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Forgotten Gods Mod Journal (

forgotten_mods) wrote,
@ 2008-04-25 11:31:00

Migration of the Gods

Because gods are essentially the manifestations of ideas, they are somewhat tied to their worshippers: they cannot travel from country to country as they please, but rather travel in the minds of those who remember and believe in them. It is in this way that they came to be in America: through the Viking explorers who thanked their gods for a successful passage. Through the Babylonian traders, swept off course by a fierce storm and sending up fevered prayers for a safe arrival. Through the immigrants, reminiscing on the old country as they set out for the New World.

Once the god has been brought to America and the idea takes root, they can't leave, they can only adapt. There are gods in other countries - for instance, the Norse travelled to America via Iceland, so it's quite possible they brought, say, Thor to both countries and that he is still roaming around both. However, while they are the same god, the same idea, they are completely separate incarnations and it would be quite common for them to have no contact at all with one another. Each might not even be aware the other exists.

Below is a timeline detailing, for the purposes of this game, the earliest contact various civilisations and their gods may have had with America. Please note that it is in no way intended to be historically accurate. Some of it is based on solid fact (like the Vikings' expeditions), but a lot of the earlier stuff is taken from speculation (like the Australian Aborigines' presence) or totally unsubstantiated claims (like the Ancient Egyptians and the fifth century Chinese voyage). It's used here only to give you some idea of the earliest date at which your character may have reached the Americas.

14,000 to 9,000 BC - Ancestors of modern Native Americans arrive from Asia.

~10,000 BC - Australian Aboriginal presence theorised to have existed in Tierra del Fuego in South America.

~1,800 BC - Establishment of first Maya settlements in South America.

~1,000 BC - Ancient Egyptians said to have traded with South America.

~900 BC - Possible evidence of Roman presence in America.

~400 BC - Evidence of Phoenician colonisation in North America.

~100 - Greek navigator Euphemus said to have crossed the Atlantic.

499 - Buddhist literature states Chinese trading junks travel to the coast of America.

~700 - Polynesians believed to have reached South America.

551 - Irish said to have explored North America.

~800s - Theorised contact between the Americas and India/Southeast Asia.

889 - Reports of a Muslim navigator sailing across the Atlantic and discovering an unknown territory.

~1000 - Vikings reach North America, which they call Vinland.

1170 - Welsh said to have explored North America.

~1200s - Japanese presence theorised in New Mexico.

~1200s - Emergence of the Inca Empire in Peru.

1311 - West African Mali Empire said to have discovered a land across the ocean to the west.

1421 - Chinese theorised to have reached America.

1472 - Germans said to have landed on the coast of Labrador.

1492 - Columbus "discovers" America

1501 - Portuguese explore North America

1502 - Beginning of Atlantic slave trade.

1524 - French explore Atlantic coast of United States.

1550 - Basques establish fishing settlements in Newfoundland.

1614 - Dutch lead an exploration up the lower Hudson River.

1621 - Nova Scotia becomes first documented Scottish settlement in the Americas.

1638 - Swedes establish colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River.

1664 - English take over the Dutch colony of New Netherland, renaming it New York.

1741 - First Russian landfall in Alaska.

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