Re-Learning the Early History of North America’s ‘Discovery’

The United States came into being as a result of European colonialism starting in the 15th century. School children still learn this poem: “In 14 hundred and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He had three ships and left from Spain; He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain. He sailed by night; he sailed by day; He used the stars to find his way.” Full poem.

But Columbus was not the first European to set foot on North American soil. Some 500 years earlier, Viking explorers did, and attempted to establish a colony in Newfoundland. In short, North America wasn’t a “new world,” it was only new to Europeans.

Archaeological research indicates they may have arrived even before Leif Erikson beat Columbus around 1000 A.D. but at least a century earlier. See Vikings in North America.