War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its

size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Thank you. host, James Early. Welcome to the history of North America. I'm Mark Vinet.

In this episode, we search for the first non-indigenous explorers to reach North America

as we examine the many pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories.

Join me as we navigate the murky waters of French science and literature,

pseudo-archology, fanciful tales, legends, myths, folklore, and pseudo-history.

Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories speculate about possible visits to or interactions

with North America, the indigenous peoples of the continent, or both, by people from other non-American

continents at a time prior to Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Caribbean in 1492.

In this episode, we examine claims involving Oceania, Asia, and Africa, that most mainstream scholars and scientists view with skepticism

or claim to have disproven or debunked.

James here.

And now a brief word from our sponsors.

Here you are listening to a podcast about history, while history is being made in real time during

this monumental

2024 U.S. election cycle, the Super Bowl of American politics. Money markets are always in flux.

We can only imagine the kind of market shifts that could happen pending the dramatic results of this

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