Columbus discovered America
The year when this Spanish navigator discovered a new land is indicated in history as 1492. And by the beginning of the eighteenth century, all other regions of North America, for example, Alaska and the regions of the Pacific coast, had already been discovered and explored. It must be said that travelers from Russia also made an important contribution to the study of the continent.
Mastering
The history of the discovery of North America is quite interesting: it can even be called accidental. At the end of the fifteenth century, a Spanish navigator with his expedition reached the shores of North America. However, he mistakenly believed that he was in India. From this moment, the countdown of the era begins when America was discovered and its development and study began. But some researchers consider this date inaccurate, claiming that the discovery of the new continent happened much earlier.
The year Columbus discovered America - 1492 - is not an exact date. It turns out that the Spanish navigator had predecessors, and more than one. In the middle of the tenth century, the Normans got here after they discovered Greenland. True, they did not manage to colonize these new lands, since they were repelled by the harsh weather conditions of the north of this continent. In addition, the Normans were also intimidated by the remoteness of the new mainland from Europe.
According to other sources, this continent was discovered by ancient seafarers - the Phoenicians. Some sources call the middle of the first millennium AD the time when America was discovered, and the Chinese are the pioneers. However, this version also lacks clear evidence.
Information about the time when the Vikings discovered America is considered the most reliable. At the end of the tenth century, the Normans Bjarni Herjulfson and Leif Eriksson found Helluland - "stone", Markland - "forest" and Vinland - "vineyards" of the land, which contemporaries identify with the Labrador Peninsula.
There is evidence that even before Columbus in the fifteenth century, the Bristol and Biscay fishermen reached the northern continent, who called it the island of Brazil. However, the time periods of these expeditions cannot be called that milestone in history when America was truly discovered, that is, they identified it as a new continent.
Columbus is a true discoverer
And yet, when answering the question of what year America was discovered, experts most often name the fifteenth century, or rather its end. And the first to do this is believed to be Columbus. The time when America was discovered coincided in history with the period when the idea of \u200b\u200bthe round shape of the Earth began to spread among Europeans and the possibility of reaching India or China along the western route, that is, across the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, it was believed that this path is much shorter than the eastern one. Therefore, taking into account the Portuguese monopoly on control over the South Atlantic obtained by the Alcazovas Agreement of 1479, Spain, always striving to obtain direct contacts with the eastern countries, warmly supported the expedition of the Genoese navigator Columbus in the western direction.
The honor of discovery
Christopher Columbus was interested in geography, geometry and astronomy from an early age. From a young age he took part in sea expeditions, visited almost all the oceans known then. Columbus was married to the daughter of a Portuguese sailor, from whom he inherited many maps and notes from the time of Henry the Navigator. The future discoverer studied them carefully. His plans were to find a sea route to India, but not bypassing Africa, but directly across the Atlantic. Like some scholars - his contemporaries, Columbus believed that, having gone west from Europe, it would be possible to reach the Asian eastern shores - the places where India and China are located. At the same time, he did not even suspect that on the way he would meet a whole continent, hitherto unknown to Europeans. But it happened. And from that time, the history of the discovery of America began.
First expedition
For the first time, Columbus's ships sailed from Palos harbor on August 3, 1492. There were three of them. Until the Canary Islands, the expedition proceeded rather calmly: this segment of the route was already known to the sailors. But very soon they found themselves in the endless ocean. Gradually the sailors began to become discouraged and murmured. But Columbus managed to pacify the rebellious, keeping them hopeful. Soon signs began to come across - the harbingers of the proximity of land: unknown birds flew in, tree branches floated. Finally, after six weeks of sailing, the lights appeared at night, and when dawn broke, a green picturesque island, all covered with vegetation, opened up in front of the sailors. Columbus, having landed on the coast, declared this land the possession of the Spanish crown. The island was named San Salvador, that is, the Savior. It was one of the smaller pieces of land found in the Bahamas or Lucayan archipelago.
The land where there is gold
The natives are peaceful and good-natured savages. Noticing the greed of those who sailed to the gold jewelry that hung in the nose and ears of the aborigines, they told by signs that there is a land in the south that is literally teeming with gold. And Columbus went on. In the same year, he discovered Cuba, which, although he took it for the mainland, more precisely, for the eastern coast of Asia, he also declared it a Spanish colony. From here the expedition, turning east, landed in Haiti. At the same time, all the way the Spaniards met savages who not only willingly exchanged their gold jewelry for simple glass beads and other trinkets, but also constantly pointed to the south when asked about this precious metal. On which Columbus called Hispaniola, or Little Spain, he built a small fortress.
