1.
Scuba diving
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Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving in which the scuba diver uses a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus which is completely independent of surface supply, to breathe underwater. They may include additional cylinders for decompression gas or emergency breathing gas, closed-circuit or semi-closed circuit rebreather scuba systems allow recycling of exhaled gases. The volume of gas used is reduced compared to that of open circuit, therefore, scuba divers engaged in armed forces covert operations may be referred to as frogmen, combat divers or attack swimmers. A scuba diver primarily moves underwater by using fins attached to the feet, scuba divers are trained in the procedures and skills appropriate to their level of certification by instructors affiliated to the diver certification organisations which issue these certifications. A minimum level of fitness and health is required by most training organisations, the closed-circuit rebreathers were first developed for escape and rescue purposes, and were modified for military use, due to their stealth advantages, as they produce very few bubbles. The first commercially successful closed-circuit scuba was designed and built by English diving engineer, Henry Fleuss in 1878, while working for Siebe Gorman in London. Sir Robert Davis, head of Siebe Gorman, improved the oxygen rebreather in 1910 with his invention of the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus, rebreathers have been increasingly used by civilians for recreation, especially since the end of the Cold War. This reduced the risk of attack by Communist Bloc forces. After that, the armed forces had less reason to requisition civilian rebreather patents. The single hose two stage scuba regulators trace their origins to Australia, where Ted Eldred developed the first example of type of regulator. This was developed because patents protected the Aqualungs twin hose design, the single hose regulator separates the demand valve from the cylinder, giving the diver air at the ambient pressure at the mouth, rather than ambient pressure at the cylinder valve. The term SCUBA originally referred to United States combat frogmens oxygen rebreathers, SCUBA was originally an acronym, but is now generally used as a common noun or adjective, scuba. It has become acceptable to refer to equipment or scuba apparatus—examples of the linguistic RAS syndrome. Scuba diving may be performed for a number of reasons, both personal and professional, recreational diving is done purely for enjoyment and has a number of technical disciplines to increase interest underwater, such as cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving and deep diving. Divers may be employed professionally to perform tasks underwater, some of these tasks are suitable for scuba. There are divers who work, full or part-time, in the diving community as instructors, assistant instructors, divemasters. Other specialist areas of diving include military diving, with a long history of military frogmen in various roles. Their roles include direct combat, infiltration behind enemy lines, placing mines or using a manned torpedo, in some cases diver rescue teams may also be part of a fire department, paramedical service or lifeguard unit, and may be classed as public service diving
2.
Shipwreck
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A shipwreck is the remains of a ship that has wrecked, which are found either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be deliberate or accidental, UNESCO estimates that worldwide over 3 million shipwrecks, some thousands of years old, lie on seabeds. Military wrecks, caused by a skirmish at sea, are studied to find details about the historic event, they reveal much about the battle that occurred. Discoveries of treasure ships, often from the period of European colonisation, some contemporary wrecks, such as the oil tankers Prestige or Erika, are of interest primarily because of their potential harm to the environment. Other contemporary wrecks are scuttled in order to spur growth, such as Adolphus Busch. Well known shipwrecks include the catastrophic Titanic, Britannic, Lusitania, Estonia, Empress of Ireland, Andrea Doria, there are also thousands of wrecks that were not lost at sea but have been abandoned or sunk. These abandoned, or derelict ships are smaller craft, such as fishing vessels. They may pose a hazard to navigation and may be removed by port authorities, poor design, improperly stowed cargo, navigation and other human errors leading to collisions, bad weather, fire, and other causes can lead to accidental sinkings. Intentional reasons for sinking a ship include forming a reef, due to warfare, piracy, mutiny or sabotage, as part of target practice. A ship can be used as breakwater structure. The stratification not only creates another challenge for marine archaeology but also a challenge to its primary state, stratification includes several different types of sand and/or silt, as well as tumulus and encrustations. These sediments are tightly linked to the type of currents, depth, and the type of water, besides this geological phenomenon, wrecks also face the damage of marine creatures that create a home out of them, primarily being octopuses and crustaceans. All the above offers great challenges to the marine archaeologist when attempting to bind the pieces of a certain shipwreck together, despite these challenges, if the information retrieved does not appear to be sufficient, or a poor preservation is achieved, authors like J. A. Parker claim that it is the value of the shipwreck that counts. Often the only parts of ships that remain after a century are those that were buried in silt or sand soon after the sinking. An example of this is the Mary Rose, steel and iron, depending on their thickness, may retain the ships structure for decades. As corrosion takes place, sometimes helped by tides and weather, thick ferrous objects such as cannons, steam boilers or the pressure vessel of a submarine often survive well underwater in spite of corrosion. Propellers, condensers, hinges and port holes were made from non-ferrous metals such as brass and phosphor bronze
3.
