Visigothic Kingdom flee to america

Mrstrategy

Banned
what if the people of the Visigothic Kingdom fled to the new world after their defeat at the Battle of Guadalete to avoid the invaders
 
At that time it would be basically just heading off into the ocean without knowing where they were going, though there might be some legends or fishermen's tales. Possibly they all ship out aiming for N Africa but it goes horribly wrong? IIRC that some Portuguese ships ended up in Brazil before it was discovered (sic) due to currents etc, so maybe the Visigothic fleet is blown off course and ends up there?
 
And they would do so, how? Why would they even go west rather than to known land? Beside, even if they did, I'd be amazed if more than a single ship made it. After that, expect them to have some interesting cultural influence on the native (wheel, better ships...) and then disappear (acculturation).
 
Visigoths discover Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira and then flee to them? Later on they discover America?
 
They all drown hilariously not even halfway across the ocean, because the Visigoths lacked the naval architecture and navigational skills required to cross the Atlantic. Period.
 
Given the options the Gothic nobility had, I really doubt that crossing the Atlantic Ocean and land in a continent that they didn't know exist was an option.
 
Were Basque Fisherman trolling the Grand Banks yet? If so, then the technology existed and there would have been some idea of what was out there. But, even in that case, this is going to be very, very, unlikely. It would involve a group giving up the life style they had known for centuries, to strike out into the yonder with no real assurance of success and no real reason to do so (okay, fleeing the Muslim advance, yes; but would they really believe that throwing themselves into the ocean on the off chance they could find a safe place to settle and be able to thrive would be a better choice than accepting Muslim rule over much of Hispania?)
 
I'm fairly sure the Visigoths didn't have the naval technology to sail across the Atlantic, even if they would've suspected something would be there.
 
To be fair, they could flee to Madeira or the Azores, which would be a viable option. But this is basically Sealion levels of ASB.

And they would do so, how? Why would they even go west rather than to known land? Beside, even if they did, I'd be amazed if more than a single ship made it. After that, expect them to have some interesting cultural influence on the native (wheel, better ships...) and then disappear (acculturation).

Why better ships? More than likely the natives just salvage the wood rather than copying the design.
 
To be fair, they could flee to Madeira or the Azores, which would be a viable option. But this is basically Sealion levels of ASB.

I would love to see a rump Visigothic kingdom of Azores/Madeira and how it interacts with the Islamic mainland. A Visigothic America... as exciting as it sounds, it's not at all possible in the immediate time frame, not unless they survive in the islands long enough to hitch a ride with the Vikings, and that's a whole other can of worms (not ASB-levels, but still nigh-impossible).
 
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