Abstract

TABOADA, Hernán G. H.. The Polycentric Discovery of the World. Rev. hist. Am. [online]. 2023, n.165, pp.9-33.  Epub Feb 27, 2024. ISSN 2663-371X.  https://doi.org/10.35424/rha.165.2023.3327.

The old question of “pre-Columbian contacts” is reconsidered on the basis of an ecumenical and not a Eurocentric perspective. The contact zones between the Old and the New World (Northern Asia, North Atlantic, South Atlantic and South Pacific) were frequented for centuries by nearby peoples. The greater interaction between literate civilizations after the Mongol invasions of the 13th century meant that their local experiences could be compared with each other by experts, who managed to achieve a better knowledge of the world’s geography. The Columbian enterprise is tributary of such global processes.

Keywords : Discovery of America; Historiographic Eurocentrism; Global history; History of geography; History of navigation.