I read on a Facebook post that Muslims reached America before Europeans. He was obviously incredibly biased, but I'm curious if there's any grain of truth behind this.
His post follows:
With all of this evidence of Muslim exploration before Columbus’s voyage in 1492, is it possible that Columbus himself knew he was not the first? It’s more than likely to be the case. Columbus sailed from Spain in the same year the last Muslim dynasty of Iberia was destroyed in the Reconquista. Many of the people of Iberia were still Muslims, and carried with them the knowledge of the Muslim Golden Ages. Numerous people on Columbus’s voyage were Moriscos, Muslims who were forced to convert to Catholicism or die. Columbus could have heard from Spain’s Muslims of the New World and was thus inspired to go exploring.
Once he got to the Americas, Columbus records numerous examples of Muslims already present. He commented on the gold that the natives had, which was made the same way, in the same alloy, as the Muslims of West Africa did. Furthermore, Columbus records that the native word in that area for gold is guanin, which is very similar to the Mandinka word for gold, ghanin, which probably comes from the Arabic word for wealth, ghina’.
In 1498, Columbus recorded seeing a ship loaded with goods, heading towards America, filled with Africans who were probably on their way to trade with Native Americans. Columbus also records in his journal that Native Americans told him of black Africans who came regularly to trade with them.
Once he got to the Americas, Columbus records numerous examples of Muslims already present. He commented on the gold that the natives had, which was made the same way, in the same alloy, as the Muslims of West Africa did.
The Taino have been producing gold-copper alloys (assuming that is the same alloy used in the West Africa--I'm not certain on that aspect of the claim) for hundreds of years before Contact. Whether they developed the technique locally or imported it from one of the other areas in the Americas that also have long histories of using gold alloys, I can't say, but certainly predates any potential Muslim contact.
Furthermore, Columbus records that the native word in that area for gold is guanin, which is very similar to the Mandinka word for gold, ghanin, which probably comes from the Arabic word for wealth, ghina’.
This part is inaccurate. The Taino word for gold is "caona" as seen in Anacaona "Golden Flower", the cacica of the cacicazgo of Xaragua, one of the five cacicazgo that divided up Hispaniola. She was also the wife of the cacique of the Maguana cacicazgo. Guani'n appears to actually be a medal worn by high ranking members of Taino society, which was not always made of gold. Etymologically, it's related to the word guani which is a social rank beneath cacique / cacica. No reason to speculate that it was a word imported from Arabic via West Africa.
As for the other claims, I'm not sure which 1498 document he's citing. Getting that information would be helpful. The rest is purely speculatively.
Anyhow, he seems to be focusing in on a West African connection to the Americas, in which case we should turn our attention to Mansa Musa of Mali, who famously undertook a hajj to Mecca in 1324. While in Egypt he recounted how he became the mansa. His predecessor, Mansa Abu Bakr II commissioned an expedition to explore the Atlantic in 1310. The exploratory fleet encountered a fierce storm before discovering anything; only one ship survived and immediately returned to Mali. Unsatisfied with this turn of events, Abu Bakr II personally took command of a second expedition in 1311, putting his vizier, Musa, in charge of Mali while he was away. Abu Bakr II never returned and Musa became the new mansa of Mali.
So if any of the Muslim West African nations knew of the Americas, they didn't in 1324, and no later report is known that speaks of Abu Bakr II expedition eventually returning or a later expedition being sent out*. Is it possible that Abu Bakr II actually made it all the way across the Atlantic (assuming his expeditions took place; there's some debate about that)? I suppose it's possible, but we have no evidence to confirm that he did or where he might have landed. But since there's seemingly no report back, even if he did succeed, Columbus wouldn't have heard about it.
*see caustic_banana's mention of Abdul-Hassan for a possible mention of later success. I'd be interested in seeming more detail on that myself.
The information you're friend is posting sounds incredibly dubious and riddled with Facebook-friendly speech, but contains some possible elements of truth.
-It's possible that Columbus did travel with Muslims, given the population he would be drawing his crew from. However, I find it extremely doubtful that he needed secret Abbasid navigational techniques to find the Americas as you literally cannot miss them unless you sail practically straight south.
-Muslim historian Abdul-Hassan wrote that Moors sailed from west Africa and returned from a "Strange land with many riches".
-I've seen a few sources loosely reference that people in Hispaniola had met Africans before and traded with them.
-The 1498 entry sounds like 100% hog-wash for a lot of reasons.
But beneath all that, it's not a good idea to give Columbus credit for "discovering America" in any capacity, as there are several cases, both anecdotal and documented, that other historical persons have run into the Americas before. What he did do, however, was popularize the ideal of colonization and expansion for an ambitious Europe.
I am not an expert on anything even remotely near Columbus, so I will be interested to see if someone else can provide an indepth evaluation of the claims.
EDITS: My source for the Abdul Hassan al-Masudi is the Paul Lunde & Caroline Stone translation for The Meadows of Gold and Mine of Gems
I have also seen references to Africans having visited the New World in Pillars of Hercules, Sea of Darkness [I think also a Paul Lunde translation], as well as Mapping the Chinese and Islamic World by Hyun Park.
