Post by Thomas HegerMy assumption about settlers in America from the 'Old World' dates far
more back than the Vikings.
I believe, the Phoenicians had trades with America since many thousand
years ago.
It is a complicated system and was carried out in great secrecy, but was
a tremendous success and made the Phoenicians VERY rich and influential.
In the ancient time, the central powers controlled all the trade routes.
And 'control' means 'charging customs'.
E.g. the Romans controlled the trade routes to India over the Nile, the
desert and a port at the Red Sea. They demanded 25% from the stuff
transported along this route.
The Phoenicians did not wanted to pay, so the Romans wanted to destroy
them.
What they were hiding was America and the wealth of natural resources,
they could exploit totally undisturbed.
They told the Indians how to dig for gold, silver, copper and gems and
paid them with glass pearls (or similar).
And they told people, that the Earth is flat and beyond the towers of
Hercules you would drop into the abyss.
The smart people did not really believe this, but most people did. But
they had neither opportunity nor reason to test this assumption. And so
the continent stayed mostly unknown for millennia.
The Phoenicians got very wealthy in the meantime and could protect their
colony by mercenaries ('pirates') against accidental discovery by amateurs.
So all was nice, until the Spanish Kings went too greedy and wanted also
their share.
So America was 'discovered' by Columbus (and subsequent conquistadors).
But of course the Phoenicians did not tell them the tricks of their
trade. Instead they told them about 'El Dorado', what the Spanish are
searching until the present day.
Since they could not find the gold and the native population did not
know, what they are talking about, the Spanish got nuts and wiped out
the Indians.
Oh yeah. You've already made it clear the Phoenicians did not
come to the Americas.