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Mali in the New World before Columbus?

There is growing evidence to suggest that Sultan Abu Bakr II, of the Malian empire succesful crossed the Atlantic in the 14th century, 200 years before Columbus.  This theory is defiently plausible, given the wealth of the Malian empire at its peak in the 14th century, and the seafaring capability of the Malian navies.  Sultan Abu Bakr abdicated from the throne of the wealthiest African empire since ancient Egypt to explore the Atlantic.  Much of what is known about the Sultan comes from the following account from his brother, Mansa Musa; ''So Abubakar equipped 200 ships filled with men and the same number equipped with gold, water, and provisions, enough to last them for years…they departed and a long time passed before anyone came back. Then one ship returned and we asked the captain what news they brought.

He said, 'Yes, Oh Sultan, we travelled for a long time until there appeared in the open sea a river with a powerful current…the other ships went on ahead, but when they reached that place, they did not return and no more was seen of them…As for me, I went about at once and did not enter the river.'

The Sultan got ready 2,000 ships, 1,000 for himself and the men whom he took with him, and 1,000 for water and provisions. He left me to deputies for him and embarked on the Atlantic Ocean with his men. That was the last we saw of him and all those who were with him.

And so, I became king in my own right.”

The sheer size of the fleet, and the fact that they didn't return means that it is almost certain that they stumbled across the New world.  Besides this circumstancial evidence, recent archeological finds suggest an African presence in the Americas.  Carved heads, constructed by the Olmec empire in Mexico depict negro faces.  There are also cultural similarities between the Malians, Incas and Mayans.  Both South American cultures worshipped black Gods, for instance, ancient portraits of the Quetzalcoatl, a messiah serpent god, and Ek-ahua, the god of war, are unquestionably Negro with dark skin and wooly hair. Why would native Americans venerate images so unmistakably African if they had never seen them before?

An Olmec head depicting African features

Abu Bakr's ships