That's just a possibility. We don't know for certain if they actually did that before Columbus.
Any answer to this question is going to be possibility. Also making one trip is different then doing it regularly.
Yes, but a lot of people on this forum (I'm not talking about the poster I was replying to) seem to be certain that the Basque discovered America before Columbus.
It seems to be a fairly widespread opinion, with some textual evidence but, far as I know, no archeological proof or even suggestion. But the same was true of the Norse in Vinland for a long time.
Yeah nvm you're right. The first certain evidence of them reaching North America is by the mid-16th Century, after Columbus's voyage. But I'm sure if one really wanted to they could have the Basque arrive early, they did have ships secure enough to reach North America.
iirc that's when the Cog grew in popularity as well as other forms of better sailing tech.
Basic plank boats or large curraghs can do it. The technology required is Neolithic. The issue is not building the ships, it's knowing the strategies, the navigational techniques and having the confidence to plan this (because you have to plan it if you want a successful return voyage). I would say the Celtiberian iron age is the earliest that would be conceivable.
As LampLighters said, this is just a possibility that many seem to have accepted as a fact so much because it gets repeated so much as an interesting possibility. Even if it is true (which, again, is not even close to certain) no credible scholar to my knowledge has proposed such voyages took place as early as the 13th century.
Except the Norse claim has infinitely more textual evidence. They had historically known colonies right next door to the Americas, and in Iceland wrote pretty extensively of how they found a place next door. The only textual evidence for Basque discovery prior to 1492 is that sometimes a phantom island called "Codfish" appeared on maps -named, I might add, for the Portugese word for codfish, never the Basque. The two situations are not remotely comparable.
Not really. A large plank boat or curragh easily has room enough for a sufficient crew and supplies to last through the voyage. there is not much margin for error and the concept of what constitutes adequate eating and sdrinking is a different one from ours, though. most importantly, these boats do not have an appreciable payload. You can cross the Atlantic, but you can't really bring anything back.
Was knowledge about the currents advanced enough at the time for an Atlantic voyage?
No, it would have to be developed. The Armoricans were noted as sailors, but they only ever sailed to Britain so far as I know.
