The Great Republic by the Master Historians On the Origin of the Americans byBancroft, Hubert H.
[The written history of America begins with the year 1492, the date of the first
voyage of Columbus to its previously-unknown shores. Yet there pertains to the
preceding period a considerable variety of interesting material of a semi-
historical character, -- is part traditional, legendary, and speculative, in
part based on researches into the languages, race-characteristics, customs, and
antiquities of the American aborigines. Some attention to the abundant
literature relating to this earlier epoch seems desirable as a preface to the
recent history of America. This literature is in no proper sense American
history, yet it is all we know of the existence of man upon this continent
during the ages preceding the close of the fifteenth century. It is far too
voluminous, and, as a rule, too speculative, to be dealt with otherwise than
very briefly, yet it cannot properly be ignored in any work on the history of
the American continent.
The more speculative portion of this literature has been
fully and ably treated by Hubert H. Bancroft, in his "Native Races of the
Pacific States," from which we make our opening Half-Hour selection, lack of
space, however, forbidding us from giving more than some brief extracts from his
extended treatise on the subject.]
When it first became known to Europe that a new continent had been discovered,
the wise men, philosophers, and especially the learned ecclesiastics, were
sorely perplexed to account for such a discovery. A problem was placed before
them, the solution of which was not to be found in the records of the ancients.
On the contrary, it seemed that old-time traditions must give way, the
infallibility of revealed knowledge must be called in question, even the Holy
Scriptures must be interpreted anew. Another world, upheaved, as it were, from
the depths of the sea of darkness, was suddenly placed before them. Strange
races, speaking strange tongues, peopled the new land; curious plants covered
its surface; animals unknown to science roamed through its immense forests; vast
seas separated it from the known world; its boundaries were undefined; its whole
character veiled in obscurity. Such was the mystery that, without rule or
precedent, they were now required to fathom.
When, therefore, the questions arose, whence were these new lands peopled? how
came these strange animals and plants to exist on a continent cut off by vast
oceans from the rest of the world? the wise men of the time unhesitatingly
turned to the Sacred Scriptures for an answer. These left them no course but to
believe that all mankind were descended from one pair. This was a premise that
must by no means be disputed. The original home of the first pair was generally
supposed to have been situated in Asia Minor; the ancestors of the people found
in the New World must consequently have originally come from the Old World,
though at what time and by what route was an open question, an answer to which
was diligently sought for both in the sacred prophesies and in the historical
writings of antiquity.
Noah's ark, says Ulloa, gave rise to a number of such constructions, and the
experience gained during the patriarch's aimless voyage emboldened his
descendants to seek strange lands in the same manner. Driven to America and the
neighboring islands by winds and currents, they found it difficult to return,
and so remained and peopled the land. He thinks the custom of eating raw fish at
the present day among some American tribes was acquired during these long sea-
voyages. That they came by sea is evident, for the north--if indeed the
continent be connected with the Old World--must be impassable by reason of
extreme cold.
Ulloa, though he would not for a moment allow that there could
have been more than one general creation, does not attempt to account for the
presence of strange animals and plants in America; and I may observe here that
this difficulty is similarly avoided by all writers of his class. Lescarbot
cannot see why "Noah should have experienced any difficulty in reaching America
by sea, when Solomon's ships made voyages lasting three years." Villagutierre,
on the contrary, thinks it more probable that Noah's sons came to America by
land; an opinion also held by Thompson, who believes, however, that the
continents were not disconnected until some time after the flood, by which time
America was peopled from the Old World.
[Many other writers have advocated this theory, basing their belief on the
numerous deluge-myths which exist among the traditions of the American tribes,
and which bear a certain resemblance to the Biblical story of the deluge, even
in some cases describing the subsequent building of a tower of refuge, and the
disconcertion of the builders in their impious act by the gods, or by the Great
Spirit. Yet most modern writers consider these myths to have been of local
origin.]
Let us now turn from these wild speculations, with which volumes might be
filled, but which are practically worthless, to the special theories of origin,
which are, however, for the most part, scarcely more satisfactory.
Beginning with eastern Asia, we find that the Americans, or in some instances
their civilization only, are supposed to have come originally from China, Japan,
India, Tartary, Polynesia. Three principal routes are proposed by which they may
have come, -- namely, Bering Strait, the Aleutian Islands, and Polynesia. The
route taken by no means depends upon the original habitat of the immigrants:
thus, the people of India may have immigrated to the north of Asia, and crossed
Bering Strait, or the Chinese may have passed from one to the other of the
Aleutian Islands until they reached the western continent. Bering Strait is,
however, the most widely advocated, and perhaps most probable, line of
communication. The narrow strait would hardly hinder any migration either east
or west, especially as it is frequently frozen over in winter. At all events, it
is certain that from time immemorial constant intercourse has been kept up
between the natives on either side of the strait; indeed, there can be no doubt
that they are one and the same people. Several writers, however, favor the
Aleutian route.
