Terra X Documentary Segment on the Prehistory of the Discovery of America

What it is

This is a short segment from the German television documentary series Terra X, produced by ZDF and released in 2021. It describes events leading up to Christopher Columbus's voyage, including the Portuguese navigator Perestrelo's discovery of unusual pieces of wood on the beach of Madeira, and notes that Columbus read accounts of such findings.

Why it matters

The documentary is a modern retelling made for television audiences, drawing on historical research to explain the background to Columbus's voyage. It shows how historians piece together circumstantial evidence, like floating debris, to explain why explorers believed land lay across the ocean.

Look closer

• What kind of evidence convinced people before Columbus that land might exist across the Atlantic?
• Since this documentary was made centuries after Columbus, what sources might its makers have used to reconstruct this history?
• Why do you think the filmmakers chose to start the story with wood washing up on a beach?