Yesterday, we announced that JK Rowling would be releasing a series of stories all week that give context to the type of magic that existed in North America before the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Today, we learned a bit about the 14th-17th centuries and the fact that Columbus and his European explorers were not the first to “discover” America. Here’s an excerpt.
Though European explorers called it ‘the New World’ when they first reached the continent, wizards had known about America long before Muggles (Note: while every nationality has its own term for ‘Muggle,’ the American community uses the slang term No-Maj, short for ‘No Magic’). Various modes of magical travel – brooms and Apparition among them – not to mention visions and premonitions, meant that even far-flung wizarding communities were in contact with each other from the Middle Ages onwards.
the entry also reveals more details about the First Nations Magical Community and how many were accepted within their tribes as medicine men. She also revealed that Magic Wands are a European development and native Americans were able to perform magic without the aid of a wand.
We’ll have a new update for you tomorrow, or you can check out the full entries each day on Pottermore