An ancient map may prove it was a Chinese eunuch who discovered America and not Christopher Columbus. Columbus reputedly discovered the New World in 1492 but Admiral Zheng He may have got there 70 years earlier. A copy of his map of the world, dated 1418, is about to be unveiled to the public in Beijing and at Greenwich's National Maritime Museum. If it proves genuine, the map will rewrite history. It clearly shows the outlines of the Americas, Africa and Europe. Economist. Gunnar Thompson, specialist on old maps and early explorers, said: "It will revolutionise our thinking about 15th century world history." It includes a description of the people of the west coast of America: "The skin of the race in this area is black-red, and feathers are wrapped around their heads and waists." However, the map also includes some mistakes: the British Isles do not appear at all and California is an island. Zheng He has long been considered one of the pioneers of marine exploration in China, but he was virtually unheard of in the West until 2002. That year retired British submarine commander Gavin Menzies published a book claiming he circumnavigated the world in a two-year odyssey which began in 1421, discovering America on the way. It was when the map's owner, eminent Chinese lawyer Liu Gang, read the book that he realised what he might have on his hands. He had bought the map for about £280 from a Shanghai dealer in 2001.
Columbus wasn't the first person to discover America, there is proof that vikings came over to America as early as 1000 AD but Columbus is relevant because it spurred future exploration. Now if only the Chinese continued to explore than it would make a difference.
Guess we gonna have to change Columbus day to Eunuch day... Columbus was a dumbass who got very lucky... so how did they even get the map?
Haha would be funny if we have Eunuch day! Anyway, I still think Columbus has his contributions towards this.
Yeah, there was a book that came out a year ago called 1421, which is about the discovery of America by one of Admiral Zheng He's fleets. Good read- the site is www.1421.tv
i wonder if this map is authentic. It's quite detailed, he must've had to do a lot of exploring to get all that right, even if it's missing a few details and is a bit inaccurate.
columbus is a bastard....i dont know why we credit him for discovering america when he did it in search of gold, along with that...he genocided millions of indians. chinese people do not get enough respect....=(
For those of you that live in New York City, there's a great Zheng He exhibit located at Silk Road Mo cha Cafe on Mott street in the Manhattan Chinatown.
