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Kind of a random post, but have you ever thought how brave, smart, etc...the settlers and explorers had to of been...sometimes if im driving by deserts, mtns, water ways...what have you...I just think to myself i cant imagine...Anyone ever thought of the toughness it must of took to be an explorer?
My great-grandmother came to Oregon at the age of 14 with her family from Missouri, just after the Civil War. She walked the entire way, barefoot. Any time I think I can't do something I think of her.
Not so much explorers but I think about what it must have been like for all my ancestors who immigrated to the US, from some of the earliest German settlers pre-revolutionary war to the Italians during the industrial age. I myself have moved to another country but in this day and age, it's comparatively easy to travel and keep contact with love ones. I'm constantly amazed that some of my ancestors got on a boat, sometimes even as teens, all alone, not even knowing if they would survive the journey there, only to land in a foreign place with virtually nothing and possibly never see their families ever again.
But I always remember what inspired them to make such a bold step. For the early German settlers in my tree, it was probably religious persecution (they were Mennonites). It's incredible to think what they went through.
I ponder the same questions, and wish we knew just when America was "discovered" and mapped, as I no longer believe Columbus was the first as we were led to believe. Wonder if there is truth to the tale of the Saint, who came out of Ireland to discover a new world? The religious persecutions made most people leave their homelands in order to stay alive, so they risked it all to let their progeny survive. My hat goes off to those who made America a free country that welcomes all cultures,and religions, a place of equality and justice for all! (I wish it were as it was intended)
I recently developed an interest in the early Spanish explorations of the US East Coast...
Developed this when I went to Jamestown and got into a discussion with one of the guides about Native interaction with the English when they first arrived there... He brought up the interesting point that they were VERY wary of the English because of previous contact with the Spanish (obviously they didn't know the difference between English and Spanish. Why would they?). I hadn't really considered that the Spanish had bothered to explore up into the Carolinas or Virginia but it made sense and piqued my interest.
So I started doing a little researching into my spare time of the early Spanish exploration of the area... DeSoto, Pardo, De Narvaez, etc... Interesting stuff....
Didn't seem like they made it as far as Virginia, but close and their relations with the natives were iffy at best, as was common for the Spaniards based on the way they treated them...
If it is reasonable to expect that the Spanish would have explored a couple of weeks/months journey to the north of their known landings, it would likewise be similarly reasonable that the Norse would have done the same to the south of their known landings.
Without some archaeological evidence, we will never know.
I recently watched a program on History International regarding the Kensington (sp?) Stone, and one of the first land claims in America. WOW! cool stuff!! I need a job digging for truth, too bad I cant make a living doing what I love to do. Someday!!
Anyone with a very basic knowledge of Scandinavian languages can tell you that the Kensington runestone is a pretty obvious fake. That said, a medieval Norse penny was found on a New Jersey beach (or was it Maine?). This doesn't mean that Norsemen were present there, of course. Only that their trade network extended that far.
ABQConvict
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