A lot of the commentary here seems to focus on the simplicity of 'traveling west' to get to the Americas. Travel during the age of sail was by no means so simple: knowledge of trade winds, weather patterns, currents and astral navigation were all required if one intended to go into the deep ocean. Furthermore, the harshness of the Atlantic required a much more formidable sailing vessel: taller sides, wider prow, bigger sails, deeper keel, and so on, features that most ships of this era lacked. Wind patterns dictated where you went, and how quickly you got there - trying to sail directly West from the Mediterranean would most likely get you stuck in the 'Horse Latitudes,' so-called because you would eat your horses (or throw them overboard because you can't feed them) as a consequence of being stuck at sea with no breeze!
In terms of technology in the early Renaissance, natural philosophy and astronomy were more advanced in Islamic regions like the Ottoman Empire than they were in Europe. This does not, however, mean that they had the ship technology, nor the desire, to 'sail west.' The former is a consequence of trade, as the Mediterranean, a relatively placid and shallow body of water compared to the Atlantic, could be more easily traversed in a trireme or galley (oars, short keel, etc.). These 'sea ships' were superior fighters in the Mediterranean as well: as late as 1571 (the Battle of Lepanto), galleys were still the dominant combat vessel used in the Mediterranean. The reason we see Portuguese and Spanish vessels making the first extended voyages across and around the Atlantic in the 15th century is due in large part to geography: these kingdoms had to develop vessels (like the caravel) that could competently travel in shallower waters as well as the deep, treacherous waters of the Atlantic.
The last point I will make is this: when considering exploration, travel, trade and technology, one must always ask themselves, 'what would they have gained from this?' In other words, what was the motivation to explore? To give examples, what would Ottoman explorers, or even North African explorers, have gained, or have even imagined to have gained, from traveling west to get to India? The Ottomans, for example, dominated the East-West trade between Europe and Asia - circumventing their own trade monopoly would not have benefitted them in the slightest. The idea of 'exploration for the sake of exploration' does not emerge, in the context of the Atlantic World, until much later (if, debatably, at all). Even if Portuguese fishermen sailed into the Grand Banks, or Norse explorers to Newfoundland, the reality of their contact is, while historically fascinating, not terribly consequential in the grand narrative of the Atlantic World. Why? Because, until the early 16th century, the technology, and desire, to do something with this knowledge was unavailable. Even if the Norse knew what they had found, and wanted it, they lacked the demographics and economic infrastructure to effectively exploit their 'discovery.' Even if North Africans somehow managed to go to the Americas and back, the consequences of that contact are marginal at best. In short, we do not discuss Columbus, or 1492, as a consequence of his 'discovery' (more aptly, he 'ran into' the Americas), we discuss Columbus because Spain had the capacity, and the desire, to act upon his exploits. If Spain had not acted upon Columbus's dubious voyage to India (as he believed), that moment in history would have been as inconsequential as prior moments of contact.
Like a true lecturer, I have one last point (after my last point): when I teach the 'Age of Exploration' to my students, I remind them that such a name is both post-hoc and misleading. The 15-17th centuries were not an age of exploration, as it seems to imply a whimsical desire to seek out new lands for the sake of discovery. No, this age is far more aptly described as an 'age of desperation,' or even an 'age of exploitation.' Spain, for example, invested in Columbus, and followed up on his voyage, not because they wanted to explore, but rather because they saw, in his plan to reach India via a western route, a means to circumvent the Italian/Ottoman-dominated Mediterranean trade network.
Sources:
Edit: clarified Horse Latitudes.
First time I've heard about all this. No sources at all provided on the facebook post?
There was some discussion about the "Piri Reis map" on this thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/18dbdd/the_theory_that_piri_reis_1513_first_world_map/
The map dates to 1513 and has depictions of what some people think might be Antarctica or South America. It's possible this was somehow made from Columbus' maps, but when you start digging into this you will find a lot of wild theories about pre-Columbian exploration of the Americas.
It's very interesting to think about, but something that I think people forget about is how "far away and exotic lands" to older civilizations may not be that far away or exotic to us. By which I mean, fore example, Greek colonists sailing around the larger Mediterranean to places like Iberia was an incredibly daring feat given the time, knowledge of the world, and technology. You get crazy stories like the legend of Atlantis and impossible wealth. But to us, its not a particularly long or impressive journey. So when we hear these epic stories we think that the culture must have gone all the way to the Americas when maybe they went to the Canary Islands or Western Africa. Just something to keep in mind.
Nope. Not really.
And, honestly, why would they bother even heading that way? Columbus did so because Europe was looking for a way to bypass the Muslims who were between them and the riches of the East. Guess what? The Muslims didn't need to do that...they were already there!
And - unlike Columbus - they weren't in denial about the true size of the Earth and knew quite well that if they tried to "Head West to go East" they'd run out of supplies before they got halfway there. So again, why do that?
And further, taking Columbus's word on what he saw as evidence of Muslims is as amusing as all get out. Columbus needed there to be evidence of Muslims...to prove he had reached Asia! Heck, he required his crew to - basically - all line up and say, "yep, Asia all right" when he returned to Spain and he himself apparently went to his deathbed firmly stating he had reached Asia.
Honestly, he is the least trustworthy evidence you could find on a Muslim presence in the Americas this side of a personal website.