What if the Romans had discovered America?

The Romans never would've made it across.

For one their boats sucked (as everyone did back then) and Romans weren't noted for being great seamen.

a few main reasons for the fall of rome was christianity and over growth. Rome grew to large to support itself. So even if they had the boats, it wouldn't of worked

At the risk of further embarassment, let's say that the Romans had invented or discovered a new way of building boats that had allowed them to make such a voyage, and for some reason they decided to make it (perhaps to find a way to India as Columbus did- they did trade in India, I now know). Is it possible that they would have landed and been able to maintain a colony that lasted more than that of the English colonies (because the Native Americans would pose far less a threat than the barbarians did, and because they would have recognized a far greater potential for growth than the tiny British isles), and therefore have colonized the entire continent and grown strong enough in numbers, government, and their religion to survive the fall as it happened in the former territories of Rome, therefore being able to maintain the same government, way of life, and religion despite the fall of the 'eastern' Rome?

No. :wink:

ya I'm still going with no

In fact the vikings have founded america and around 500 years later Christophorus Columbus found it...

Perhaps
The Romans were great engineers who usually succeeded at what they set out to do. They may not be so noted for their maritime tradition as for their land exploits, but they were in no way bad sailors. They succeeded in defeating the superior navy of Carthage and there were plenty of able sailors in the realm. Knowledge of navigation was more advanced than at the time of Columbus and the ships that the Romans were capable of building were certainly bigger than the little hulks used by the Vikings and by Columbus. so, yes, the Romans would certainly have been able to reach North America and found a colony there.

The only lacking factor is motivation. There was no reason for the Romans to set out on an expedition into the unknown. If the emperors had believed there was great wealth or power to be derived from an expedition across the Atlantic, the Romans would no doubt have reached America. Whether they would have found it worthwhile to colonise is another thing. Maybe they would have used it as a penal colony for unwanted European barbarians

What if the Roman had discovered America?
Curiously,there is evidence that Romans may reached America in the form of a terracotta(sp?) head discovered in Mexico which is Roman in style.

Re: What if the Roman had discovered America?


One swallow does not Spring make. Even if the artifact would be genuine, there are many ways it could have ended up in Mexico at a later date.

Roman exploits are reasonably well documented and it is unlikely they would have kept quiet about their dicovery of a new continent, had they indeed established its existence.

What if the Romans have discovered America?
I suppose it is difficult to prove,but a Roman ship could have gone off course.

(on a separate matter, it appears Roman soldiers ended up in a village in China)

Re: What if the Roman had discovered America?


Of course, they could have made it there, but never made it back.

The terracoota may have been taken to Mexico even in recent times, as a lot od genuine roman artefacts still circulate. It'not strange for me that I live in Rome to see these items in my every-day life. I have myself original etruscan terracottas in my home, as I founded them visiting an italian city in the South.
The terracotta doesn't prove anything.
On my way, if they had the strenght to cross the sea probably they would have conquered the territory. One of the reasons why the conquered and envolved other populations is that they were very violent. They had arms, navy and soldiers strong and enough to conquere the natives of America for those times.
Hasn't England and Spain done the same thing?

There is a great Sci-Fi short story, by Brian Aldiss, who toys with this possible evolution of history. But I won't tattle-tale about it.

As an aside, I'm not so sure about the Romans' ability to conquer the American natives at the time. I'll state my point with Mexico.

The one big thing Spaniards had in their favor was fire weapons. This technological difference was crucial, since the conquistadors were badly outnumbered.
Another big thing in favor of the conquerors was the internal division of the Aztec empire. The Aztecs were hated by the "tributary peoples" (other indigenous nations, who had to pay tribute to the Aztecs, both in commodities and in prisoners for sacrifice), and were also divided among themselves between followers of gods Huitchilopoztli and Quetzalcoatl.
In Roman times, the Mayan and Toltec empires, both more advanced than the Aztecs, and almost as much as the Romans, were in power in Mesoamerica.

So, in order to make a good conquest, the Romans would have to first settle in areas populated by smaller and less evoluted tribes, which they could easily defeat (in what today is Cuba and the Eastern USA), create a base which could keep a reasonable flow of goods from Rome and towards the Centuries that would conquer farther inland, etcetera.
In other words, they would have needed to create a neighbouring empire, that would later attack the mesoamerican civilizations.
By the time a neighbouring empire could have been built, politics at Rome, with all their intrigue, would have pissed off the poorly communicated American settlers. After a while, they'd become independent, and create the Westernmost Roman Empire.

I believe the problem for the Romans would have lain in the numbers game. They may have been very aggressive and have had superior strategies, armament and tactics; and I have no doubt they had the engineering capabilities to cross the Atlantic, but to conquer a continent the size of North America in a few centuries would have required millions of colonists (in order to defeat the natives and occupy their land), which ancient Europe could not supply. And even if sufficient people could have been found, it would have been logistically nearly impossible to ship them all to the new world fast enough (the Romans had other things to worry about).

What if the Romans had conquered America?
The Roman style head was actually dug up at an Archaelogical site, so are you accusing the Archaeologist(s) concerned of forgery?

What if the Romans had discovered America?
Sorry if I put it strongly in previous post, it was discovered at Toluca(the terracotta head and was soil dated as being before the Spanish landed in America.

Of course,the fact that it looks Roman doesn't prove it is Roman

If the Romans made it across, and thats an IF, they would have either attempted plain trade and left total sovereignty, or would have, frankly to an extent stupidly and to an extent intelligently, attached some tribes. Based off known campaigns, they would have made some "allies" and used them as protectorates, but depending who they faced could have easily won, or had a tough battle. Unlike in Europe and the Middle East+Africa, where tactics of both sides were somewhat known, both sides in this war would take a while to understand each other. If an emperor chose to send legions across the Atlantic, they would face what Europeans faced in their colonizations and what the Romans faced in most campaigns, especially in northern Europe, fear of what would be perceived as totally foreign and horrifying (self sacrifice, cannibalization, etc.), and homesickness. As in Germany and Britain, they would face a great deal of guerrilla warfare, which the Romans in forested areas often had trouble facing, not standard column and file warfare. If Rome was willing to spend the resources and time on frankly, a useless venture, they could win, but supply line stretch and lack of supplies in men and food, and metal, and horses, could be disastrous, though Roman steel could be a deciding factor.

They did, but they had already set up trade and political envoys by sea and land, they beached a few miles south

Welcome to a2k mattheroman.

Great answer to this hypothetical answer.

Keep in mind the greatest unintentional weapon that Europeans unknowingly carried along across the Atlantic Oceans: the many contagious diseases (small pox for example).