LL-L "History" 2005.07.19 (01) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 19.JUL.2005 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>
Subject: History

Beste Andrys,

You wrote:

>> [tx]Columbus's Cathayans (Chinese) must certainly have been Inuit, who
>> had similar Asian features.
>
>
> I'm no oceanographer: but wouldn't the Atlantic's currents have made a
> umiak passage to Ireland unlikely? Perhaps if, as Gavin Menzies claims
> in his book, the Chinese discovered the world in 1421, then the ** pair
> were actually Chinese.

Neither am I an oceanographer Andrys ;-) . I read Menzies' book, and if
I remember well, those Chinese must have used huuuge sailing ships,
definitely no kayaks. Way bigger than umiaks even. I guess Columbus is
talking about rather small boats though, when he mentions two Cathay
people, each in a separate boat. Sure, they could still be patrol boats,
dispatched by bigger (Chinese) vessels, but I think the Inuit
explanation is more likely, especially because the kayak found in the
17th or 18th century provides solid evidence.

In order to give this post a Lowlandic dimension, I'll post the link to
the Marischal Museum's (excellent) website here (hosted by the
University of Aberdeen);

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/virtualmuseum/

being the museum in which that very Inuit kayak was on display in 2001.
This is how it was then announced:

"Inuit in Aberdeen"

**"Three hundred years ago an Inuit kayaker unexpectedly arrived off
Aberdeen - one of the more dramatic links between two cultures with much
in common. Today, new contacts are developing as Greenland, Nunavut and
Scotland share the challenges of globalisation, environmental change and
recently acquired home rule.

A new exhibition in Marischal Museum, Inuit in Aberdeen, explores these
relationships through collections that have been given to the University
by explorers, traders, whalers and colonial servants. It also marks the
Inuit Studies Conference 2000, held for the first time in a country
without an indigenous Inuit population and highlighting Aberdeen's
position as a leading centre for research in the circumpolar North.
On display is the kayak that was found off the coast about 1720. How it
reached Scotland is a mystery, but it has been described as the 'most
famous kayak in the world'! Other items include beautiful ivory carvings
of Arctic wildlife, a 10 metre long dog whip and objects donated by Sir
William MacGregor, Governor of Newfoundland in the early 20th century.
The mixture of traditional and modern materials, techniques and styles
shows the complex interactions between the Inuit and European people."

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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