Muslim discovery of Americas before Columbus
School and teachers have been lying to you about Christopher Columbus discovering America. It may surprise people that there are countless numbers of proof from all over the Muslim world that Muslims discovered America before Columbus. And in fact Columbus didn't even set foot on America itself he was lost on his way to India and stumbled on the Carribean Islands.
Andalus
Abu Al-Hasan Al-Masudi was a Muslim geographer and historian who wrote in one of his voyages in that from Andalus (Muslim Spain) there was a voyage by Khaskash Ibn Sa'id Ibn Aswad that he went from Delba (Pelos) westward for entire months and eventually came across a huge plain of land. They also traded with the natives there and returned back to Andalus. He had gotten tresurous and On his map Al-Masudi titles the land as "The Unknown Land" and described it as a large land area in the ocean of darkness and fog (the Atlantic Ocean) which he referred to as the unknown territory (the Americas).
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Ibn Farukh who is also another explorer from Andalus has also been credited with the discovery of the Americas. Umar Al-Guatiyya actually narrates that Ibn Farukh sailed from Kadesh to the Atalantic ocean and landed in Gando (Great Canary Islands) in the year 999, he also visited the native ruler there King Guanariga. Then he countinued westward where he saw and named two islands as Capraria and Plutinia. Then he came back to Spain. Below is the transaltion from Spanish text known as "Resumen de la geografía física y política y de la historia natural y civil de las islas Canarias" which actually talks about Ibn Farukh's travel to the America explicitly.
"Al-Jazir Al-Kaledat, that is, the Fortunate Isles, says Ibn-el-Qouthia (Ibn Al-Guatiyya), were inhabited in the late tenth century, when the famous Ben-Farroukh (Ibn Farukh) traveled to them with other Arabs, landing on the island of Canaria. This expedition, which took place in the reign of Abdelmehc () in the Arab year of 334, year 999 of Jesus Christ, was the first of which we have certain knowledge. Ben-Farroukh, who at the time commanded one of the vessels defending the coasts of Spain against two Norman invasions, supposed there existed islands beyond the Atlas Mountains, which because of their mild climate and fertility the ancients had rightly given the name of Fortunate.
Carried away by this ephemeral hope, he set out for the archipelago, and sighting the island of Gran Canaria, discovered the port of Gando (Canary Islands), in which he landed in the month of February in the year 999. He entered at the head of 130 men that were with him, having to overcome all the difficulties that may hinder communications in a wild country, for the mountains were covered with thick forests, in which he could barely make his way through the trees.
A foreign presence was not a new spectacle for the Canaria natives, for they remembered several other expeditions of the Arabs, from which some of their companions had stayed among them so that the first relations of the captain with the islanders were very friendly. He visited Guanariga, who was King or Guanarteme of Gáldar, and the Guayres or Counselors, and gave them to understand, through his interpreter, that he and his companions were sent by a powerful monarch to pay tribute to the goodness, courage, and generosity of this prince, and that they had braved the dangers of a long journey to establish friendly relations with him on behalf of their sovereign.
Guanariga was flattered with the embassy and intrigued by so much deference, believing himself to be even more powerful than in reality he was, since a monarch of some distant nation had come to ask his friendship; he sent to have the Arabs conducted to his palace, which they found adorned with flowers and palm branches, and well supplied with fruits and roasted barley flour, which is done in the Canaries to entertain new guests.
Ben-Farroukh, who wanted to visit the whole archipelago of the Fortunates, sailed to the west, and surveyed four islands, designating them by the names of “Ningaria,” rising to the clouds; “Junonia,” a small island located to the south and very close to the first; and the islands “Aprositus” and “Hero,” of which the last was the westernmost. Navigating then to the east of Canaria he found “Capraria” and next to it “Pluitana,” which was near the African coast.
Having surveyed the other islands of the archipelago and visited some of them on foot, Ben-Farroukh decided to return to Spain, not only because food was scarce but because they had to report to their monarch about the lands they had explored. So they returned in May of the year 999, after having remained in the islands about three months"
If you noticed the part in bold it says that Arabs came to the Islands before, meaning there are other undocumented Muslim voyages that were there even before Ibn Farukh came. And also the natives were not surprissed by them cause they had already seen other people coming from there.
