Who Was Really The First To Discover America?

A historical replica voyage has proved that the Phoenicians may well have reached the shores of the new world a full two millennia before Columbus

- Tom Westcott

Replica wooden sailing ship Phoenicia has reached America after a 6,000 nautical mile journey, proving that the Phoenicians – an ancient seafaring civilisation pre-dating the Romans – could have reached the shores of America some 2,000 years before Christopher Columbus.

Between replacing a couple of hull planks in Tenerife, in preparation for the Atlantic crossing, Phoenicia’s British owner and captain Philip Beale, 59, said: “This is the first time a Phoenician vessel has made this voyage in 2,500 years, and such a replica journey has never been attempted before.”

The Phoenicians Before Columbus expedition, Beale’s second major voyage on Phoenicia, was years in the planning. The expedition, launched from Tunis (site of ancient Carthage, capital of the Punic empire, which once dominated much of the Mediterranean) had provoked much doubtful head-shaking, including from many who had seen the unusual vessel berthed in ports along the Mediterranean.

Inspecting Phoenicia for stowaways before its departure from Tunis in late September last year, one security official said, in incredulous tones: “This ship is never going to make it to America.” Despite such doubters, the transatlantic crossing, in what is probably the world’s newest oldest ship, was successfully completed in 130 days (of which the Atlantic leg took 39), arriving in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 4 February.

Phoenicia, built-in Syria between 2007 and 2008, never fails to turn heads, even with the sail brailed up to the yard. Many describe her as a ‘pirate ship’, but that is perhaps to be expected as 2,500 years have passed since a Phoenician ship sailed the world’s seas.