Were the Irish in America Before Columbus?

In 1520, the Spaniard Peter Martyr d'Anghiera was appointed by Carlos V to be chronicler for the new Council of the Indies. His report, founded on several weeks of interviews, was published in a book named De Orbe Novo (About the New World)


The land where the Irish were said to explore would later become Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Apparently words used by the native tribes in this area were translated using Gaelic dictionaries, giving even more credence to the notion that the Irish were there before Columbus.

Read more at Spanish documents suggest Irish arrived in America before Columbus

Did the Vikings Bring Native American Women Back With Them?

"Centuries before Columbus, a Viking-Indian child may have been born in Iceland" [National Geographic]

Through DNA tests, scientists have found 80 living Icelanders with a genetic variation similar to one found mostly in Native Americans. 

Experts believe that the DNA mutation entered the Icelandic population around A.D. 1000 with one Viking-Native American baby being born. 

It is known that Vikings reached Greenland before that year and Newfoundland on the East coast of Canada where they formed a small settlement. That settlement lasted about 10 years.

the study team concluded that the Icelanders who carry the Native American variation are all from four specific lineages, descended from four women born in the early 1700s.

Those four lineages, in turn, likely descended from a single woman with Native American DNA who must have been born no later than 1700, according to study co-author Ebenesersdóttir.

All in all it's a fascinating glimpse into Viking history and a new (although not surprising) concept which had not been proven before the DNA testing. 

DNA tests are a wonderful new tool for genealogists as well as archeologists and historians. I've had my autosomal and mtDNA tested at two labs - Family Tree DNA and  23andMe.com. I highly recommend it for all genealogists. You can read various blog posts about the process and the results of my testing at DNA Journey

Old Spanish document suggests Irish were in America before Columbus

This is a fascinating read! There's certainly much more research that needs doing before drawing conclusions but it's interesting nonetheless

1521 Spanish reports indicates Irish may have settled in Georgia and the Carolinas. While Christopher Columbus is generally credited with having discovered America in 1492, a 1521 Spanish report provides inklings of evidence that there were, in fact, Irish people settled in America prior to Columbus’ journey.

“Researchers feel certain that there was a colony of Irish folk living in what is now South Carolina, when Christopher Columbus “thought” he had discovered the New World,” writes Richard Thornton for The Examiner.

Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Old-Spanish-document-suggests-Irish-were-in-America-before-Columbus-190817901.html#ixzz2Kmm0njPB

View the 1492 Lists of seamen on board Columbus' ships:  Nina,  Pinta, Santa Maria