Someone who also sailed to the Americas is the famous Map Maker Muhammad Al-Idrisi from Spain. He actaully wrote very accurate descriptions that only someone who went to the Americas could have written. Below is what he wrote:
"The Commander of the Muslims Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Tashfin sent his admiral Ahmad ibn Umar, better known under the name of Raqsh al-Auzz to attack a certain island in the Atlantic, but he died before doing that. [...] Beyond this ocean of fogs it is not known what exists there. Nobody has the sure knowledge of it, because it is very difficult to traverse it. Its atmosphere is foggy, its waves are very strong, its dangers are perilous, its beasts are terrible, and its winds are full of tempests. There are many islands, some of which are inhabited, others are submerged. No navigator traverses them but bypasses them remaining near their coast. [...] And it was from the town of Lisbon that the adventurers set out known under the name of Mughamarin [Adventurers], penetrated the ocean of fogs and wanted to know what it contained and where it ended. [...] After sailing for twelve more days they perceived an island that seemed to be inhabited, and there were cultivated fields. They sailed that way to see what it contained. But soon barques encircled them and made them prisoners, and transported them to a miserable hamlet situated on the coast. There they landed. The navigators saw there people with red skin; there was not much hair on their body, the hair of their head was straight, and they were of high stature. Their women were of an extraordinary beauty"
----Al-Idrisi according to geograhipical text from Nuzhat Al-Mushtaq
Al-Idrisi also records that there was a Native that spoke fluent Arabic, proving that other undocumented explorers had actually come there and merged in with the culture of the Natives. He also says he found animals such as sheeps, obviously sheeps are not native to the Americas, but they could have been brought by Muslims from Africa and Spain. He also said that they found Berbers (people from Africa) once again proving Muslims had been there for a long time.
There is also linguistic proof as well that Muslims assimilated themselves with the culture of the natives. The island that columbus landed on was originally called Guanahani by the Mandika islanders. It is believed by some linguists that the word Guanahani comes from an arabic word and was brought by Muslim sailors when they married the native people. Guana means brother and Hani in Arabic means "to give rise to an idea", so basically Guanahani meant "Hani brothers". According to the Middle East Policy Council published a textbook saying that Muslims explorers came into America before Columbus and intermarried with the Algonquin Indians and some of the tribal cheifs actually had names such as Abdur Raheem and even Abdullah ibn Malik.
Also according to other documents found during the years of Luisa Isabella, Duchess of Medina Sidonia, says that the documents prove that Muslims from Andalus and Morocco went to the Americas before Columbus even existed.
Africa
Another part of the Muslim world that went to the Americas before Columbus were the Muslims in Africa.
In the 1300's Mansa Musa who was the famous leader of the Mali Empire was onced asked about how he became king by Ibn Amir Hajib, so he said according to Shihab Ad-Din Abu Abbas Ahmad ibn Fadl Al-Umari in his book:
In the 1300's Mansa Musa who was the famous leader of the Mali Empire was onced asked about how he became king by Ibn Amir Hajib, so he said according to Shihab Ad-Din Abu Abbas Ahmad ibn Fadl Al-Umari in his book:
"The ruler who preceded me did not believe that it was impossible to reach the extremity of the ocean that encircles the earth (meaning the Atlantic): he wanted to reach that (end) and was determined to pursue his plan. So he equipped two hundred boats full of men, and many others full of gold, water and provisions sufficient for several years. He ordered the captain not to return until they had reached the other end of the ocean, or until he had exhausted the provisions and water. So they set out on their journey. They were absent for a long period, and, at last just one boat returned. When questioned the captain replied: 'O Prince, we navigated for a long period, until we saw in the midst of the ocean a great river which flowing massively. My boat was the last one; others were ahead of me, and they were drowned in the great whirlpool and never came out again. I sailed back to escape this current.' But the Sultan would not believe him. He ordered two thousand boats to be equipped for him and his men, and one thousand more for water and provisions. Then he conferred the regency on me for the term of his absence, and departed with his men, never to return nor to give a sign of life."
-----Masalik al-absaar fi mamalik al-amsar (The pathway of sight in the provinces of the kingdoms)
Mansa Musa was talking about his brother Abu Bakr who was the ruler before him. He sent out a ship of 400 ships for his expedition to the Atlantic ocean. But only one ship survived, and the sailor that survived reported to have come across land on the other side.
