The Lost Charts of Columbus
Encyclopedia
The Lost Charts of Columbus is the sequel
of The Golden Helmet
. It was created by Don Rosa
and originally published in Donald Duck Adventures #43.
in order to raise funds to further research on the original Junior Woodchucks Guidebook, based on findings made by an expedition sponsored by Scrooge McDuck
in Guardians of the Lost Library
and offered a trip as first prize. Donald Duck
doesn't understand why to organize a raffle in Duckburg since Gladstone Gander always wins. He's then told that the winner for this one must be there to get the prize, thus inspiring him on how to keep Gladstone from winning.
Donald tricked Gladstone into a knot
-making machine. While he was out, the Junior Woodchucks R.A.F.F.L.E.R. draws a ticket and picks Donald Duck
as winner. Since he wasn't there because he was busy trying to keep Gladstone away, he was disqualified and another raffle ticket had to be picked. Gladstone was the new winner. At this point, Donald arrives and doesn't know his name had been previously picked. Gladstone escapes from the machine on time to get the prize and asks where's he going for the trip. He was disappointed as it was a fishing
trip to Canada
. Donald commented about how unfair it is. One of his nephews (don't ask who - their Junior Woodchucks uniforms make it impossible to tell them apart) tried to tell him about Donald being previously picked but another one said "he's better not knowing".
Gladstone, wanting to know why he won such a prize, invites Donald to go with him. Donald's nephews asked him to accept, since this trip is to where they're going to study the chart, located in the original Junior Woodchucks Guidebook. There, a fisherman
feels sorry for Gladstone not getting any fish, but he replies saying he learned there's another purpose for the trip: recovering valuable objects from the sea. One of them turns to be The Golden Helmet
. The fisherman said he had spent a lot of time and money trying to get it and Gladstone just got it by luck and then he tells the history behind the helmet
. Donald asks how he knows about it and the fisherman reveals himself to be Azure Blue.
Donald then tells Gladstone a very summarized version of their original adventures
and asks him to throw the helmet back at sea. Blue suggests Gladstone to throw something else. Meanwhile, the nephews discover the lost charts of Christopher Columbus
and maps of other claims to North America
and Donald asks them to find one older than Olaf's. Back to Duckburg, our heroes see Gladstone leaving a press conference and ask him if it wasn't him claiming ownership
of North America and he says he doesn't want the responsibility
of being a landlord
and that he isn't a descendant of Olaf the Blue. Azure was announcing his claim when Donald and his nephews tell the press about an older claim made by an abbot
, Saint Brendan
, which nullifies Olaf's one.
Unfortunately, this causes a lot of people to search for an evidence of this claim in order to own North America. The artifact which proves this claim was later found by Lawyer Sharky, who, since the abbot took a vow of poverty, instead of trying to prove to be related to him, restored his congregation and claimed ownership of North America in name of it. His victory, just like Azure's, also was short-lived, as the nephews find an even older claim made by a Chinese man
named Hui-Shen.
At this point, Azure Blue decides to give the Golden Helmet to our heroes, as it's no longer useful for his plans of world domination by America
. The quest for ownership of North America leads our heroes to the ruins of Teotihuacan
where they find a big old teak
wheel
proving this claim. Sharky finds it and our heroes(mainly Donald) have a lot out trouble keeping him from destroying it. When Sharky finally gets the wheel, Azure shows up trying to get the wheel and tell Sharky it's too late to destroy it since many witness
es saw it. Sharky says there's a way to use the wheel to make them both emperor
s of North America and picks their contract Sharky recovered after learning Blue recovered the Golden Helmet.
After the villains leave, the nephews learn about an even even older claim supposedly made by an ancient civilization
. Meanwhile, in a Brutopian hotel
, Blue and Sharky are waiting until they have letters from enough descendants of the Chinese explorer to be allowed to rule America in their names. Upon learning from the newspapers about our heroes' discovery, which led them back to the Library of Alexandria
(see Guardians of the Lost Library
for details), Blue and Sharky went to a desert land where, on the remains of an old Native American
ship, our heroes have found a stone tablet
containing a claim to nullify theirs.
