Theres an interesting book called They Came Before Columbus by Ivan Van Sertima. Ive only read a few chapters of it a little while ago but it talks about the African presence in the Americas before columbus.
The most interesting story is of Mansa Abu Bakri II. I found the following of the net.
The Mandiga Voyage, 1300 AD
Available archaeological evidence and definitive historical accounts point to pre-Columbian West African expeditions across the Atlantic between 1307-1312 AD. The work of Al-Umars, a 14th century Islamic historian, who recorded the visit of Mansa Kankan Musa I, one of the most remarkable Mandinga emperors in Mali, when he stopped over in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, enroute to Meeca in 1324 AD, testify to the Mandinga expeditions across the Atlantic.
Umars’ account quotes Mansa Musa as saying that his predecessor had launched two expeditions from West Africa to discover the limits of the Atlantic Ocean.
Umari, writing a few decades after Mansa Musa’s visit to Mecca, states: “I asked the Sultan Musa how it was that power came into his hands.
‘We are from a house that transmits power by heritage,’ he told me. ‘The ruler who preceded me would not believe that it was impossible to discover the limits of the neighbouring sea.
‘He wanted to find out and persisted in his plans. He had 200 ships equipped and filled them with men, and the same number of ships filled with gold, water and supplies in sufficient quantities to last for years.
‘He told those who commanded them: return only when you have reached the extremity of the ocean or when you have exhausted your food and water. They went away; their absence was long before any of them returned.
‘Finally, a sole ship reappeared. We asked the captain about their adventure. Prince, he replied, we sailed for a long time when we encountered in mid-ocean something like a river with violent current. My ship was last. The others sailed on, gradually each entered this place, they disappeared and did not come back. As for me, I returned to where I was and did not enter that current.
‘But the emperor did not want to believe him. He equipped 2,000 more vessels and conferred power on me and left with his companion on the ocean. This was the last time I saw him and the others, and I remained absolute master of the empire”.
Emperor Abubakari II [the immediate predecessor of Mansa Musa] was the monarch who lunched the expedition with 2,000 ships. The expedition was likely to have reached Attilles or other points bordering the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
You can read more at the following link (and yes it does work) http://www.africasia.com/newafrican/jan01/cover1.htm