Then Mansa Musa himself personally went with a fleet of 2,000 ships that sailed west of the atlantic ocean. But they were never heard from again.
Then Mansa Musa himself personally went with a fleet of 2,000 ships that sailed west of the atlantic ocean. But they were never heard from again.
There is even evidence that this voyage was in fact successful in reaching the Americas. There are numerous archaeological accounts in North and South America that shows that the Mandinkas (people from Mali) were there. Even some early Spanish explorers and pirates recorded abandoned cities in Brazil that had similar language to the Mandinkas, and more inscriptions were found in the United States near the Mississippi river. In Arizona there was a Inscription in the Mandinka language that read:
“The elephants are sick and angry. At present there are many sick elephants”.
There was also a rough drawing of an elephant. Obviously Elephants are not native to the Americas, which affirms Abu Bakr's journey to the Americas was a success.
It is believed that West African Muslims intermarried the tribe known as "Almamy" of an island by Honduras . The word Almamy is believed to be a corruption of the word Al-Imam which means "leader" and is oftenly used to refer to a person leading prayer. A marine biologist by the name of Dr.Barry Fell said she found an Islamic petroglyph before the time of Columbus that said "Yasus ibn Maria (Jesus son of Mary), this pharase is very common in the Quran. And Ibn in the Arabic langague means "son of".
Persia
Abu al-Raihan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni often latinized Alberonius was a persian scholar who had mastered the subjects of mathematics, astronomy, mineralogy, geography, cartography, geometry and trigonometry. He is also credited with the discovery of the Americas. But his discovery was not made on a ship, but rather on his desk.
He was an intelligent person who spoke Arabic, Farsi (Persian), Khwarizmi, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and even Sanskrit. As a young boy he had calculated the longitude and latitude of his hometown showing his intelligence as a young boy.
His teacher Ahmad Al-Farghani who had calculated the longitude at the equator, which made his calculations more accurate then the ancient Greek mathematicians, but it was less accurate than Al-Biruni's.
As Al-Biruni moved to India he started gathering notes and equipment such as the astrolabe. He started measuring the earth's circumference and was only off by 10.44 miles.
He was an intelligent person who spoke Arabic, Farsi (Persian), Khwarizmi, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and even Sanskrit. As a young boy he had calculated the longitude and latitude of his hometown showing his intelligence as a young boy.
His teacher Ahmad Al-Farghani who had calculated the longitude at the equator, which made his calculations more accurate then the ancient Greek mathematicians, but it was less accurate than Al-Biruni's.
As Al-Biruni moved to India he started gathering notes and equipment such as the astrolabe. He started measuring the earth's circumference and was only off by 10.44 miles.
Masud I welcomed Biruni backed to Ghazni with his notes and papers. His list of longitudes and latitudes had grown substantially since his early knowledge and now included more than 70 various places in India alone, as well as hundreds of other locations stretching across the Eurasian land.
When Biruni transposed this information onto his map of the earth he noticed at once that the entire width of Eurasia, from the westernmost tip of Africa to the easternmost shore of China, spanned only about 2/5 of the globe. This left 3/5 of the Earth’s surface unaccounted for, so this lead him to do more research. |
Since he realized that there was 15,000 miles of the earth that had not been accounted for, he realized if there was water only in that 3/5 of the unaccounted surface, it would cause serious imbalances. So he concluded that somewhere in the vast expanse of that 3/5 of unaccounted surface had to be land masses of even a continent.
To prove his theory he went beyond his field of observation and tried using a process built for opinions. He concluded that the unknown land masses between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans would have to be inhabitable and in fact they were by Native Americans.
Biruni made this discovery about the existence of the New World by 1037, basing them on research he had conducted over the preceding 30 years.
To prove his theory he went beyond his field of observation and tried using a process built for opinions. He concluded that the unknown land masses between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans would have to be inhabitable and in fact they were by Native Americans.
Biruni made this discovery about the existence of the New World by 1037, basing them on research he had conducted over the preceding 30 years.
Ottoman Empire
In 1929 an amazing discovery was made in Turkey. The map below on the right was discovered to be drawn by an Ottoman cartographer. Reis drew the map from earlier Arabic maps from before in the 1513, 21 years after Columbus's voyage, but what's on there surprises historians to this day.