United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
4.
Florida
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Florida /ˈflɒrᵻdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, the Miami metropolitan area is Floridas most populous urban area. The city of Tallahassee is the state capital, much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south, the American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park. It was a location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, the states economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, the Kennedy Space Center, Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing, by the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee, the Timucua, the Ais, the Tocobaga, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Florida was the first part of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans, the earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2,1513 and he named the region La Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is a myth, in May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described seeing a wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet. Very soon, many smokes appeared along the whole coast, billowing against the sky, the Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Florida. Both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success, in 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561. Spain maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the tribes to Christianity. The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north, the English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Florida attracted numerous Africans and African-Americans from adjacent British colonies who sought freedom from slavery, in 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St
5.
Order of Isabella the Catholic
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The Order of Isabella the Catholic is a Spanish civil order granted in recognition of services that benefit the country. The Order is not exclusive to Spaniards, and it has awarded to many foreigners. The Order was reorganized by royal decree on 26 July 1847, the King of Spain is Grand Master of the Order. The Grand Chancellor of the Order is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, all deeds granting decorations of the Order must bear the signatures of both. Members of the order at the knight and above enjoy personal nobility and have the privilege of adding a golden heraldic mantle to their coat of arms, Knights at the rank of Grand Cross and Knight of the Collar receive the official style of His or Her most Excellent Lord. Knights at the rank of commander and commander by number receive the style of His or Her Most Illustrious Lord, the structure of the order has varied several times since then. The following is a summary of the history of the grades and medals of the order. Knights Grand Cross – Established 24 March 1815, Knight First Class – Established 24 March 1815, retitled Commander on 24 July 1815. Officer – Established 10 October 1931, abolished 15 June 1938, Knight Second Class – Established 24 March 1815, retiled Knight on 24 July 1815. Silver Cross – Established 16 March 1903 to reward civil and palace officials, gold Medal with Laureate – Established on 24 July 1815 for award to European sergeants and enlisted men. Gold Medal – Established on 24 July 1815 for award to non-European natives, silver Medal – Established 15 April 1907 to reward non-commissioned officers and junior civil officials. Bronze Medal – Established 15 April 1907 to reward non-commissioned officers, women appointed to an applicable grade are not called Knights. Women are instead appointed as Dames of the Collar, Dames Grand Cross or Dames Cross, the decoration is a red-enameled cross, with a golden frame. The outer peaks are fitted with gold balls. The center of the medallion contains the inscription A La Lealtad Acrisolada, above the cross is a green enameled laurel wreath with the band ring. The ribbon is yellow with a central stripe, except the Collar
6.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
7.
Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European colonization of the New World. Western imperialism and economic competition were emerging among European kingdoms through the establishment of routes and colonies. During his first voyage in 1492, he reached the New World instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended, landing on an island in the Bahamas archipelago that he named San Salvador. Over the course of three voyages, he visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America. These voyages had, therefore, an impact in the historical development of the modern Western world. He spearheaded the transatlantic trade and has been accused by several historians of initiating the genocide of the Hispaniola natives. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of spreading the Christian religion, Columbus never admitted that he had reached a continent previously unknown to Europeans, rather than the East Indies for which he had set course. He called the inhabitants of the lands that he visited indios, the name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. His name in Italian is Cristoforo Colombo and, in Spanish and he was born before 31 October 1451 in the territory of the Republic of Genoa, though the exact location remains disputed. His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked both in Genoa and Savona and who also owned a cheese stand at which young Christopher worked as a helper. Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo were his brothers, Bartolomeo worked in a cartography workshop in Lisbon for at least part of his adulthood. He also had a sister named Bianchinetta, Columbus never wrote in his native language, which is presumed to have been a Genoese variety of Ligurian. In one of his writings, he says he went to sea at the age of 10, in 1470, the Columbus family moved to Savona, where Domenico took over a tavern. In the same year, Christopher was on a Genoese ship hired in the service of René of Anjou to support his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples. Some modern historians have argued that he was not from Genoa but, instead and these competing hypotheses have generally been discounted by mainstream scholars. In 1473, Columbus began his apprenticeship as business agent for the important Centurione, Di Negro, later, he allegedly made a trip to Chios, an Aegean island then ruled by Genoa. In May 1476, he took part in a convoy sent by Genoa to carry valuable cargo to northern Europe
8.
