Mexican castaway drifts across the Pacific in 13 months?

[merithyn]

Also, a Japanese fishing boat in the mid-19th century was disabled at sea and ended up in Oregon with like 1 or 2 survivors.  IIRC the boat was of a traditional design so it seems likely the Japanese could have made the trip also.

I thought this was kind of neat.

LINK

A drawing of a kangaroo on a 16th century Portuguese manuscript could potentially change the world's understanding of Australia's history.

The manuscript, which is thought to date from between 1580 and 1620, appears to show a small kangaroo within the letters of its text. If the image actually is a kangaroo, the drawing suggests that Portuguese explorers may have discovered Australia before the first recorded European landing on the continent by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606.

The document, which contains text or music for a liturgical procession, was recently acquired by the Les Enluminures Galley in New York, which has valued the item at $15,000 (£9,174). It was previously in the possession of a rare book dealer in Portugal.

Laura Light, a researcher at the gallery, told Australia's The Age newspaper that "a kangaroo or wallaby in a manuscript this early is proof that the artist of this manuscript had either been in Australia, or even more interestingly, that travellers' reports and drawings of the interesting animals found in this new world were already available in Portugal."

The text also includes the image of two half-naked men wearing crowns of leaves, which researchers believe may represent Australian aborigines.

Others, however, are not so convinced.

Dr Martin Woods of the National Library of Australia told The Age that "it could be another animal in south-east Asia, like any number of deer species, some of which stand up on their hind legs to feed of high branches".

Other researchers speculate that the manuscript may have come from slightly after Janszoon's arrival in Australia, or may date from a 1526 Portuguese voyage to Papua.

The gallery plans to display the document as part of an exhibition.

[Valmy]

That is interesting but not conclusive, it looks like a Kangaroo but not enough to be a slam dunk.  The idea that it is proof the Portuguese had discovered Australia to the point they were printing images in books back in Europe seems a bit premature.

[Caliga]

OTOH there's no doubt that the Dutch started getting shipwrecked in Western Australia way before English colonization began.  In fact there was one shipwreck that led to a totally epic adventure where the crews ended up forming separate bands and fighting guerrilla wars with each other, building forts, etc. till they were finally rescued by Dutch coming down from Java.  Can't remember the name of the ship at the moment but I remember reading about this once and thinking someone could make a Hollywood epic out of the story.

[The Brain]

The third Fast and Furious movie felt like 13 months.

[grumbler]

That is interesting but not conclusive, it looks like a Kangaroo but not enough to be a slam dunk.  The idea that it is proof the Portuguese had discovered Australia to the point they were printing images in books back in Europe seems a bit premature.

I only see one image.  It would be peculiar if the only person in Portugal who know that the Portuguese had discovered Australia was a monk who illustrated books.

[Grinning_Colossus]

That might just be a really crummy rabbit.

OTOH there's no doubt that the Dutch started getting shipwrecked in Western Australia way before English colonization began.  In fact there was one shipwreck that led to a totally epic adventure where the crews ended up forming separate bands and fighting guerrilla wars with each other, building forts, etc. till they were finally rescued by Dutch coming down from Java.  Can't remember the name of the ship at the moment but I remember reading about this once and thinking someone could make a Hollywood epic out of the story.

The Batavia