After retrieving the tablet from our heroes, they throw away the wheel (now useless) and decide to use the tablet to rule North America for themselves instead of for the descendants of the Chinese explorer. In the press conference, a mysterious reporter asks our villains if they now considers the other claims null and void and Sharky says they were misled by false claims. Unfortunately, the translator they hired couldn't translate the claim, since it wasn't made by the people they thought were behind it (the Phoenicians). The mysterious reporter volunteers himself to translate it and says the claim has been made by Native-Americans, thus meaning our villains couldn't use it to own North America.
Defeated, our villains now had to deal with enormous bills to pay for the Brutopian hotel's services and the several ads made in China
trying to contact the Chinese explorer's descendants. In the epilogue
, Donald and his nephews look at the tablet upside-down and learn it's actually a claim to Europe
, meaning that, by Europe's own Charlemagne
Laws, the Native-Americans own Europe. Donald and his nephews comment about how it will finally make the U.N.
revoke the Code of Discovery law
.
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
of The Golden Helmet
The Golden Helmet
The Golden Helmet is a Donald Duck comic strip story written by Carl Barks in July 1952. Donald and his nephews go on a treasure hunt for a mythical helmet that apparently gives the possessor legal claim of North America.- Plot :...
. It was created by Don Rosa
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other characters created by Carl Barks for Disney comics, such as The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.-Early life:Don Rosa's grandfather,...
and originally published in Donald Duck Adventures #43.
Plot
The Junior Woodchucks organized a raffleRaffle
A raffle is a competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each ticket having the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn from a container holding a copy of every number...
in order to raise funds to further research on the original Junior Woodchucks Guidebook, based on findings made by an expedition sponsored by Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats...
in Guardians of the Lost Library
Guardians of the Lost Library
Guardians of the Lost Library is a comic book story made by Don Rosa for The Walt Disney Company, mentioned by Comics Buyer's Guide as "possibly the greatest comic book story of all time"...
and offered a trip as first prize. Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
doesn't understand why to organize a raffle in Duckburg since Gladstone Gander always wins. He's then told that the winner for this one must be there to get the prize, thus inspiring him on how to keep Gladstone from winning.
Donald tricked Gladstone into a knot
Knot
A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of rope, string, webbing, twine, strap, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object—the "load"...
-making machine. While he was out, the Junior Woodchucks R.A.F.F.L.E.R. draws a ticket and picks Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
as winner. Since he wasn't there because he was busy trying to keep Gladstone away, he was disqualified and another raffle ticket had to be picked. Gladstone was the new winner. At this point, Donald arrives and doesn't know his name had been previously picked. Gladstone escapes from the machine on time to get the prize and asks where's he going for the trip. He was disappointed as it was a fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
trip to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Donald commented about how unfair it is. One of his nephews (don't ask who - their Junior Woodchucks uniforms make it impossible to tell them apart) tried to tell him about Donald being previously picked but another one said "he's better not knowing".
Gladstone, wanting to know why he won such a prize, invites Donald to go with him. Donald's nephews asked him to accept, since this trip is to where they're going to study the chart, located in the original Junior Woodchucks Guidebook. There, a fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
feels sorry for Gladstone not getting any fish, but he replies saying he learned there's another purpose for the trip: recovering valuable objects from the sea. One of them turns to be The Golden Helmet
The Golden Helmet
The Golden Helmet is a Donald Duck comic strip story written by Carl Barks in July 1952. Donald and his nephews go on a treasure hunt for a mythical helmet that apparently gives the possessor legal claim of North America.- Plot :...
. The fisherman said he had spent a lot of time and money trying to get it and Gladstone just got it by luck and then he tells the history behind the helmet
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
. Donald asks how he knows about it and the fisherman reveals himself to be Azure Blue.