Return
When the ships docked in Palos harbor, all residents went ashore to greet them with honors. Columbus and Ferdinand and Isabella were very gracious. The news of the discovery of the New World spread very quickly, just as quickly those wishing to go there together with the discoverer gathered. Then the Europeans had no idea what America Christopher Columbus discovered.
Second journey
The history of the discovery of North America, which was launched in 1492, continued. From September 1493 to June 1496, the second expedition of the Genoese navigator took place. As a result, the Virgin and Windward Islands were discovered, including Antigua, Dominica, Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher, as well as Puerto Rico and Jamaica. The Spaniards firmly settled in the lands of Haiti, making them their base and building the fortress of San Domingo in the southeastern part of it. In 1497, the British entered into a rivalry with them, who were also trying to find the northwestern routes to Asia. For example, the Genoese Cabot discovered the island of Newfoundland under the English flag and, according to some reports, came very close to the North American coast: to the Labrador and Nova Scotia peninsulas. So the British began to lay the foundation for their dominance in the North American region.
Third and fourth expeditions
It began in May 1498 and ended in November 1500. As a result, the mouth of the Orinoco was also discovered. In August 1498, Columbus landed on the coast already on the Paria Peninsula, and in 1499 the Spaniards reached the shores of Guiana and Venezuela, after which Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon. And during the last - the fourth - travel from May 1502 to November 1504, Columbus discovered Central America. His ships sailed along the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua, reached from Costa Rica and Panama to the Darien Bay.
New mainland
In the same year, another navigator, whose expeditions were under the Portuguese flag, also explored the Brazilian coast. Having reached Cape Cananea, he hypothesized that the lands discovered by Columbus were not China, or even India, but a completely new continent. This idea was confirmed after the first trip around the world by F. Magellan. However, contrary to logic, the name America was assigned to the new mainland - on behalf of Vespucci.
True, there is some reason to believe that the new continent was named after the Bristol philanthropist Richard America from England, who financed the second transatlantic voyage in 1497, and Amerigo Vespucci after that took the nickname in honor of the continent named so. To prove this theory, the researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the coast of Labrador two years earlier, and therefore became the officially registered first European to set foot on American soil.
In the middle of the sixteenth century, Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, reached the shores of Canada, giving this territory its present name.
Other applicants
The exploration of the continent of North America was continued by such navigators as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Baffin. It was thanks to their research that the continent was studied up to the Pacific coast.
However, history knows many other names of seafarers who moored on American soil even before Columbus. These are Hui Shen - a Thai monk who visited this region in the fifth century, Abubakar - the sultan of Mali, who sailed to the American coast in the fourteenth century, Count of Orkney de Saint-Clair, Chinese explorer Zhee He, Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.
But, in spite of everything, it is Christopher Columbus who is the person whose discoveries have had an unconditional impact on the entire history of mankind.
Fifteen years after the time when the ships of this navigator discovered America, the very first geographical map of the continent was compiled. Its author was Martin Waldseemüller. Today, it is the property of the United States and is kept in Washington.
It was midnight on October 11, 1492. Another two hours - and an event will come true, which is destined to change the entire course of world history. On the ships, no one was fully aware of this, but literally everyone, from the admiral to the youngest cabin boy, was in suspense. The one who first saw the land was promised a reward of ten thousand maravedis, and now it was already clear to everyone that the long voyage was drawing to a close ...
1.India
Columbus was quite sure all his life that he sailed to the east coast of Asia, although in fact he was about 15 thousand kilometers from it. At that time it was already known that the Earth was round, but there were still very vague ideas about the size of the globe.
It was believed that our planet is much smaller, and that if you sail from Europe strictly to the west, you can find a short sea route to China and India - countries that have long attracted travelers with their silk and spices. It was this path that Christopher Columbus dreamed of finding.
In 1483, Christopher Columbus proposed a project to King João II, but after a long study, Columbus's "excessive" project was rejected. In 1485, Columbus moved to Castile, where, with the help of merchants and bankers, he sought to organize a government naval expedition under his command.
2. Convince the Queen
It took Columbus 7 years to convince the King and Queen of Spain and their learned advisers to help him organize an expedition across the ocean.
In 1485, Columbus entered Spain. The only way for him to fulfill his dream and set sail is to get the support of the Spanish king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. At first, no one believed him. The scientists of the court simply did not understand how it was possible to sail to the west to reach the lands that are far to the east. It seemed like something completely impossible.
