Muslims discovered America before Columbus?

[NicDots]

I can see where you're coming from, but I imagine things are being looked at from the European perspective insofar as "discovering." To my knowledge, I don't think the natives here in America (most of the tribes, anyway) had no writing system...so maybe whoever first documented/written about life on the continent would be it's discoverer.

[tedeeoo]

Hey NicDots,

I was really just making light of the topic and having a bit of fun with it. All that really matters is that we all (Americans and others) live here now, so I'm not overtly concerned with who actually "discovered" America. Not that I'm downplaying History, I actually love it, it was one of my most favorite subjects in school and college.

Ted

[NicDots]

LOL, I didn't meant to come across like I was giving you a hard time. I am just an aspiring historian, that's all.

[Trigger]

we ( The Americas) are actually named for the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, even if he didn't "technically" discover it (yes, I know he was here much later than some of the others).

This is an odd one because though that is the accepted explanation of why the America's have the name they have another person also has a good claim to having the America's named after him.
When individuals in Tudor England were financing the Explorations that would bring England (not Britain) to the shores of what is now the USA. Though these explorations were carried out in the name of the Monarch they were not funded by the Crown or its Estate. The first exploration that landed in the USA was underwritten in large part by a Merchant from (I think) the city of Bath who's family name was Americ (it could have been a differing spelling but his name was pronounced Americ) and even more compelling is that his families coat of arms has white and red stripes and stars on it, very similar to the flag that the USA has now and this Heraldic design pre-dates the USA and America by quiet some time.
Many things that are part of English and later British history in what is now the USA are not taught/understood factually, this I think is in part based on the victors side writing the history and also because the British Crown and Government would sooner have kept its reasons for acting/departing secret because of differing factors that applied to the window of history that they existed in, also I maintain that much of our understanding now is based in equal part to interpretations of history that we see in films and to a lesser degree the humour and the acknowledged wits of the day.