The map clearly shows the eastern side of south america and Africa at a correct position and distance. Reis map shows south america in great detail, and Columbus never set foot in south america. It shows the rivers in Brazil with great accuracy and detail, and you can actually see the Andes Mountains, and the Europeans didn't discover them until the 1520's, nearly a full decade before the Europeans discovered it. Piri Reis had great geographical understanding of America way before the Europeans even set foot on it.
This is probably the most strongest evidence of Muslim exploration of the Americas before Columbus.
The map clearly shows the eastern side of south america and Africa at a correct position and distance. Reis map shows south america in great detail, and Columbus never set foot in south america. It shows the rivers in Brazil with great accuracy and detail, and you can actually see the Andes Mountains, and the Europeans didn't discover them until the 1520's, nearly a full decade before the Europeans discovered it. Piri Reis had great geographical understanding of America way before the Europeans even set foot on it.
This is probably the most strongest evidence of Muslim exploration of the Americas before Columbus.
China
The world map below is a 600 year old map that was drawn by the famous explorer Zheng He. The fact that this not only shows the Americas but also shows Australia and even parts of Antarctica is amazing. In reality Zheng He also discovered Australia and Antarctica as well. This map has even been authenticated as a legitimate map. The map also describes the physical features of the Native americans as well as the Aborigines (Native Australians). According to the famous historian Menzie he says that Christopher Columbus possibly used a similar map on his journey to the Americas and even says there is DNA evidence to prove that Zheng He discovered the Americas.
There are other Chinese accounts suggesting that Muslim sailors reached a place called Mulan Pi according to Lingdai Daida also called the "Song document". Mulan Pi has usely been identified as Andalus (Muslim Spain), but some theorist such as Hui Lin suggest that it could have possibly been a part of the Americas.
Furthermore it toke Muslim explorer a 100 days reach and years to return which is way too long for an east-west Mediterranean journey.
There is also agricultural evidence according to Hui Lin below:
Furthermore it toke Muslim explorer a 100 days reach and years to return which is way too long for an east-west Mediterranean journey.
There is also agricultural evidence according to Hui Lin below:
"Finally, it may be interesting to conclude by the story we find in some Chinese ancient documents dating from the 13th century. Unearthed by Hui-lin li, a professor of botany in the American University of Pennsylvania, these documents state that navigators coming from the Islamic world reached America before Christopher Columbus, where they brought various kinds of plants. That theory was the fruit of 9 years of research Dr. Li spent in tracing all over the world. The aforesaid documents confirm that Muslims brought and raised the papaya, pineapple, pumpkin and the Indian corn in a region named "Mulan-pi", which may correspond to some part of the Americas."
Muslims helped Columbus
The year 1492 was the event of two historic events, the Fall of Andalus and the native Americans discovering that Columbus was lost. Christopher Columbus had been begging the King Ferdinand and Isabella to go to India, but they were to busy trying to get rid of the Muslims. But once they defeated the Khilafa (caliphate) of the Muslims they suddenly had all this wealth, so once again Columbus asked and they allowed him.
It is important to note that the year Columbus sailed to the Americas was the same year the last Muslim dynasty that ruled Spain fell to the Ruthless Reconquistas because even though the Muslims had been conquered they still had the knowledge of Andalus. The monastery that Columbus was living in used to be a Masjid (Mosque) and he would be looking at the maps of the Muslim sailors and explorers of the past. He used the very same instruments that the Muslims left behind such as the sexton and astrolabe. Columbus came across Farghani's latin translation of his treatise.Columbus actually used Farghani’s data to argue that it was small enough for him potentially to circumnavigate the earth. But Columbus had wrongly assumed that Farghani had made his measurements in Roman miles rather than Arabic miles. This caused him to under estimate the actual circumference of the earth by 25%. His misunderstanding caused Columbus to place Japan, near the Virgin Islands.
It is also stated by most scholars that his guide was a Spanish Muslim. In fact many people on the voyage with Columbus were Moriscos (Spanish Muslims who were forced to convert to Catholicism). It is also possible that Columbus heard of the stories of Muslims going to an unknown land. When Columbus arrived on the Americas many of the Andalusian Muslims tried to communicate with the natives in Arabic.
Also his Son Ferdinand claims that Columbus learned in Genoa (Italy) from Muslim ship men that there was a continent on the west side of the world.
