America! Why America?

The common knowledge of who really discovered America is disputable – the first and obvious answer we are going to utter is – Christopher Columbus. However there are still some other factors worth looking at. It has been proven that the ancestors of Americans were present at this land long before Columbus has ever imagined his monumental and risky trip ahead, the peoples originated from Asia. There were couple of tales which described the onset of settling in America. One mentions the monk Hoei-Shin who made his trip from China to Mexico around 459AD.  Shortly after another brave monk, this time the Irish one – Brendan the Bold put his both feet on the sandy beach in 551AD. Each tale differs, the oracle history tends to be shaped and changed accordingly to needs – to meet another one, we have look upon the map of Europe toward the Viking lands and Iceland – the old Icelandic folklore prizes Leif Ericson as the first European man who discovered New World – no one else but ‘Lucky Leif’.  The scientific excavations proved the hint of truth in the legend – early Vikings settlings were indeed found in Newfoundland and New England. The pieces of evidence showed how advanced the foreign culture must have been. They could use iron and made tools and stuff from the precious metal whereas Native American primitive tribes had no clue what the iron was and what is more how it looked like. The sagas are filled with heroic description of Vikings, they were sea-going people eager to encounter unknown, they moved to explore new lands; they were overwhelmed by richness and beauty of Greenland.

The revolution begun with Columbus voyage, he brought to Spain goods and jewelry he gathered in America, the Spaniards were those who started long-lasting occupation of America.  They became greedy and unscrupulous, they presence in America was pronounced ‘In the name of God’ – yet their aim was a bit different to obtain the commodity many was ready to die for – gold.

The culture they were particularly interested in were the Aztecs. The very wealthy, city-building Native settlers who lived in the territory close to nowadays Mexico. Another bloodshed took place in Peru – where Francisco Pizarro slaughtered many to fulfill his lust for gold; The Incas had no chance. The ‘Conquistadors’  had no mercy.

Between 1539 and 1543 many trips went on and on to explore deeper and further. Hernando de Soto landed in Florida, he went westward and discovered the Mississippi River. Coronado explored southern part of the USA.

De Soto was fascinated by the Texas and Oklahoma. Coronado was looking for ‘Seven Cities of Gold’. The old legend says the cities were hidden somewhere in the desert. Instead he found the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, and Kansas. Quite a discovery! Isn’t it?

“America has got a pretty interesting history of its naming. Why was it called that way?

One reason stands for the mistake the early explorers did – namely, they were certain they reached Asia. The man who did this was an Italian sailor Amerigo Vespucci. He described the shape and exploration experience while he was sailing alongside the coasts of South America. The letters Vespucci wrote were translated by the German scholar, one so much fascinated by new explorations wanted to prize Vespucci. The coasts Vespucci saw and sailed nearby were called by the monk America – which was peculiar thus it was a feminine form of Vespucci’s name.”  Done…done!

The American land was a land full of wonders and unexplored possibilities, nothing was impossible. The Spaniards spread their role and rule over the American lands, they conquered Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Island. The news spread like fire, England wanted to know more and more about the new land. King Henry VII hired an Italian seaman John Cabot to explore, describe and take some tokens from the new lands. The followed the Columbus route, the found himself just in front of the shore of Newfoundland, at first he believed he reached China. He moved on and eventually explored North America as far as Chesapeake Bay. The French followed a new fashion and set sails in 1524 also hired an Italian sailor – Giovanni Verrazano who was lucky to anchor his ship at the present NYC. The French sailors made numerous expeditions each was more and more astounding and rich in discoveries, the Canada and the present Montreal was proclaimed French, eventually.

The hope appeared at the horizon, many people wanted to go to America, reasons were many; to expect better life, freedom, wealth, peace and quiet, no matter which values prevailed one was unspoken – an overwhelming feeling to go and try.  

Bibliography:

1.      The Norton Anthology of American Literature.

2.      A History of American Literature, A. Grey

3.      An Outline of American History.

4.      An Illustrated History of the USA.