Here is what they said: “Even if it were possible to somehow descend to another hemisphere, how to get up from there back? Even with the most favorable wind, the ship will never climb the huge water mountain, which forms the bulge of the ball, even if we assume that the Earth is really spherical ”.
Only in 1491, Columbus was able to get an appointment with Ferdinand and Isabella again and convince them that he could indeed find a sea route to India.
Columbus at a reception at the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
3 a team of prisoners
The crew of ships had to be assembled from prisoners serving sentences - no one else agreed to voluntarily participate in a dangerous voyage. Still would! After all, it was impossible to predict in advance how long this journey would last and what dangers might be encountered on the way. Even if scientists did not immediately believe in Columbus's plan, what can we say about ordinary sailors.
Former criminals and dregs of society will receive an entire continent under their rule.
4 three caravels
Columbus was provided with three caravels: “Santa Maria” (about 40 meters long), “Niña” and “Pinta” (about 20 meters each). Even for that time, these ships were very small.
Taking them across the ocean, accommodating 90 crew members, seemed like an incredibly daring decision. For example, only Columbus himself, the captains of the ships and several other crew members had their own beds. The sailors had to take turns sleeping on the floor in a cramped hold, on damp barrels and boxes. And so on for many weeks on the way.
Three small wooden ships - "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Niña" set off from the port of Paloje (Atlantic coast of Spain) on August 3, 1492. About 100 crew members, the very minimum of food and equipment.
5 ship riot
They have never had to swim so far into the ocean and so far from their native shores. Columbus even deliberately decided not to tell everyone what distance had already been covered, and called much smaller numbers. With joy, the sailors were ready to believe in any sign of approaching land: for example, whales, albatrosses or algae floating on the surface of the water. Although in fact, all these "signs" have nothing to do with the proximity of land.
6.Magnetic arrow
One of the first in the world, Christopher Columbus was able to observe how the deflection of the magnetic needle occurs.
At that time, it was not yet known that the compass needle points not exactly to the north, but to the magnetic north pole. Once Columbus discovered that the magnetic needle does not point exactly in the direction of the North Star, but deviates more and more from this direction. He was, of course, very frightened. Is the compass on the ship inaccurate or broken? Just in case, Columbus also decided not to report this observation to almost anyone.
Compass of the late 15th century (similar to that of Columbus)
7 the first islands
Before the land appeared on the horizon on October 12, 1492, 70 days of sailing passed. However, the seen outlines of the coast were not at all a continent, but a small island, which was later named San Salvador.
In total, Columbus made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean (and all four times thought he was approaching the shores of India). During this time, he visited many islands of the Caribbean Sea and only during the third voyage saw the shores of the continent. On his fourth voyage for several months, Columbus led ships along the coast, hoping to find a strait leading to long-awaited India. Of course, no strait was found. The completely exhausted sailors were forced to return to the already familiar islands with nothing.
All of them, - writes Columbus, - walk naked, in which their mother gave birth, and women too ... And the people I saw were still young, all of them were no more than 30 years old, and they were well-built, and the bodies and faces of they were very beautiful, and their hair was coarse, just like a horse's, and short ... Their facial features were correct, their expression was friendly ...
8 Indians
Columbus called the aborigines found on the islands Indians - because he sincerely considered the lands found as part of India. It is surprising that this "erroneous" name of the native inhabitants of America has survived to this day.
Moreover, we were lucky with the Russian language - we call the inhabitants of India Indians, distinguishing them from the Indians by at least one letter. And, for example, in English, both words are spelled exactly the same: "indians". Therefore, when it comes to American Indians, they are called immediately with a clarification: "American Indians" or simply "Native Americans" ("Native Americans").
Everything here seemed unusual and new: nature, plants, birds, animals and even people.
9 Columbian exchange
Columbus brought from his voyages many products not yet known to Europeans: for example, corn, tomatoes and potatoes. And thanks to Columbus, grapes appeared in America, as well as horses and cows.
This movement of food, plants and animals between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (America) lasted several hundred years and was called the "Columbus Exchange".
10 Astronomy
At the most dangerous moment, Columbus was miraculously saved ... knowledge of astronomy!
During the last voyage, the team found itself in a very difficult situation. The ships were wrecked, food was running low, the people were exhausted and sick. All that remained was to wait for help and hope for the hospitality of the Indians, who were not too peacefully disposed towards foreigners.
And then Columbus came up with a trick. He knew from astronomical tables that a lunar eclipse would occur on February 29, 1504. Columbus called the local leaders to him and announced that in punishment for their hostility, the god of the white people decided to take the moon from the inhabitants of the island.
