Kept From the Knowledge of Other Nations

“The civilizations of ancient Peru were some of the oldest on earth, yet also the most isolated. Until the relatively late arrival of the Spanish in 1532, the Incas and the many cultures that preceded them had a quite unique way of Life—one that excluded writing, the wheel and many other necessities of the so-called Old World, but managed to build magnificent monuments and a stable society in a terrifyingly unstable landscape.” (María Rostworowski de Diez Canseco, History of the Inca Realm, Cambridge University Press, translated from the Spanish by Harry B. Iceland, 1999)
The Lord promised Lehi that his land of promise would be kept from the knowledge of others as long as his descendants remained righteous (2 Nephi 1:7). But what kept the Europeans, Asians, Arabs, Phoenicians, and others from discovering the Western Hemisphere? Ludlow said that "one of the great mysteries of history is how the existence of the great north and south American continents could be kept from the knowledge of the inhabitants of the Old World," yet the answer is actually quite simple.
Up until the 15th-Century, Western maritime knowledge was confined sharply to the European coastal fringe, nor had the North African coast even been discovered. In addition to the frigid temperatures in the north, and contrary winds for a return trip in the south, and opposing winds in the west, the European adventurers were hemmed in since they did not possess the astrolabe or the quadrant for use at sea until the 14th Century. The first recorded use of the quadrant at sea, though it had been used on land for some time, was in 1465 by Diogo Gomes, the explorer who discovered the Cape Verde Islands.
And being confined to coastal waters kept the Europeans from realizing they could sail south to Africa with the southerly winds, then turn out to sea and catch the returning northern winds to sail back to Europe. Not until the sealanes to the south had been opened did Columbus have an opportunity to sail into the southern latitudes and discover the wind shift that moved westerly across the Pacific that later enabled him to reach America.
Thus, Lehi’s Land of Promise was, indeed, kept from discovery by other nations until after the fall of the Lamanite people into wars and debauchery. And, as Nephi foresaw, the Eurpeans came to the New World in droves and Lehi’s descendants lost their land of promise.