the Welsh got there too!

Christopher Columbus has a special day dedicated to him on October 12th, as he was the first European. But is that day and title truly his?

Evidence and folklore combined dispute this claim.
According to a Welsh poem that has been in Welsh Folklore for generations, a Welsh Prince called Madog found the New World in 1170 ad.
Queen Elizabeth 1, was told, by a loyal subject, the story of Prince Madog. Some may say that was for prestige and power, as at that point in time, the English and Spanish were in the midst of territory struggles.
Again the story crept up in history, as explorers stumbled upon Native Americans along the Tennessee and Missouri borders in the eighteenth century. These Native Americans were not like the others of their kind, for they spoke a similar language to Welsh, aswell as fishing in coracles, which are the boats still used in Wales today.
All of these snipets of supposed evidence are dwarfed by the discovery of six skeletons in 1799. all the skeletons wore brass armour with the Welsh coat of arms on the chest piece.
The tribe that Prince Madog supposedly lived with, has since been wiped out in 1837 by small pox. But a plaque was placed at the place they lived to commemorate them.

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/Wales-History/DiscoveryofAmerica.htm

I personally think that the Welsh did reach the United States. Even if the skeletons didn't exist, the accounts of the explorers must have been based on something. A language being based on Welsh in a Native American tribe, seems to sa far-fetched that it seems hard to dismiss.
The skeletons however, reveal alot to me as it is cold, hard fact. The skeletons were there, wearing Welsh armour.
However, what does make me stand back and think, is that there was no account as to nowadays. With the technology that we have all around us and in the museums, surely there would have been an investigation into these skeletons and their age. If the stories were untrue then the skeletons would have been labeled a fraud. Yet no mention of them has been made after their initial discovery.
Even with that egging at my mind, I still firmly believe that the Welsh were in America, even if it wasn't as early as they suggest. The language and traditions convince me. Not only that, but the article also mentions that there were Welsh style forts dotted around the area. That is another point that has convinced me.