Donald then tells Gladstone a very summarized version of their original adventures
The Golden Helmet
The Golden Helmet is a Donald Duck comic strip story written by Carl Barks in July 1952. Donald and his nephews go on a treasure hunt for a mythical helmet that apparently gives the possessor legal claim of North America.- Plot :...
and asks him to throw the helmet back at sea. Blue suggests Gladstone to throw something else. Meanwhile, the nephews discover the lost charts of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
and maps of other claims to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Donald asks them to find one older than Olaf's. Back to Duckburg, our heroes see Gladstone leaving a press conference and ask him if it wasn't him claiming ownership
Ownership
Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. The concept of ownership has...
of North America and he says he doesn't want the responsibility
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
of being a landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
and that he isn't a descendant of Olaf the Blue. Azure was announcing his claim when Donald and his nephews tell the press about an older claim made by an abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
, Saint Brendan
Brendan
Saint Brendan of Clonfert or Bréanainn of Clonfert called "the Navigator", "the Voyager", or "the Bold" is one of the early Irish monastic saints. He is chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the "Isle of the Blessed," also called St. Brendan's Island. The Voyage of St...
, which nullifies Olaf's one.
Unfortunately, this causes a lot of people to search for an evidence of this claim in order to own North America. The artifact which proves this claim was later found by Lawyer Sharky, who, since the abbot took a vow of poverty, instead of trying to prove to be related to him, restored his congregation and claimed ownership of North America in name of it. His victory, just like Azure's, also was short-lived, as the nephews find an even older claim made by a Chinese man
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
named Hui-Shen.
At this point, Azure Blue decides to give the Golden Helmet to our heroes, as it's no longer useful for his plans of world domination by America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The quest for ownership of North America leads our heroes to the ruins of Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
where they find a big old teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
wheel
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
proving this claim. Sharky finds it and our heroes(mainly Donald) have a lot out trouble keeping him from destroying it. When Sharky finally gets the wheel, Azure shows up trying to get the wheel and tell Sharky it's too late to destroy it since many witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es saw it. Sharky says there's a way to use the wheel to make them both emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
s of North America and picks their contract Sharky recovered after learning Blue recovered the Golden Helmet.
After the villains leave, the nephews learn about an even even older claim supposedly made by an ancient civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
. Meanwhile, in a Brutopian hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, Blue and Sharky are waiting until they have letters from enough descendants of the Chinese explorer to be allowed to rule America in their names. Upon learning from the newspapers about our heroes' discovery, which led them back to the Library of Alexandria
Library of Alexandria
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
(see Guardians of the Lost Library
Guardians of the Lost Library
Guardians of the Lost Library is a comic book story made by Don Rosa for The Walt Disney Company, mentioned by Comics Buyer's Guide as "possibly the greatest comic book story of all time"...
for details), Blue and Sharky went to a desert land where, on the remains of an old Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
ship, our heroes have found a stone tablet
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
containing a claim to nullify theirs.
After retrieving the tablet from our heroes, they throw away the wheel (now useless) and decide to use the tablet to rule North America for themselves instead of for the descendants of the Chinese explorer. In the press conference, a mysterious reporter asks our villains if they now considers the other claims null and void and Sharky says they were misled by false claims. Unfortunately, the translator they hired couldn't translate the claim, since it wasn't made by the people they thought were behind it (the Phoenicians). The mysterious reporter volunteers himself to translate it and says the claim has been made by Native-Americans, thus meaning our villains couldn't use it to own North America.
Defeated, our villains now had to deal with enormous bills to pay for the Brutopian hotel's services and the several ads made in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
trying to contact the Chinese explorer's descendants. In the epilogue
Epilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
, Donald and his nephews look at the tablet upside-down and learn it's actually a claim to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, meaning that, by Europe's own Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
Laws, the Native-Americans own Europe. Donald and his nephews comment about how it will finally make the U.N.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
revoke the Code of Discovery law
Discovery Doctrine
The Discovery doctrine is a concept of public international law expounded by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, most notably Johnson v. M'Intosh in 1823. Chief Justice John Marshall justified the way in which colonial powers laid claim to lands belonging to sovereign...
.