WI Columbus sailed north?

vuun · Mar 8, 2015

This may be implausible but...

What if instead of the idea of going west to reach the Orient, Columbus had the idea of going north to reach the Orient, following the logic of using shorter circumpolar routes? I admit the main problem with this idea is tolerating the Arctic cold during the voyage, but hey if there'll be money in it, maybe one will decide it's worth the risk, given preparation for the harsh weather.

I suppose the most likely outcome would be Columbus perishing somewhere in the Arctic and history forgetting him. Columbus's OTL discoveries are butterflied, but the Portuguese would probably bump into Brazil just like in OTL, so Europeans still reach the New World. The idea of Columbus running into Inuit and believing them to be Chinese or Mongols is interesting though...

Georgie Porgie · Mar 9, 2015

One of the things that Columbus counted on was the trade winds, these blow from Africa to the America's if you head south, but blow from America to Europe in the north. He would be told this by every French and English sailor he talked to.

It is also the middle of the "Little Ice Age" so the northern ice would reach much further south than it does these days, again something that he could find out very easily from local sailors.

His only real choice would have been the southern route he took.

Lampiao · Mar 9, 2015

There was no knowledge about trade winds at the time.

A travel to the north would be just like Cabot's voyages: Columbus wouldn't find any land worth to be settled, and the expedition would be a simple anedocte.

Escape Zeppelin · Mar 9, 2015

The ice cap was well known and there was no indication that there was any way through it during that period. Unless you already know the Americas block the route to Asia the Arctic is far too dangerous to even consider trying to cross.

Agricola · Mar 9, 2015

I am not sure, if this would end in a catastrophe or Columbus finding nothing.

Let's assume Columbus hears that north of Scotland are Islands and even a bigger Island called Iceland further Northwest. So he decides to use this island as his first supply point. Perhaps he explores the opportunities over there in a first smaller expedition.

In Iceland he hears, that there is another island called Greenland in the West. But it was given up by the european settlers some hundred years ago, when the climate became worse. I doubt he hear about the legend around Leif Eriksson, but Greenland is enough for now.

So he sails West to Greenland, where he finds nothing, and from there to New Foundland, like Leif did. Because he is looking for Asia, he thinks, that America is another big island or he is in the perhaps uncivilized far north of Asia. So he sails south. Finally he finds the St. Lawrence River and wastes a lot of time exploring it. But last but not least he reaches the Caribbean Sea.

The rest works like IRL.

Jurgen Wullenwever · Mar 9, 2015

Agricola said:
Let's assume Columbus hears that north of Scotland are Islands and even a bigger Island called Iceland further Northwest. So he decides to use this island as his first supply point. Perhaps he explores the opportunities over there in a first smaller expedition.

In Iceland he hears, that there is another island called Greenland in the West. But it was given up by the european settlers some hundred years ago, when the climate became worse. I doubt he hear about the legend around Leif Eriksson, but Greenland is enough for now.

I read somewhere a few years ago a claim that Columbus actually knew about the Norse voyages to Greenland and Wineland five centuries earlier.

Today I saw this:http://www.christopher-columbus.ch/essay.htm

Christopher Columbus wrote that he sailed in February 1477 to an island a hundred miles beyond Tile (Iceland). This trip, which would have led him to Greenland according to the distance he mentioned, was questioned many times in the 20th century.

Agricola · Mar 9, 2015

Interesting read.

Imagine Spain declines to support Columbus, and he goes to London asking for support to go via the northern route.

Dain · Mar 9, 2015

Agricola said:
I am not sure, if this would end in a catastrophe or Columbus finding nothing.

Let's assume Columbus hears that north of Scotland are Islands and even a bigger Island called Iceland further Northwest. So he decides to use this island as his first supply point. Perhaps he explores the opportunities over there in a first smaller expedition.

In Iceland he hears, that there is another island called Greenland in the West. But it was given up by the european settlers some hundred years ago, when the climate became worse. I doubt he hear about the legend around Leif Eriksson, but Greenland is enough for now.

So he sails West to Greenland, where he finds nothing, and from there to New Foundland, like Leif did. Because he is looking for Asia, he thinks, that America is another big island or he is in the perhaps uncivilized far north of Asia. So he sails south. Finally he finds the St. Lawrence River and wastes a lot of time exploring it. But last but not least he reaches the Caribbean Sea.

The rest works like IRL.

I'm pretty sure that's too long an expedition for his outfit. He'd probably be forced to return after exploring a bit around the east coast, wouldn't he?

Anyway, that route makes a certain amount of sense. He could have learned about and prepared for parts of it before blindly sailing into the unknown.

twovultures · Mar 9, 2015

North America is not going to be very interesting for Europeans at this time. Columbus probably is going to keep sailing until he dies (naturally or otherwise) trying to find a route to the orient, with the land in the northeast mostly ignored since the population is so sparse.

This gives Mesoamerica a few more years, which actually gives a lot of potential for butterflies to aid resistance to colonialism. The collapse of the Tlaxcala, for example, could deprive any would-be conquerors of valuable allies. The collapse of the Aztecs would create a power vacuum, which means that every little city-state would have to be conquered piece by piece-a hard slog that the Spanish (or whoever) may not want to get into.

xerex · Mar 9, 2015

Agricola said:
Interesting read.

Imagine Spain declines to support Columbus, and he goes to London asking for support to go via the northern route.

Didnt Columbus go to Henry VII first ? He got turned down because Henry favoured John Cabot's proposed northern route ?

So in this scenario all that changes is that Columbus replaces Cabot and the voyage happens a little earlier.

riggerrob · Mar 9, 2015

Currents and trade winds favour a clockwise circumnavigation of the Atlantic Ocean. Consider that within a century after Columbus' epic voyage, the triangle route had been standardized with European vessels sailing south to the Bite of Benin, then west to the Caribbean, then northeastwards past Newfoundland (Gulf Stream) and finally eastwards (mid-latitude westerly winds) to return to Europe.

The left Europe with their holds full of European-manufactured goods, which they traded for African slaves. They picked up sugar and tobacco in the West Indies, which they traded for salt cod (in Newfoundland). They delivered their remaining sugar and tobacco and salt cod to European markets, then repeated their circumnavigation of the Atlantic Ocean.

Claudius · Mar 9, 2015

The merchants of the Bristol shipping families were very familiar with the Northern route, as early as Henry VII's reign. Salt cod was purchased from Iceland fishermen (and possibly caught on the Grand Banks.) The cod, along with cargoes of English wool were then shipped south to Portugal and Spain and exchanged for wine and other expensive luxuries. There is some slight evidence that Columbus had seen some of the Bristol merchant's maps and might have gotten an inkling of lands to the west.