xiiiAt the end of the 15th century, the
lords of Peru’s Inca culture were cer-
tain that the known world stopped
at the borders of their empire, which was
then one of the largest on Earth. At that
same moment, a Genoese mariner set sail on
the other side of the globe on a high-risk,
low-investment business venture. His spon-
sors were rulers of a regional culture whose
self-important sense of their place in the
universe was not radically different from
that of the Inca and other civilizations of
the Western Hemisphere. The mariner—
Christopher Columbus—was unintentionally
about to change life in both hemispheres for-
ever. This book, Disco very of the Americas,
1492–1800,tells the stories of explorers whose
travels made major contributions to these
changes.
The world’s perspective of Columbus’s
voyages has evolved over the centuries. For
several hundred years, historians forgot
Columbus, who went to his grave mistakenly
certain that the lands he had encountered
were extremities of Asia. First contact between
the lands of the Western Hemisphere—the
Americas—and people from other continents
has been ascribed to numerous nationalities,
with proof whose authenticity wildly varies.
Over the years, scholars have offered theories
and evidence of the “discovery of America” by,
among others, Irish, Welsh, Phoenician, Afri-
can, Chinese, and Roman sailors. None of
these possiblelandings, however, had a signif-
icant effect on world history.
The Norse Vikings did come to North
America from Europe in the 11th century, but
their primary mission was not exploration,Introduction
{\
When I talk about America, I’m talking about the continent. Every-
body who’s born in the continent of America is an American.... We
have to deal with the fact that we’re all here—nobody’s going to
leave—and we might as well make the best of it. Let’s play our
strengths as opposed to our differences, with respect, and we’ll get
somewhere.
—Ruben Blades, introducing
Buscando America(Searching for America)