Which case should I run?

“no settlements”…in other words, they didnt stay to conquer the natives…

Well … a nice link about the Vikings:
http://www.arborg.is/bokasafn/page.asp?ID=709

And for the Euros and maps: did they have any at first? Did they draw them theirselves later?

Or differently: What would a European need a map of the pacific coast of America when he comes from the Atlantic side?
(This assumes that the Chinese did use the “short” passage: Their best/most famous admiral did not cross the Cape Horn, although he reached eastern Africa.)

Case three should be easy if you arent a Yankees fan.

ahh F_alk - you beat me to it.
AFAIR the vikings actually had some primitive settlements on Greenland.
I can’t really be too excited about “discovering America” well after so many others had been here.  Particularly when it appears to have been so poorly done.

“no settlements”…in other words, they didnt stay to conquer the natives…

This is hardly worth replying to. What exactly is your point? Many of the early Americans established peaceful relationships with the Indians, and in fact relied upon them for survival much of the time in the early years. The Indians, by the way, were not all peaceful and lovey-dovey; wars were as common over there as they were in Europe, and anyone with a modicum of knowledge could tell you so. The Indians accomplished nothing; they were in almost every respect a stone-age culture. To insinuate that it would have been better had they remained in control (such as it was) of the continent is pure ignorance.

Not sure what Falk and CC are getting at… I’ve already said that no one reasonably doubts the Viking’s early arrival to the Americas. But they did not establish long-term settlements, made no advancements on the land, and had next-to-zero bearing on the civilization of the New World (theories that they may have inspired Columbus notwithstanding; either way, Columbus was the one who sailed over here). Columbus was flawed in many ways, like any human (except me, of course ;) ); but he was a truly great navigator, and the man who began the colonization of America.

The point is on top of your head :evil:…Are you insinuating that I dont have a modicum of knowledge and am purely ignorant with regards to the lovey-dovey and not all peaceful stone-age Indians who accomplished nothing?  I am flawed in many ways,like any human and I never had any long term settlements anywhere…But I have driven a Navigator    :mrgreen:

To settle the petty argument that pushed people off topic, Columbus wasnt the first to discover America, but he is the only one that did anything about it.

AFAIR the Vikings did establish long-term settlements in both Greenland, and New Foundland. Archaeologists are unsure as to why the New Foundland settlements ended. The only significant thing about Columbus was that he made the first high-profile discovery of America. The Chinese, if they discovered it first, did not make a big noise about it, and we hadnt uncovered the evidence of this for hundreds of years. The Vikings, who did discover it before Columbus, didnt share their discovery with other Europeans, but kept it to themselves. Columbus discovered the New World for Spain, so the King and Queen knew, and subsequently, all of Europe began to know. That is really the only reason Columbus is even remembered. Otherwise, he wasn’t a very significant person. I mean, if we want to be really technical, the “Native” Americans were the first to discover America, when they crossed the Bering Strait like 15000 years ago, since they actually migrated from Asia.