Discovery of America

It is a commonly held belief that America was discovered by Christopher Columbus. This fact however can neither be ruled out nor accepted blindly. In October, 1492, Columbus reached the shores of America when he was in search of India. Some historians believe that it was not America's mainland that Columbus reached in 1492. The place was actually an island of the Bahamas. Exploration of American continent is also closely connected with the name of another European sailor, Amerigo Vespucci, who reached America in 1497. However, one cannot say for sure that Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci were the first to discover this huge continent. They are supposed to have been preceded by the Vikings and Chinese sailors.As most expeditions prior to the times of Christopher Columbus were not documented properly, the Spanish explorer is now commonly considered to be the discoverer of America.

toruleout – исключить, отклонить, отмести как невзможное

toacceptblindly – безоговорочно принять, слепо поверить

mainland – материк

to precede – предшествовать

prior to – до