Rec

... recently said, in reference to Demark's claims to Greenland, "just because they landed a boat there 400 years ago doesn't mean they own it."

So... I guess that goes for the Mayflower, too, then.

years before the english "discovered" it?

Denmark - maybe?

My bet is on the Portuguese/Iberian fisherman, though...there's a theory that they were fishing off the Outer Banks back during the Roman Era/early middle ages and would land in Massachusetts or Long Island to salt and pack their catch before heading back to Iberia.

They were fishermen - weren't set up as traders, and wouldn't need a permanent settlement, just an agreement with the local tribes to camp out for a few weeks and reprovision in the late summer while they prepped their catch.

Evidence is that the type of preserved cod found in shipwrecks from the period is genetically similar to the cod off the Outer Banks.

Some years ago, I read that there is possible evidence that traders from some of the pacific nations may have actually landed on the west coast. Lost track of the story, so don't know what, if any, follow up there was.

... learn something new every day!

... but I missed it. The Vikings were here, but didn't lay claim to any real estate, like they did in ancient Britain.