Those Who Came To The New World Before Columbus

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Undaubtly, there is ample evidence of pre-Columbian voyages to the “New World”; that is to say: prior to 1492. Medieval cartography, for example, so indicates; inasmuch as the features and descriptions shown therein, so proves. Besides, as we will see later, there are written accounts to that tenure. But…an aclaration must be made in regard to the expression: “To Discover”; because as it clearly implies, the act of “discover” entails the action of disposing of something that covers an object. Thus, for anyone to appropriate that object as discovered, he must first unveil it, so that others can see as well. He has discovered something openly and others can attest to it.

Those who came before Columbus to these shores, might have discovered them, but never unveiled them to the rest as a “new world”; so to speak. They failed to recognize the immensity and significance of such findings. In many cases, as it was the practice then, they hid whatever record they might have made of such voyages, and the years and centuries past, re-covered, and buried later their finds. Were they: discoverers? In the true sense of the word: of course not. They just stumbled upon this land, but did not discover it. Therefore, and in all justice, it was the great Admiral Columbus who “Discovered” the New World. He found it, unveil it and showed it to the rest of the Old World.

I must equally add that Columbus’s ideas were not born overnight. They represented by far, a lot more that we have been told. For Columbus was a very complicated character, we must say; not even close to the “saintly” and visionary figure painted to us by Spanish historians. To fully or reasonably understand him, we must first have to study the agitated history and events, going on during, at least fifty years before and fifty years after his first voyage. Of course this is a theme for a deeper study of columbine ulterior motifs; here we would just say, not to stray to far from our story, that Columbus friends and associates, reached far over, the mere Courts of Isabella and Fernando of Castile.

Well…this is a simple background before we unveil the curtains of our story: “Those Who Came before Columbus”. Stories, well known to him and as the result of all those voyages, while he had served under King Henry the Navigator of Portugal. We must remember that he was married to the daughter of Bartholomew Perestrelo, a navigator himself, and one of the first families to settle in the island of Madeira. Columbus sister was also married to Pedro Correa, another blue water sailor who had ventured in the far deep Atlantic and had a lot of stories to tell, among which, of sea wood debris found with strange carvings, while saling those watters. Columbus’s son later in 1537, related these things in his writings and conversations with people he knew. He even described the kind of books read by his father,which clearly indicated his knowledge of ancient navigators and voyages; specially the letter written by Paolo Toscanelli, about the possibility of reaching Asia sailing West towards the Sun. Let me translate and transcribe here if I can, what Columbus’s son Hernando wrote:

“…The third and last thing that inclined the Admiral to discover the Indies was his hope of finding before getting there, some other land or islands which could then and later on, help him in his search for the main West passage. This was nurtured by his readings of wise men and philosophers who said as I hear from him, as something that admitted no doubts, that for the most part, our planet is dry land inasmuch as the portion of said dry land is larger than that covered with water. Being so, he reasoned, between the Spanish coasts and that of the “indies”, must exist many and big islands as experience have shown. This believe was reinforced by certain fables and stories he had heard from the people sailing to and from the Azores and Madeira Islands. These stories well fit his own beliefs and were on his constant conversation with his friends and those curious about these things.”

Never the less, silent is kept by Hernando about the “first” and “second” reasons or motifs his father had, mentioned by him. Up to here, all we can say is that prior to his first great voyage of discovery, Columbus was a well informed sailor, equal or perhaps more so, than his peers and navigators of his time. But it shows nothing, beyond what we are told of his real motifs to carry out this seemingly crazy venture. There are certain arguments--not many-- which I would like to expose here, which might give us some clues.

It seems according to recent historical findings, that Columbus when young, was a Templar Afilie or a secular affiliate or corroborator of the monastic order: the Knights Templar, or whatever was left of them, after they were persecuted and apparently disbanded around 1312. Remember that by 1492, the Templars, even not under this name, had subsisted under a different one, especially in the kingdoms of Aragon and Portugal. Where incidentally, Columbus had his greatest friends and believers. No wonder did he show a special preference and inclination for these people. It was in the old monastery of La Rabida in Portugal (and old monastery of the Templars), where he was most helped and “understood”. Did he not paint the Templar Red Cross on his ships’ sails? So.what.. you might ask? Well…the relevance of it all, is based on one simple fact: The Templars were defending the Jewish converse from the Inquisition, and did so before and for centuries, and they knew that it was time for them to move elsewhere. It was time for “Asfareth”, the plan to seek the new “Promised Land” beyond the great seas. A plan entertained by the European jewlry, since ancient times and based in their sacred books. Because they always said, that the lost tribes of Israel, had migrated beyond the great sea. So they came up with this strange and complicated plan whereby they would fund-- in an indirect way-- Columbus’s trip to Cipango. First, in order to not raise any suspicion, they offered through a converse Jew serving the Aragonian King, all the money needed to buy the jewels Fernando de Aragon would give Isabella Trastamara, his future spouse and Queen of Castile. She in turn, donated these jewels to launch Columbus; or so we have been made to believe. The most ironic and funny thing is, that the Queen turned around and sold the same jewels to those who provided the funds to buy them in the first place.