Combien de mystifications jalonnent notre connaissance du passé du monde, et surtout combien de non-dits dont la révélation dépasserait l’entendement et ébranlerait l’histoire telle qu’elle nous est contée !

Notre planète nous expose les stigmates d’un passé bien plus riche que celui dépeint par les institutions censées transmettre et diffuser le savoir.

Lumière sur les Temps a pour objectif de jeter un coup de projecteur sur des zones d’ombre de l’histoire non explorées par malveillance, incurie, idéologie ou frilosité.

jeudi 4 septembre 2014

Découverte de la Californie par les Européens

Grâce au fonds exceptionnel de la Library of Congress de Washington, j'ai déniché un document signifiant quels furent les premiers européens à fouler le sol californien :


Cabrilho's Discovery of California

Portuguese were also involved in the exploration of the west coast of North America. In 1542-43, Portuguese-born João Rodrigues Cabrilho and his chief pilot Bartolomé Ferrelo, who may have been Portuguese, were the first Europeans to explore the coast of the present state of California. Sailing for Spain, Cabrilho left in June of 1542 from Navidad on the west coast of Mexico and proceeded north. He reached San Diego Bay in September, becoming the first European to set foot in what is today the state of California. He continued north along the California coast but died in January 1543 from an infection resulting from a broken arm. Ferrelo, his pilot, continued north, possibly reaching the Oregon coast in March 1543.

Cabrilho's and Ferrelo's voyages are indicated by light reddish brown and light blue on this reconstructed map compiled by the nineteenth-century German historical geographer Johann Georg Kohl. A student of America's discovery and exploration, Kohl prepared this map, as well as similar maps of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, as a graphic device for summarizing and visualizing the area covered by the various explorers. The extent of each explorer's travels is indicated in a different color.


Johann Georg Kohl. A Map Showing the Progress of Discovery on the West Coast of the U.S. and Vancouver Island. 1857. Pen, ink, and watercolor. Geography and Map Division, Kohl Collection, miscellaneous (5).

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