Chinese Discovered America? - Historum

**mingming** · February 20th, 2011, 05:28 PM

I have read Gavin Menzies' book 1421: The Year China Discovered America repeatedly and have also watched a recent History Channel documentary titled "Who Really Discovered America" or something like that. Both raise some interesting points about the possibilities that Chinese fleets may have landed on the American continent 70 years before Columbus.

Any thoughts? And please if you are going to say something, at least support it. Don't just say "No" or "They didn't or did."

Parmenio · February 20th, 2011, 05:37 PM

I did a forum search and came up with this, didn't bother looking at it, but there might be some stuff in there on it:

http://www.historum.com/american-his...merica-27.html

**Qymaen** · February 20th, 2011, 05:38 PM

I've read that book and I also saw that documentary. I believe that we had a thread on this recently. I'll come back later to show a map that argues against the Chinese Discovering America.

**Qymaen** · February 20th, 2011, 05:44 PM

Here's the thread: http://www.historum.com/asian-histor...-colonize.html

Here's the map:

**tjadams** · February 20th, 2011, 05:51 PM

I'm no navigational skipper, but looking at this map, how did Bartolomeu Dias sail to south Africa if this map is accurate? I know he made a few land stops, but still, the currents.

**Zeno** · February 20th, 2011, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjadams

I'm no navigational skipper, but looking at this map, how did Bartolomeu Dias sail to south Africa if this map is accurate? I know he made a few land stops, but still, the currents.

And how did the Polynesians colonize the Pacific from New Zealand to Easter Island to Hawaii?

**mingming** · February 20th, 2011, 05:54 PM

Are these currents accurate? Sea levels were much lower back then and the Earth had a cooler climate.

**Qymaen** · February 20th, 2011, 05:58 PM

Here's another map mingming.

According to this map there is no place for the Chinese in the North Pacific to stop. Plus there was no real drive for the Chinese to colonize/discover the Americas, a land no one in the Old World knew about.

**Naomasa298** · February 20th, 2011, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qymaen

Here's the thread: http://www.historum.com/asian-histor...-colonize.html

Here's the map:

There's one problem I have with this theory.

If you're using currents to explain where people sailed, unless you're circumnavigating globe, you must eventually make the journey in the opposite direction.

**mingming** · February 20th, 2011, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qymaen

According to this map there is no place for the Chinese in the North Pacific to stop. Plus there was no real drive for the Chinese to colonize/discover the Americas, a land no one in the Old World knew about.

From what I read in 1421 the Chinese would've landed in California, primarily southern California. And the Americans can be any country on either continent, doesn't have to be the United States. Caribbean Islands would be considered America too and there have been some evidence presented in the book that seems to suggest the Chinese made it to the Caribbean.

As for drive, well the only thing that could explain why the Chinese set sail to explore is...well explore. Document the whole world.