a professor at UC Riverside specializing in pre-Columbian Meosamerican history writes there "simply is no material evidence of any Pre-Hispanic contact between the Old World and Mesoamerica before the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century". Legacy Mansa Musa himself appears to have considered his predecessor's plan to be impractical. The main point he appears to have been trying to make to Ibn Amir Hajib is that his predecessor's failed voyage paved the way to his becoming king. Likewise, it has been speculated that the lack of information in oral tradition about the voyage reflects a view that the mansa's voyage was a shameful abdication of duty. In modern times, the voyage has become more celebrated. The Malian historian Gaoussou Diawara has remarked that the mansa should be looked up to by modern politicians as an example of a ruler who valued science and discovery over holding onto power. Footnotes References Bibliography See also Zheng He (admiral of the 14th-century Chinese long-distance fleet) External links Malian praise singer Sadio Diabate, singing about Abubakar II - BBC World Service Audio 1312 Mali Empire Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact Hyperdiffusionism Transatlantic relations 14th century in Africa