The theory that America was peopled, or at least partly peopled, from eastern
Asia, is certainly more widely advocated than any other, and, in my opinion, is
moreover based upon a more reasonable and logical foundation than any other. It
is true, the Old World may have been originally peopled from the New, and it is
also true that the Americans may have had an autochthonic origin; but, if we
must suppose that they have originated on another continent, then it is to Asia
that we must first look for proofs of such an origin, at least so far as the
people of northwestern America are concerned.
"It appears most evident to me,"
says the learned Humboldt, "that the monuments, methods of computing time,
systems of cosmogony, and many myths of America, offer striking analogies with
the ideas of eastern Asia, -- analogies which indicate an ancient communication,
and are not simply the result of that uniform condition in which all nations are
found in the dawn of civilization."
[Closely similar opinions are expressed by Prescott, Dr. Wilson, Colonel Smith,
Dupaix, Tschudi, Gallatin, and other writers. In addition to the theory of a
Chinese settlement in the fifth century, which we shall consider subsequently,
there are theories of Mongol and Japanese settlement.]
In the thirteenth century the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan sent a formidable
armament against Japan. The expedition failed, and the fleet was scattered by a
violent tempest. Some of the ships, it is said, were cast upon the coast of
Peru, and their crews are supposed to have founded the mighty empire of the
Incas, conquered three centuries later by Pizarro. Mr. John Ranking, who leads
the van of theorists in this direction, has written a goodly volume upon this
subject, which certainly, if read by itself, ought to convince the reader as
satisfactorily that America was settled by Mongols, as Kingsborough's work that
it was reached by the Jews, or Jones's argument that the Tyrians had a hand in
its civilization. That a Mongol fleet was sent against Japan, and that it was
dispersed by a storm, is matter of history; but that any of the distressed ships
were driven upon the coast of Peru can be but mere conjecture, since no news of
such an arrival ever reached Asia.
A Japanese origin, or at least a strong infusion of Japanese blood, has been
attributed to the tribes of the northwest coast. There is nothing improbable in
this; indeed, there is every reason to believe that on various occasions small
parties of Japanese have reached the American continent, have married the women
of the country, and necessarily left the impress of their ideas and physical
peculiarities upon their descendants. Probably these visits were all, without
exception, accidental; but that they have occurred in great numbers is certain.
There have been a great many instances of Japanese junks drifting upon the
American coast, many of them after having floated helplessly about for many
months. Mr. Brooks gives forty-one particular instances of such wrecks,
beginning in 1782, twenty-eight of which date since 1850. Only twelve of the
whole number were deserted. In a majority of cases the survivors remained
permanently at the place where the waves had brought them. There is no record in
existence of a Japanese woman having been saved from a wreck. The reasons for
the presence of Japanese and the absence of Chinese junks are simple. There is a
current of cold water setting from the Arctic Ocean south along the east coast
of Asia, which drives all the Chinese wrecks south. The Kuro Siwo, or "black
stream," commonly known as the Japan current, runs northward past the eastern
coast of the Japan Islands, then curves round to the east and south, sweeping
the whole west coast of North America, a branch, or eddy, moving towards the
Sandwich Islands. A drifting wreck would be carried towards the American coast
at an average rate of ten miles a day by this current.
We may now consider that theory which supposes the civilized peoples of America
to be of Egyptian origin, or, at least, to have derived their arts and culture
from Egypt. This supposition is based mainly on certain analogies which have
been thought to exist between the architecture, hieroglyphics, methods of
computing time, and, to a less extent, customs of the two countries. Few of
these analogies will, however, bear close investigation, and, even where they
will, they can hardly be said to prove anything..
Turning now to western Asia, we find the honor of first settling America given
to the adventurous Phoenicians. The sailors of Carthage are also supposed by
some writers to have first reached the New World; but, as the exploits of colony
and mother-country are spoken of by most writers in the same breath, it will be
the simplest plan to combine the two theories here. They are based on the fame
of these people as colonizing navigators more than upon any actual resemblance
that have been found to exist between them and the Americans. It is argued that
their ships sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the Canary Islands, and
that such adventurous explorers having reached that point would be sure to seek
farther. The records of their voyages and certain passages in the works of
several of the writers of antiquity are supposed to show that the ancients knew
of a land lying in the far west..
