Hi! there's always room for someone to contribute more info, but FYI, there have been a few similar posts; check these out for previous discussions on this topic

• Is there any evidence that Christopher Columbus (and other 15th century explorers) knew of Lief Erickson's travels and the Viking settlements in the New World?

• Did word of the New World discovered by Leif Ericson ever get to the Western Europeans?

• Did the rest of Europe know about the Vikings' discovery of America?

• Are any of the pre-Columbus maps of America real?

• How did the Nordic countries react to the 1490-1500s New World discoveries? - i.e. versus what they already knew

Semi-related question: Were there rumours of lands to the west that may have reached explorers?

• If Columbus crashed or never returned, how long would it have taken before another European sailed west?

• I am very interested in the voyages of John Cabot. Why did he sail west? How independent was the discovery of Newfoundland, in relation to Columbus? Is he a figure that gets too much, or not enough, attention for his accomplishments?

• Wednesday AMA - Piracy from Antiquity to the Present. - re pirate activity impacting trade with the Greenland settlements

• Were the Aztecs and Incas explorers? Did they make maps? Did they ever meet? - re possibility of remains washing up in Europe (come to think of it, there have been a few posts on this fringe theory, but can't find any more)

More on the Basques

• When did Basque presence in the Newfoundland area begin and end? What developments occurred during this time period.

• Basques in North American prior to Columbus?

• Did European fisherman actually frequently fish the Grand Banks before Columbus' arrival?

edit: added another post (pirates)