It is important to note that the year Columbus sailed to the Americas was the same year the last Muslim dynasty that ruled Spain fell to the Ruthless Reconquistas because even though the Muslims had been conquered they still had the knowledge of Andalus. The monastery that Columbus was living in used to be a Masjid (Mosque) and he would be looking at the maps of the Muslim sailors and explorers of the past. He used the very same instruments that the Muslims left behind such as the sexton and astrolabe. Columbus came across Farghani's latin translation of his treatise.Columbus actually used Farghani’s data to argue that it was small enough for him potentially to circumnavigate the earth. But Columbus had wrongly assumed that Farghani had made his measurements in Roman miles rather than Arabic miles. This caused him to under estimate the actual circumference of the earth by 25%. His misunderstanding caused Columbus to place Japan, near the Virgin Islands.
It is also stated by most scholars that his guide was a Spanish Muslim. In fact many people on the voyage with Columbus were Moriscos (Spanish Muslims who were forced to convert to Catholicism). It is also possible that Columbus heard of the stories of Muslims going to an unknown land. When Columbus arrived on the Americas many of the Andalusian Muslims tried to communicate with the natives in Arabic.
Also his Son Ferdinand claims that Columbus learned in Genoa (Italy) from Muslim ship men that there was a continent on the west side of the world.
Even Columbus knew the truth
With all these evidences it is quite possible Columbus himself knew he wasn't the first in the Americas. His son Ferdinand Columbus, wrote about the natives seen in Honduras by his father “The people who live farther east of Pointe Cavinas, as far as Cape Gracios a Dios, are almost black in color.” At the same time the tribe Almamy (an arabic corruption of Al-Imam) lived. So it is possible that these black people Ferdinand talked about were the descendants of African Muslim explorers who had already been there. A renowned American historian and linguist Leo Weiner from Harvard University writes in his book "Africa and The Discovery of America" (1920) wrote that Columbus was well aware of the Mandinka presence in the New World and that the West African Muslims had spread throughout the Caribbean, Central, South and North American territories, including Canada, where they were trading and intermarrying with the Iroquois and Algonquin Indians.
When Columbus arrived in the Americas he actually already noticed the Muslim influence on the land. He said that the gold that the natives had was made the same exact way the Muslims of West Africa did. Furthermore Columbus recorded that the natives called gold "Guanin" which is close to the Mandika word for gold "ghanin" which most likely came from Arabic "Ghina" which also means Gold.
In 1498 Columbus narrates that he saw a ship loaded with goods, heading towards the Americas, filled with Africans on their way to trade with the Natives. Columbus also records that the natives told him of Africans who would come to trade with them oftenly. So all in all even Columbus knew he wasn't the first to go on the Americas, if he didn't lie to himself why should we then lie to others that Columbus discovered America?
When Columbus arrived in the Americas he actually already noticed the Muslim influence on the land. He said that the gold that the natives had was made the same exact way the Muslims of West Africa did. Furthermore Columbus recorded that the natives called gold "Guanin" which is close to the Mandika word for gold "ghanin" which most likely came from Arabic "Ghina" which also means Gold.
In 1498 Columbus narrates that he saw a ship loaded with goods, heading towards the Americas, filled with Africans on their way to trade with the Natives. Columbus also records that the natives told him of Africans who would come to trade with them oftenly. So all in all even Columbus knew he wasn't the first to go on the Americas, if he didn't lie to himself why should we then lie to others that Columbus discovered America?
Bibliography
- Pfeiffer, Eric. "Chinese Explorer Zheng He May Have Reached America before Columbus, According to New Book." Yahoo! News. Yahoo! Web. 4 Aug. 2015.
- Menzies, Gavin, and Ian Hudson. Who Discovered America? The Untold History of the Peopling of the Americas. Print.
- "Did Muslims Visit America Before Columbus?" History News Network. George Mason University. Web. 4 Aug. 2015.
- "Muslims in the Americas Before Columbus." Muslims in the Americas Before Columbus. Web. 4 Aug. 2015.
- "Did Ibn Farrukh Discover America in 999 CE?" Jason Colavito. Jason Colavito. Web. 4 Aug. 2015
- "Lost Islamic History | Bringing Back Islamic History." Lost Islamic History. Web. 4 Aug. 2015.