Italian sailors of Columbus' hometown discovered North America 150 years before him: Study

A recent study of ancient writings revealed that Italian sailors from the hometown of Christopher Columbus were aware of America 150 years before its actual discovery. Experts in Medieval Latin literature from the University of Milan were transcribing the Cronica Universalis, a document written by a Milan monk named Galvaneus Flamma in 1345.

While transcribing the historic text, the experts discovered that one of the paragraphs references talk about a place that is actually North America. This essay, which was discovered in 2013, claims that Genoa sailors were aware of the existence of the territory of Marckalada.

The researchers also discovered an indication that America had its mention in the Mediterranean region too. Notably, the Cronica Universalis is a single manuscript that has been preserved. 

The finding was published in the peer-reviewed journal Terrae Incognitae and it comes just a few days ahead of Columbus Day 2021, which is celebrated on the second Monday of October in the United States. It is also known as Indigenous People's Day in some parts of the country.

The new findings add to the ongoing argument over what exactly did Columbus anticipate to find when he crossed the ocean. They also follow a period when his sculptures were decapitated, smeared in crimson paint, lassoed around the head and pulled down, set ablaze, and dumped into a lake.

According to The Times, Paolo Chiesa, one of the authors of the study, said that this discovery is the most important evidence to circulate in the Mediterranean region of the American continent. He also mentioned that Columbus' expedition would have been much easier for him had he been aware of the sailors' knowledge. 

Columbus set off from Spanish port in 1492 to discover Asia

Chiesa went on to say that details of the journeys may be found in early Nordic writings but that there is no indication that the name of this region was known to the Mediterranean people.

It is should be mentioned here that on August 3, 1492, Columbus set off from the Spanish port of Palos in the hopes of discovering Asia. Columbus set sail with around 100 men and three ships - the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria - in a diametrically opposite direction from where he was intended to arrive.

The ships arrived in the modern-day Bahamas on October 12, 1492, and later that month, he spotted Cuba, mistaking it for mainland China. When the ships arrived on the shore two months later, Columbus assumed the place to be Japan. Columbus returned to America three more times, exploring the Lesser Antilles in 1493, Trinidad and the northern coast of South America in 1498, and the eastern coast of Central America in 1502.

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