ElHeim

ElHeim t1_ixvgzjd wrote

For additional perspective, there's also been the claim that a famous Chinese captain "discovered" the New World some 70 years earlier.

But it's all irrelevant for the same reason: the Chinese were about to get totally focused on themselves, they didn't share the discovery. Actually, if it happened, they actively suppressed all knowledge of it.

No further contact, no spreading of the knowledge = no impact.

It's like when you invent some new device. if you sit on it and someone else creates the same thing, then patents it, they get all the credit.

1

ElHeim t1_ixvg0l9 wrote

Same Crown, not same "country". Those concepts were largely disconnected back then. Think of the current Commonwealth: same head of state (whoever is the King/Queen back at the UK), but a collection of independent countries. Not exactly the same concept, but close enough.

1