Diodorus Siculus relates that the Phoenicians discovered a large island in the
Atlantic Ocean, beyond the Pillars of Hercules, several days' journey from the
coast of Africa. This island abounded in all manner of riches. The soil was
exceedingly fertile; the scenery was diversified by rivers, mountains, and
forests. It was the custom of the inhabitants to retire during the summer to
magnificent country-houses, which stood in the midst of beautiful gardens. Fish
and game were found in great abundance. The climate was delicious, and the trees
bore fruit at all seasons of the year. The Phoenicians discovered this fortunate
island by accident, being driven upon its coast by contrary winds. On their
return they gave glowing accounts of its beauty and fertility, and the Tyrians,
who were also noted sailors, desired to colonize it.
[Several authors have believed these "Fortunate Islands" to be America, but in
all probability they were the Canary Islands.]
The theory that the Americans are of Jewish descent has been discussed more
minutely and at greater length than any other. Its advocates, or at least those
of them who have made original researches, are comparatively few; but the extent
of their investigations, and the multitude of parallelisms they adduce in
support of their hypothesis, exceed by far any we have yet encountered.
Of the earlier writers on this subject, Garcia is the most voluminous. Of modern
theorists, Lord Kingsborough stands pre-eminently first, as far as bulky volumes
are concerned; though Adair, who devotes half of a thick quarto to the subject,
is by no means second to him in enthusiasm--or rather fanaticism--and wild
speculation.
[The idea advanced is that America was settled by the ten lost tribes of Israel,
in support of which a multitude of similarities between American and Jewish
customs and characteristics are adduced, yet none of them sufficient to
influence any cool-headed critic.]
We now come to the theory that the Americans, or at least part of them, are of
Celtic origin. In the old Welsh annals there is an account of a voyage made in
the latter half of the twelfth century by one Madoc, a son of Owen Gwynedd,
prince of North Wales. The story goes, that after the death of Gwynedd his sons
contended violently for the sovereignty. `Madoc, who was the only peaceable one
among them, determined to leave his disturbed country and sail in search of some
unknown land where he might dwell in peace. He accordingly procured an abundance
of provisions and a few ships, and embarked with his friends and followers. For
many months they sailed westward without finding a resting-place; but at length
they came to a large and fertile country, where, after sailing for some distance
along the coast in search of a convenient landing-place, they disembarked and
permanently settled. After a time Madoc, with part of his company, returned to
Wales, where he fitted out ten ships with all manner of supplies, prevailed on a
large number of his countrymen to join him, and once more set sail for the new
colony, which, though we hear no more about him or his settlement, he is
supposed to have reached safely..
Claims have also been put in for an Irish discovery of the New World. St.
Patrick is said to have sent missionaries to the "Isles of America," and early
writers have gravely discussed the probability of Quetzalcoatl [the Mexican
white deity] having been an Irishman. There is no great improbability that the
natives of Ireland may have reached, by accident or otherwise, the northeastern
shores of the new continent in very early times, but there is certainly no
evidence to prove that they did.
[The evidences in favor of the several theories described by Mr. Bancroft, as
presented by the many writers upon these subjects, are given by him in
considerable detail, and their probability discussed, with the final conclusion
that none of the theorists have succeeded in proving that the Americans were of
Old-World origin, and that "no one at the present day can tell the origin of the
Americans: they may have come from any one or from all the hypothetical sources
enumerated in the foregoing pages, and here the question must rest until we have
more light upon the subject."
A brief reference to the Atlantis theory, omitted in our extract from Bancroft,
is here in place. The story of a land that formerly lay in or beyond the
Atlantic, and was subsequently submerged, is mentioned by several Greek writers,
and is said by Plutarch to have been communicated to Solon by the priests of
several Egyptian cities. According to Plato, these priests declared that the
events related to Solon had taken place nine thousand Egyptian years previously.
In the Platonic version the priestly story was to the effect that beyond the
Pillars of Hercules there was an island larger than Asia Minor and Libya
combined. From this island one could pass to other islands, and thence to a
continent which surrounded the sea containing them. In the island of Atlantis
reigned three powerful kings, whose dominion extended to some of the other
islands and to part of the continent, and reached at one time into Africa and
Europe. Uniting their forces, they invaded eastern Europe, but were defeated and
their army destroyed by the Athenians, independence being gained by all the
subject countries east of the Pillars of Hercules. Afterwards, in one day and
night, earthquakes and inundations overwhelmed Atlantis and sunk it beneath the
sea, which became impassable on account of the mud which the sunken island left
in its place.
The theory that there actually existed such an island, extending to the vicinity
of, or perhaps continuous with, the American continent, has been held by several
writers, principal among them being the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg. The recent
advocacy of the theory is based on the fact that traditions and written records
of cataclysms similar to that described by the Egyptian priests have been found
among the American nations. Yet the story is in all probability one of those
fabulous statements of which many can be found in the works of ancient writers.]
