with the Ra II. The Ra I and the Ra II were ships built identical to an earlier model African ship. The ships were built out of papyrus and were constructed the way they would have been during the Pre-Columbian era. The Ra I was built by the Buduma people first. The Ra I started at Safi in North Africa and sailed to Barbados. The Ra I fell short of making the journey across the Atlantic. The Ra II was built by a native American tribe, the Aymara, this ship made it from Africa to America successfully. These experiments prove that if these simple vessels could negotiate the Atlantic Ocean using one of the two currents, then some of Africa's more sophisticated ships could have made the trip.
The civilization of Africa developed very sophisticated vessels. They built reed boats with a and without sails, log rafts lashed together, dugouts as wide-berthed, Viking ships, double-canoes, lateen-rigged dhows, jointed boats, and rope sewn plank vessels with straw cabins and cooking facilities. These vessels could be found navigating the Nile and Niger rivers. The vessels covered a distance of 2,600 miles carrying cargo from food and people, to elephants and building material. Africa at it's nearest point is 1,500 miles away from America. This point puts a possible voyage to the Americas in perspective.
It has been documented that two different African civilizations made the voyage to the Americas. The first one was the 25th Dynasty of Egypt (751-656 B.C.E.). Any voyages made during this time would have resulted accidentally. The Nubians quest for iron ore deposits took them up and down the African coast. They might have journeyed into the Atlantic after iron ore deposits or a storm could have driven them into the Atlantic. Once in the currents it would have delivered them to the Americas. This would put them in the Olmec heartlands at the time of the founding of the Olmec civilization. The second voyage was made by the Mandiga people of the Mali Empire in 1310 and 1311. In 1324 Mansa Kankan Musa stopped in Cairo and reported that his predecessor, Prince Abubakari II, launched two expeditions to explore the limits of the Atlantic Ocean. The first expedition he sent out 200 ships of men, and 200 ships of trade material, food, water. One ship returned and told of the current that seemed like a river in the middle of the ocean. The captain watched the ships get sucked away, and then returned with the news. Prince Abubakari II, after listening to the captain, decided he would lead the next voyage himself. He took 1,000 ships of men and 1,000 ships loaded with supplies.
Some of these Africans must have made it to the Americas, because there were sightings that indicated their presence in the New World. Columbus himself reported that the American Indians of Hispaniola had told him that "there had come to Hispaniola people who have the tops of their spears made of a metal which they call quanin, of which he had sent samples to the Sovereigns to have them assayed, when it was found that of 32 parts, 18 were gold, six of silver and eight of copper." These samples were sent back to Spain on a mail boat, and the proportion was found to be identical to what was being forged in African Guinea. On his third voyage he journeyed to the Cape Verde Islands. There he found that "canoes had been found which start from the coast of Guinea and navigate to the west with merchandise." A personal friend of Columbus, named Las Casa, who traveled with him later left the following message:
"Certain principal inhabitants of the island of Santiago came to see them and they say that to the southwest of the Island of Huego [Fogo, or Fuego] which is one of the Cape Verdes distance 12 leagues from this, may be seen an island, and that the King Don Juan [Dom Joao II of Portugal] was greatly inclined to send to make discoveries to the southwest, and that canoes had been found which start from the coast of Guinea and navigate to the west with merchandise."