Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Surprising and unsurprising discoveries
Via Science Digest, a recently discovered Italian manuscript from 1340 describes the Viking settlement on the American mainland.
The authors speculate that Columbus probably knew about these stories.
NOT surprising. Historians have been aware for a long time that the Norsemen and Italians were in frequent contact. Both were traders and sailors, and there was plenty of two-way commerce. Columbus and his cohorts almost certainly knew that Greenland was close to a larger mainland.
What's surprising is that this particular manuscript was unknown until 2013! We tend to think that all old documents have already been found.
This leads to a question: Did Columbus really believe that he reached Indonesia? Or was he engaging in protective branding? Manufacturers often disguise or rebrand a new product during open testing, hoping to confuse competitors. Modern automakers just use zebra paint, which doesn't conceal the identity but makes it hard to derive contours and shapes from random photos.
Best assumption: Columbus knew the northern path to the mainland, and he was trying to find a southern path without passing through Norse-controlled areas.
Labels: Answered better than asked
¶ 12:31 AM
