Apparently the Americas were first discovered by muslim explorers :)

[bhsup]

Clearly he should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.

 

[Domen]

I read a story once somewhere that claimed that a Polish explorer got to North America before Columbus.

I have read a story that Columbus himself was Polish - historian Manuel Rosa claims this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...umbus-Polish-Portuguese-claim-historians.html

The fresh evidence about Columbus’ background is revealed in a new book by Manuel Rosa, an academic at Duke University in the United States. He says the voyager was not from a family of humble Italian craftsmen as previously thought - but the son of Vladislav III, an exiled King of Poland. (...)

And Manuel Rosa is not Polish, so you can't claim that this is a nationalistic story.

King Vladislav III of Poland got missing during the battle of Varna (November 10, 1444), when leading a cavalry charge.

His body was never found, but most historians assume that he died in the battle (Manuel Rosa apparently disagrees):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Varna

Vladislav III was last seen alive when leading a cavalry charge straight into defensive positions of elite Turkish Janissaries. After that charge he got missing and nobody knows what happened. But in Poland they were waiting for his return until 1447 (in period 1444 - 1447 the Polish throne was empty and there were rumours, from various parts of Europe, that the king was seen alive - but he never came back, so in 1447 Casimir IV was crowned).

The Turks never sent the head of Polish king back to Cracow, so perhaps they did not have his body.

======================================

The other hypothetical Polish explorer you mentioned was Jan z Kolna (Latin: Scolnus / Scolvus):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scolvus

Kolno: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolno

John Scolvus or John of Kolno may have been a navigator of the late 15th century. It has been claimed he was among a group of early Europeans to reach the shores of the Americas prior to Columbus, arriving in 1476 as steersman of Didrik Pining, although this view is not supported by contemporary evidence,[1] and as he is not mentioned contemporaneously, his identity and even existence have been disputed.

 

[Gucumatz]

Just wanted to make a point that the Bering Strait "only" theory is no longer as accepted as it once was. The Bering Strait is thought to still have contributed most of the indigenous people to the Americas, but genetics, oral history, archaeological evidence of date of settling all suggest settlers also came from Pacific waves of settlers [and at a decently high proportion].

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Would it offend the President of Turkey to learn that Jews beat Muslims to the New World by millennia?

"Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum"

Should have made that the promised land. There's enough of it, The Indians wouldn't mind which people nicked all their land, and then when Columbus comes knocking, he first has to pass 16 security fences to get in.

 

[NovaKart]

america back in the glorious bad days of 1996-98 was pushing the Meluncans thing to satisfy the fear of the Military , that America could create a context for a "Turkish" identity to preserve by mutual good feelings between people instead of crashing down the entire country on behalf of a Jihadist / Pan Kurdist approach . And oh yes , this sentence entirely makes sense .

elvis was a Turk , man .

Oh God, you really think the Melungeon thing was an American government conspiracy? Wow. Or am I misunderstanding another of your obscure references.

 

[gay_Aleks]

"Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum"

Should have made that the promised land. There's enough of it, The Indians wouldn't mind which people nicked all their land, and then when Columbus comes knocking, he first has to pass 16 security fences to get in.

Too bad, by then Texas would be populated by Palestinians, and they'd trade blows until the end of the Universe and all that.

 

[Domen]

Even if Poles didn't discover North America, at least they organized the first strike in North America (in 1619 in Jamestown).

That's still something.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Yes, and the Pilgrims became the first people to shut down a strike by killing everyone involved.

 

[Domen]

Nope:

On June 30, 1619, when the Jamestown Legislative Assembly instituted a representative form of government, rules stated that only colonists of English descent would be given the right to vote. This denied Poles the right to governmental representation in a colony they helped to sustain and grow. As a result they organized what became the first labor strike in American history. Their slogan was "No vote. No work".

Facing angry and influential politicians in England, within a few weeks the Jamestown government bowed to the demands of Poles (...)

Poles stronk, Pilgrims week.

 

[NovaKart]

I've heard of this game you can play with wikipedia where you choose two completely unrelated things and then see how long it takes to get from one to the other just using links in the article. I think we could do the same thing with any topic on this site and Poland.

 

[gay_Aleks]

I guess them toilets were really clogged that time.

I've heard of this game you can play with wikipedia where you choose two completely unrelated things and then see how long it takes to get from one to the other just using links in the article. I think we could do the same thing with any topic on this site and Poland.

At some point, you'll reach the endless limbo of Philosophy articles.

 

[Domen]

Did they even have toilets at that time?

Poles in Jamestown included a glass maker, a pitch & tar maker, a soap maker, a timberman, a doctor, a merchant, a boatbuilder, a shingle maker, a turpentine maker, a potash maker, etc. By 1619 there were about 50 Polish settlers in Jamestown, though only some are known by name (including those who came first, in 1608, on the "Mary and Margaret" ship).

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Vikings are your ancestors? Do you have any family photos with them?

I thought that the Vikings abandoned their American settlements.

Maybe one of them got lost and stayed - your ancestor?

Ever hear of immigration? My grandfather's mother was Norwegian. Go back enough centuries, and they were Vikings. My grandfather came to Canada in the early 1920s.

 

[Domen]

Go back enough centuries, and they were Vikings.

I don't think that 100% of Early Medieval Norwegians were Vikings for a living.

My grandfather's mother was Norwegian.

So only up to around 1/8 of all your ancestors were Norwegians, to begin with.

Second question is how many Vikings were there among their ancestors.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I don't think that 100% of Early Medieval Norwegians were Vikings for a living.

Did I say they were?

So only up to around 1/8 of all your ancestors were Norwegians, to begin with.

Second question is how many Vikings were there among their ancestors.

Considering that I know quite a bit more about my family history and lineage than you do, maybe you should just concede that I know what I'm talking about, 'k?

 

[Domen]

Just tell me how did you research your family records all the way to the Early Middle Ages, I also want to try.

I have not managed to uncover that distant a past of my family so far.

Though I have some traces from the Late Middle Ages.

 

[warpus]

You're Polish, chances are you won't find anything. My family's history is very unclear beyond my great-grandparents due to all the wars and all the destruction, migrations, etc.. So I have no choice but to assume that I am a Polish prince of some sort, probably related to the Polish Christopher Columbusz.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Are you a wealthy Polish prince? Invest in Caribbean colonies now!

 

[luiz]

Ever hear of immigration? My grandfather's mother was Norwegian. Go back enough centuries, and they were Vikings. My grandfather came to Canada in the early 1920s.

Viking was sort of an "occupation", not an ethnic or national group. Some Norwegians back in the day might "go Viking", others would not.

 

[Borachio]

Well then, a person who went "viking" should be a "viker".