Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization

The mysterious island of Hy-Brasil, said to be home to a strong and enigmatic cult, has long piqued the interest of explorers and historians, and has recently captivated the interest of UFO researchers.

Hy-Brasil
Strange Island in Fog. Hy-Brasil allegedly disappeared into the mist. © Image Credit: BBC

European sailors who traveled the oceans hundreds of years ago were aware of a strange island. It was named Hy-Brasil, and it was said to be the home of a sophisticated species of humanoids with supernatural abilities. The island appears on maps as early as 1325 and as late as the 1800s, and is located about 200 miles (321 kilometers) off the west coast of Ireland.

Some sailors go out to discover the island, but it appears to emerge at random, and its exact coordinates fluctuate most of the time, despite being recorded in the same area of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization 1
UFO, an alien plate hovering above water, hovering motionless in the air. © Image Credit: Александр Марко | Licensed from Dreamstime.com (Editorial/Commercial Use Stock Photo)

In Irish legend, Hy-Brasil was supposed to be shrouded in mist except for one day every seven years when it became visible but remained inaccessible due to its inability to climb or fly.

It gets its name from the term ‘Breasal,’ which means ‘High King of the World’ in Celtic. Angelino Dulcert, a Genoese cartographer, was the first to mark it on a map in 1325. He used the word ‘Bracile,’ while the Catalan Atlas of 1375 referred to the isle as ‘Illa de Brasil,’ and depicted it as two different islands.

Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization 2
Hy-Brasil on a map from 1325. © Image Credit: Ocultoreveladoaverdade

Its mystery was further heightened when, in 1436, it appeared as ‘Sola De Brasil’ on the Venetian map of cartographer Andrea Bianco. The island reappeared in 1595 on the Ortelius Map of Europe and the Europa Mercator Map, as well as on several other maps in the years that followed, albeit its location varied significantly.

Sailors sailed to the purported location of Hy-Brasil in large numbers, curious about what they could discover there. According to records, John Jay Jr. set out from Bristol, England, in 1480, and spent two weeks at sea before returning with his dreams dashed. Trinity and George sailed off with two ships from the same place in England in 1481, only to return empty-handed like their predecessor.

However, not all Bristol voyagers were unfortunate, as one of the documents recalls Spanish envoy Pedro de Ayala informing the Catholic Monarchs of Spain about John Cobot (the first European to reach North America since the Vikings) and his successful effort to locate the infamous island.

Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization 3
Brasil (far left) as shown in relation to Ireland on a map by Abraham Ortelius. © Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Another lucky sailor was Scottish sea captain John Nesbet, who discovered Hy-Brasil in 1674 while sailing from France to Ireland. When he first saw the renowned isle, he is believed to have dispatched a four-man crew to its beaches. The sailors apparently spent the entire day on the island.

The crew met an older guy who promised them gold and silver, according to the captain’s story. The enormous black bunnies and the mystery magician encountered there were the icing on the cake that astonished the sailors. They were believed to live within a huge stone fortress.

Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization 4
An artistic representation of what Hy-Brasil may have looked like. © Image Credit: Fandom

Although the narrative was undoubtedly difficult to comprehend even for those living at the time, there was a second trip headed by Alexander Johnson that took place around the same time and confirmed Nisbet’s testimony.

Nothing is known about the strange island until 1872, when Robert O’Flaherty and T.J Westropp claimed to have visited it. In reality, Westropp reported three additional instances when he visited Hy-Brasil. So that others would believe him, he took his entire family there to see the perplexing isle for themselves.

Hy-Brasil appears in several stories and on various maps, therefore it’s probable that there’s some truth to this narrative somewhere. Some think the isle is the abode of Irish gods, while others believe it is inhabited by a sophisticated society. Although there are no current documents that mention Hy-Brasil, nor does it appear on nautical charts, there is one incident in recent history that does.

In what has become known as the “Britain’s Roswell event,” a military official acquired the coordinates of Hy-Brasil in an unusual manner. Sergent Jim Pennistone went on to investigate after seeing a strange object outside a US military installation in the Rendlesham woodland, UK, near a nuclear plant. He spotted a flying saucer. When he touched it, a telepathic message with 16 pages of binary code was imprinted in his head.

Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization 5
Binary Code showing the coordinates of Hy-Brasil and other locations. © Image Credit: Tribelightstation

Penniston discovered other coordinates sending to renowned locations such as the Pyramid of Giza and the Nazca Lines after translating the code in the years that followed.

What’s more, the top and bottom of the text began with the coordinates of Hy-Brasil, or at least the location widely referred to by mariners throughout the years. The deciphered message also included an inexplicable origin year of 8100.

There are many maps that indicate the enigmatic Hy-Brasil, but because no current proof of its existence has been discovered, conventional historians regard to the issue as one of mistaken identification or location.

Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization 6
Porcupine Bank and Seabight, bathemetry of the Northeast Atlantic. © Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Other cartographers speculate that Hy-Brasil might represent the so-called Porcupine Bank, an island found in 1862 that only became visible when the tides were exceptionally low. Some historians speculate about the conclusion of the last Ice Age, when global sea levels were substantially lower.

In this scenario, it’s probable that Hy-Brasil was a memory of an actual mythological land that withstood the test of time via people who vividly remembered of it, one generation after another.

Hy-Brasil: The mysterious phantom island rumored to have harboured an advanced civilization 7
A Map of Europe from 1570 showing Hy-Brasil at another location (look beside the foot of the animal ‘Europa’ is riding). © Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

In any event, the mystery of this mythical island will pique the interest of people who want to learn more about our ancient history, because it might be a reminder of an alternative historical version of the world we live in.