To many, Columbus is still the man who discovered America. Yet, there had been others before him. The Viking Leif Eriksson, who around 1000 AD became the first European to set foot on American soil. A medieval Welsh Prince named Madoc supposed to have built fortified places along the Ohio River. And a King from West-African Mali, who is said to have used his immeasurable riches to finance a gigantic fleet, 200 years before Columbus.
As we follow their tracks through ancient texts and documents, sifting legend from myth with the help of up to date archaeological research, it becomes abundantly clear that Columbus did not venture into the unknown. The master mariner himself was an ardent collector of maps and nautical data, and he knew that there was land in West and that others had preceded him.This is their story.
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In Search of the Great Viking Army
In 865 AD, England was invaded by the Great Heathen Army. The Great Viking Army, as it was also known, was made up of a coalition of Scandinavian warriors mainly from Denmark and, legend has it, four of the five sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, including Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Irone...
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