Treasure
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Treasure is a concentration of riches, often those that originate from ancient history, considered lost and/or forgotten until being rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constitutes treasure, such as in the British Treasure Act 1996, the phrase blood and treasure or lives and treasure has been used to refer to the human and monetary costs associated with massive endeavours such as war that expend both. Searching for hidden treasure is a theme in legend, treasure hunters do exist. A buried treasure is an important part of the beliefs surrounding pirates. According to popular conception, pirates often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places and they differ widely in plot and literary treatment but all are derived from the William Kidd legend. The whole inner spirit and a deal of the material detail of my first chapters. Were the property of Washington Irving, a treasure map is a variation of a map to mark the location of buried treasure, a lost mine, a valuable secret or a hidden location. More common in fiction than in reality, pirate treasure maps are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn, regardless of the terms literary use, anything that meets the criterion of a map that describes the location of a treasure could appropriately be called a treasure map. One of the earliest known instances of a document listing buried treasure is the copper scroll, believed to have been written between 50 and 100 AD, the scroll contains a list of 63 locations with detailed directions pointing to hidden treasures of gold and silver. KEN Thus far, no item mentioned in the scroll has been found, scholars remain divided on whether the copper scroll represents real burials, and, if so, the total measurements and the owners. Although buried pirate treasure is a literary theme, there are very few documented cases of pirates actually burying treasure. Drake did not create a map, another case in 1720 involved British Captain Stratton of the Prince Eugene who, after supposedly trading rum with pirates in the Caribbean, buried his gold near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. One of his crew, Morgan Miles, turned him in to the authorities, in any case, Captain Stratton was not a pirate, and made no map. The pirate most responsible for the legends of buried pirate treasure was Captain Kidd, over the years many people have tried to find the supposed remnants of Kidds treasure on Gardiners Island and elsewhere, but none has ever been found. People have claimed to have discovered maps and other clues led to pirate treasure. These claims are not supported by scholars, in the 1985 film The Goonies, an old treasure map leads to the secret stash of a legendary 17th-century pirate, an almost exact imitation of Stevensons plot in Treasure Island. In the 2004 film National Treasure, a treasure map becomes the source of the quest itself, in the 1994 comedy City Slickers II, The Legend of Curlys Gold, a treasure map is made by criminals who are analogous to modern day pirates. In the film Waterworld, a vague and cryptic treasure map has been tattooed on the back of the child character Enola
9.
E. Lee Spence
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Edward Lee Spence is a pioneer in underwater archaeology who studies shipwrecks and sunken treasure. He is also an editor and author of non-fiction reference books, a magazine editor, and magazine publisher. Spence was twelve years old when he found his first five shipwrecks, in 1991 and 1992, Spence served as Chief of Underwater Archeology for San Andres y Providencia, a 40,000 square-mile Colombian owned archipelago in the western Caribbean. He has worked on the wrecks of Spanish galleons, pirate ships, Great Lakes freighters, modern luxury liners, Civil War blockade runners, Spence first reported the discovery of the Civil War submarine Hunley in 1970. Spence mapped and reported its location to numerous government agencies, the July 2007 cover story in U. S. News & World Report noted that the Hunley disappeared without a trace until 1970 when it was found by underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence. Both sides still claim that they and not the other discovered the wreck, on September 13,1976, the National Park Service submitted Sea Research Societys location for H. L. Hunley for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Spences location for Hunley became a matter of record when H. L. Hunleys placement on that list was officially approved on December 29,1978. Spences book Treasures of the Confederate Coast, which had a chapter on his discovery of Hunley, mark M. Newell and funded in part by novelist Clive Cussler. Later the same year, at the official request of Senator Glenn F. McConnell, of the State of South Carolina Hunley Commission, Spence donated all of his rights to the shipwreck to the State. The Hunley discovery was described by Dr. William Dudley, Director of Naval History at the Naval Historical Center as probably the most important find of the century, in addition to the Hunley, Spence has discovered several historically significant shipwrecks, including the SS Georgiana. Spences literary discovery that had its roots in his discoveries of some of Trenholms wrecked blockade runners made international news. In June 2013 Spence announced his discovery of the wreck of the SS Ozama, a steamer with a history of smuggling, Spence is also a cartographer and has published a number of popular and archaeological maps and charts dealing with historical events, archaeology, shipwrecks and treasure. Current President and Chairman of the Board of the Sea Research Society and he is a lifetime member of Mensa International and a former member of Intertel. Spence has a discharge from the United States Army Reserves and has served as Commander. His doctorate is a Doctor of Marine Histories from Sea Research Societys College of Marine Arts, searches for Hunley, Cussler, Spence Sea Research Society links to Hunley The Hunley. com website dedicated to Hunley Find Spences books & maps in a library with WorldCat
10.
