INTRODUCTION

Every so often, frequently on Columbus Day, there is an article in the media claiming that someone other than Columbus discovered. America. These articles have one thing in common: they are all trying to prove that their particular protagonist arrived before Columbus and should be given the credit for the discovery. Verifiable evidence is usually sparse and generally depends upon unsupported statements made by some (often anonymous) expert. Most of the claims have very little factual support and, although many books have been written on the subject, as yet I have failed to find one that is unbiased and sticks to facts. To do that is my purpose and justification for writing this book.

Unfortunately, too many facts can make for dry reading. In order to keep the book readable most footnotes and references have been eliminated from the main text and placed in a large appendix where the reader can take in as much or as little detail as he wishes. The entries in the appendix are arranged in alphabetical order. They are marked q.v. in the main text with the keyword, usually an author's name, which appears in the appendix in bold type for easy reference. Entries may include a brief review of an author's work or a more detailed review of the subject under discussion.

This book is really about real people with real names such as Hanno, Brendan, Leif, Madoc, and Zuan and Sebastian. To try to differentiate between fact and fiction in the various versions of their stories will be the main thrust of the book but, of course, none of these were truly the first Americans. The first settlers arrived at least 10,000 years ago and possibly as much as 30,000 years ago or even more. We do not know who they were, nor whether they were the ancestors of all or any of the present aboriginal population. We certainly do not know their names.

However, there is no doubt that when the first modern explorers set foot in the New World there were people there to meet them. So the first chapter will be devoted to the controversial subject of the earliest people to cross into the void. It is impossible to do justice to such a vast subject in one chapter (although it will be a long chapter) but it will give some idea of what Nicholas and Karlsevne and Cook and La Verendrye and, of course, Christopher, found on their arrival.

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