re: Today is the 534th anniversary of one of the most consequential events in world history...

Yeah, I'm not suggesting they did but some of those ships purportedly could have done so easily. They really mapped out the Indian Ocean basin all the way down to below Zanzibar.

The Polynesians are a group that does not get enough study because of a lack of written language. When you think of just the distance from the South Pacific to Hawaii, it's crazy.

But I'm not sold on the Portuguese not finding Brazil 10 - 20 years before they officially announced it. Too much activity down there by guys who knew what they were doing and the caravels were equipped for the open sea. They were very protective of the routes for many years....really until the Dutch got involved and settled the Cape. Plus when you get to Cape Verde it makes sense to sail out to the open sea instead of following the coast