Indialantic, Florida
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Indialantic is a town in Brevard County, Florida. The towns population was 2,720 at the 2010 United States Census and it is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The towns name is a derived from the towns location between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. Indialantic is situated on the island that separates the Indian River Lagoon from the Atlantic Ocean. This island, approximately 25 miles in length, stretches south from Cape Canaveral to the Sebastian Inlet, the Melbourne Causeway connects Indialantic to the city of Melbourne across the Indian River Lagoon. Indialantic is bordered on the south by the town of Melbourne Beach, according to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles. 0.97 square miles of it is land, and 0.35 square miles of it is water. Greater Indialantic, outside the boundaries, represents a parallel development of suburban beach homes. The Town of Indialantic is a 1 by 1 mile community, the areas mentioned below are not in town but share a zip code with Indialantic. This area starts with the town of Indialantic on the south and it includes mostly unincorporated parts of Brevard County but also includes a development that is part of the city of Melbourne, otherwise a mainland community. Its name was changed to the Tradewinds Hotel. The hotel was on what is now South Shannon Avenue, the current location of Tradewinds Terrace, by 1924 The Indialantic Casino was built. Its name was changed to the Bahama Beach Club. This is the location of Nance Park today, 1941-47 - Wooden bridge is replaced with drawbridge, delayed by the war years. 1952 - Indialantic is incorporated with the name Indialantic-by-the-sea,1985 - Modern causeway is built with elevated span to avoid boats As of the census of 2000, there were 2,944 people,1,330 households, and 848 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,840.6 inhabitants per square mile, there were 1,467 housing units at an average density of 1,415.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97. 32% White,0. 27% African American,0. 14% Native American,0. 71% Asian,0. 58% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 2. 34% of the population. 27. 3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.72
11.
Treasure hunting
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Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure. Early work in Egyptology also included a similar motive, modern amateur treasure hunters use relatively inexpensive metal detectors to locate finds at terrestrial sites. Underwater archaeologist and sometime treasure hunter Peter Throckmorton, in a paper he wrote in 1969 as part of a Historical Archaeology Forum on E. Spence, I do not mean this to be so. More recently, most serious treasure hunters have started working underwater, where technology allows access to wrecks containing valuables. Starting with the suit, and moving on through Scuba and later to ROVs. Many of these wrecks have resulted in the salvage of many fascinating artifacts from Spanish treasure fleets as well as many others. This convention is a legal instrument helping states parties to improve the protection of their cultural heritage. In 2013 the National Geographic Channel set off a firestorm of controversy with its reality show Diggers, capt. Martin Bayerle located the shipwreck of RMS Republic in 1981. Treasure Salvors, Inc. founded by Mel Fisher, located the Nuestra Señora de Atocha wreck and its mother lode of silver, gold and emeralds, in July 1985. Robert E. Burgess, Sunken Treasure Cork Graham, The Bamboo Chest,2004 Dr. E.2 million, Fayetteville Observer Lawmakers enter legal battle over Blackbeards ship, News & Observer
12.
White gods
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White gods is the belief that ancient cultures around the world were visited by Caucasian races in ancient times, and that they were known as White gods. It is claimed by some authors that white missionaries or gods visited America before Christopher Columbus and this story was first reported by Pedro Cieza de León and later by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa. Similar accounts by Spanish chroniclers describe Viracocha as a White God, rupert Furneaux also linked White gods to the ancient city of Tiahuanaco. Colonel A. Braghine also claimed Manco Cápac was a bearded man. The Atlantis author Gerd von Hassler linked the White gods to the biblical flood, the archaeologist Pierre Honoré in 1962 proposed the fringe theory that the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations were due to white men from the vicinity of Crete. The writer Robert F. Marx has written extensively about the concept of White gods, the British writer Harold T. Wilkins took the concept of the white gods the furthest, writing that a vanished white race had occupied the whole of South America in ancient times. Wilkins also claimed that Quetzalcoatl was from Atlantis, the occultist James H. Madole influenced by Aryanism and Hinduism wrote that the Aryan race was of great antiquity and had been worshipped worldwide by lower races as white gods. Madole also wrote that the Aryans originated in the Garden of Eden located in North America, some modern scholars consider the White God legends to be a post-conquest Spanish invention and that the ideas are based on pseudoscience. Some Mormons believe that Quetzalcoatl, a described as white and bearded. The Book of Mormon also claims that Jesus Christ appeared to others, following his resurrection and this latter reference, may offer additional consideration of certain Polynesian accounts. This idea was adapted by Mormon science fiction author Orson Scott Card in his story America, some Ancient astronaut and UFO writers have claimed the white gods were actually extraterrestrials. Peter Kolosimo believed that the legends of Quetzalcoatl had a basis in fact, magelssen, S. White-Skinned Gods, Thor Heyerdahl, the Kon-Tiki Museum, and the Racial Theory of Polynesian Origins
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