Who were the first Europeans to discover the American Continents?

Although most history books credit Christopher Columbus for discovering America in 1492, he never traveled beyond the West Indies in the Caribbean sea, which he mistakenly believed to be the Orient. Further exploration by other Spanish explorers established colonies along the Central American peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico. The Portuguese discovered the South American continent and were the first explorers to sail around the Cape of Good Hope into the Pacific Ocean.

The Vikings however, established a colony in Newfoundland in the year 985, arriving 507 years before Christopher Columbus. The colony was led by Eric the Red and his son Leif Ericson who explored the eastern coast of Canada in the year 1001. There are Viking sagas that claim that they sailed as far south as the Caribbean sea, but there is no evidence that supports that claim, but there is evidence that there was a settlement in Newfoundland in the area of L'Anse-aux-Meadows.

John Cabot (Giovanni Cabotto), a Venetian explorer rediscovered Newfoundland in the year 1497, for King Henry VII of England, but the Viking Settlement was long gone. No one knows for sure what happened to the Viking settlement. They might have been wiped out by the indigenous people or they may not have survived a harsh winter, but there is proof of Viking trade in North America for over 400 years. Eric the Red and his son discovered North America, but their discovery was lost because they didn't hold a press conference!