Prince Madoc

By Madison Echlin

Prince Madoc, otherwise known as Prince Madog ab Owain Gwynedd, was a pseudo-archaeological Welsh Prince who supposedly emigrated with his followers to North America in 1170. He was from Gwynedd which is a Welsh country that shares boarders with Powys, Conwy, Debinshire, Anglesey, and Ceredigion. His father, Owain, was the King of Gwynedd in the 12th century. King Owain had 19 children, 13 of which were illegitimate including Madoc himself. After the death of Owain of Gwynedd in 1169, his sons debated who would inherit the throne. It is said that Prince Madoc left Gwynedd in a heated disagreement with his brothers since he was a man of peace, and instead sought adventure by sea. .

It is said that Prince Madoc and his brother Riryd sailed from the North Coast of Wales in two ships and sailed west and landed in America. Madoc then returned to Wales and persuaded others to return with him to America. They sailed again from Lundy Island in 1171, but they were never heard from again. It is believed that they landed in what is now Mobile Bay, Alabama and traveled up the Alabama River and left behind several stone forts which the local Cherokee tribes said to have been constructed by "white people." These stone structures were dated to hundreds of years before Columbus.

The Mandan

The Mandans are a tribe of Native American Siouan speakers associated with the Great Plains and have lived for centuries in what is now North Dakota. They historically lived along the Missouri River valley in large settled villages and mostly practiced full time agriculture. However, 18th century reports of occasional physical characteristics among the tribe like their light colored blue or gray eyes and their light colored hair spurred rumors about pre-Colombian European contact. Some believed that the Mandan were "Welsh Indians" or descendants of Prince Madoc and his Welsh followers. It was proposed that interbreeding with the Norse emigrants would explain the blonde Indians. However, there is no real archaeological or scientific evidence to prove anything of the sort. .

Early explorers and pioneers were said to have found evidence of Welsh influence among Native tribes along the Tennessee and Missouri Rivers. The Mandans were described as white men with towns and laid out streets and squares. The Mandan supposedly claimed ancestry with the Welsh and spoke Siouan which seemed remarkably similar to Welsh. Unfortunately two waves of the smallpox epidemic, the first in 1781 and then again in 1837, virtually wiped out the Mandans. After the second wave it is estimated that the population plummeted from 1,600 tribal members to 125 by 1838. But the belief in their Welsh heritage persisted, and in 1953 a plaque was created for Mobile Bay that read "In memory of Prince Madog, a Welsh explorer who landed on the shores of Mobile Bay in 1170 and left behind, with the Indians, the Welsh language."

Claims to Rediscovery

In 1799 Governor John Sevier of Tennessee wrote a report that mentioned the discovery of skeletons that were encased in brass armor which bared the Welsh coat of arms.

A 19th century painter, George Catlin, spent many years living among the Mandans and other Native American groups. Catlin argued that he had found Prince Madoc's descendants from his expedition. He believed that the Welsh had lived among the Mandan for years and intermarried until there was no distinction between the two culures. This was further supported by the fact that their two languages were so similar that when spoken to in Welsh, the Mandan can easily understand and respond.

Unraveling the Prince

The sea-trade which was then active between Greenland and the people of Western Europe in 1100 AD would have given Madoc an idea of voyage through the Atlantic ocean. Furthermore ships of 1170 were large enough and strong enough to cross the Atlantic, so in these respects it would have been logistically possible for Madoc to make it to North America. However, the viking world by 1100 AD linked Norway, Iceland, and Greenland with Britain and had spread along the Western Islesand the shores of the Irish Sea at Dublin, Cumbria and in Gwynedd. A voyage to Greenland was less than 2000 miles in the Atlantic, to put everything into perspective there were hundreds of miles without inhabitants between the Eastern and Western Viking colonies. A voyage to what is now Florida would have been more than 4000 miles into what was basically the unknown. Madoc could have followed the route of trade where he would steer west towards the Greenland coast. The Viking explorers reached parts of the east coast of Canada around 1100, therefore it could have been possible for the Welsh prince to follow the same route and to have brought settlers with him to what is now Alabama. However, there is no real evidence of his existence and no real trace has ever been found of Madoc's presence in any part of North America. .

Motivations

The motivations for the creation of Prince Madoc and his voyage to the Americas was mostly based on nationalism or the national pride of Wales. The legend or myth of Prince Madoc is part of the oral history of a people who were proud to have resisted the might of Norman England for 200 years longer than the Saxons, and they longed for an achievement of their own. To have one of their own Welsh princes discover the new world and colonize it many years prior to Columbus would have given them something to be proud of. For this reason, people believe in this myth because it shows off a high achievement and therefore boosts the national pride of Wales. A lot of his story can also be attributed to romanticizing the past or making the past more than it was, more mysterious, more captivating which is the foundation to all pseudo-archaological claims.

While it is true there were many other "founders" of North America before Columbus, Native Americans and Vikings come to mind, there is no substantial proof of Madoc, his colonies, or even his existence. However, a 15th century Welsh poem depicts Prince Madoc's voyage into the Atlantic with 10 ships and his discovery of America. Whether this account was true or not, it was historically used by Queen Elizabeth I as evidence to the British claim to America during territorial struggles with Spain. It could be argued that the motivation here for Queen Elizabeth was nationalism or fame. She wanted to win the dispute between Britain and Spain for the New World, the Queen wanted to