Indeed, the prediction came true - exactly at the specified time the moon began to be covered with a black shadow. Then the Indians began to beg Columbus to return the moon to them, and in exchange they agreed to feed the strangers the best food and fulfill all their wishes.
Christopher Columbus, who did not discover America
The name of Christopher Columbus gained worldwide fame after the discovery of America. Today, researchers are questioning the fame of the discoverer, offering alternative versions of the events that accompanied the acquaintance of Europeans with the New World.
Based on the officially recognized biography of Columbus, it becomes clear that not so much is known about his life. Christopher Columbus (Spanish Cristobal Colon; Italian Cristoforo Colombo), the famous Spanish navigator, was born in 1451 in Genoa. He became a sailor early, sailed in the Mediterranean Sea up to the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea. Perhaps he was a merchant and commander of a ship. In the mid-1470s, Columbus settled in Lisbon. Under the Portuguese flag, he sailed north to England and Ireland, and possibly Iceland. He visited Madeira and the Canary Islands, walked along the west coast of Africa to the Portuguese trading post of São Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana). Columbus tried to interest Portugal and Britain with his plan for an expedition to Asia, but failed twice.
In 1485, Columbus left Portugal to try to find support in Spain. At the beginning of 1486 he was presented to the royal court. Queen Isabella of Castile and her consort, King Ferdinand of Aragon, took an interest in Columbus's project. A commission led by Talavera made an unfavorable conclusion about the expediency of traveling to the west, but the king and queen agreed to support the expedition and promised to confer on Columbus the rank of nobility and the titles of admiral, viceroy and governor general of all the islands and continents that he would discover. There is a legend that Isabella of Castile sold her jewelry to equip an expedition to India.
Columbus' first expedition took place in 1492-1493. The city of Palos de la Fontera provided two ships for her: the Pinta and Niña caravels. In addition, the mariner chartered the four-masted sailing ship Santa Maria. With the help of renowned sailor Martin Alonso Pinson, Columbus recruited a crew of 90. During the expedition, he discovered the Sargasso Sea and reached the island of Samana. They approached the shore of the caravel on October 12, 1492, and this day is considered the official date of the discovery of America. Getting off the ship, the navigator kissed the ground, and all the sailors followed his example. In their presence, Columbus declared the open land to belong to the Spanish crown.
During subsequent expeditions (1493–1496, 1498–1500, 1502–1504), he discovered the Greater Antilles, part of the Lesser Antilles and the coast of South and Central America, the Caribbean Sea. In 1500, Columbus was reportedly arrested and sent to Castile, where his release awaited. The navigator kept the shackles in which he was chained all his life. But he managed to prove his case, and the expeditions continued. During the last of them, a crash occurred, and Christopher waited for help for a whole year. Columbus returned to Castile on November 7, 1504, already seriously ill. The last years of Columbus were spent in illness and lack of money. He died on May 20, 1506.
Columbus's personality, I must say, is quite contradictory. He was distinguished by faith in Divine Providence and omens. In negotiations with monarchs, he more than once demonstrated a sharp mind and a gift of persuasion. But Columbus was not an abstract dreamer or altruist. Rather, a practical person. His morbid self-esteem and suspicion, his passion for gold are usually not mentioned in the official biography. But it was Columbus who proposed to reduce the cost of colonizing new lands by populating the islands with criminals. The sentence for them was cut in half, so there were enough people willing. And the expeditions themselves were organized for practical reasons (in addition to the nobility and the post of vice-governor, the Spanish monarchs promised the navigator 10% of the cost of goods imported into Spain). Spain's investment has paid off with interest. The discovery of America made possible the colonization of the richest lands. It is safe to say that Columbus's visit to the New World was the beginning of a new era in world exploration.
Today it is considered proven that Columbus had predecessors. Spaniards, Chinese, Icelanders, Swedes, Portuguese claim the championship ... According to a number of historians, Columbus not only was not a pioneer, he also appropriated the fame of those whose knowledge he used. Many versions owe their origin to clever falsifications. In particular, the map of Muhiddin Piri Reis was considered one of the most valuable documents on the basis of which the assumption of the "pre-Columbian" discovery of America appeared. In 1520 Piri Reis, admiral of the Turkish fleet, published the navigation atlas "Bahriye". (This atlas is still kept in the National Museum of Istanbul.) Some of the maps in it depict with amazing accuracy the Americas, Greenland and even Antarctica, which at that time could not have been known to mariners. A number of details (Greenland and Antarctica are not yet covered with ice; the ridges of these islands are clearly delineated, only recently discovered using modern equipment) indicate that the parchment reflects the geographical picture of the planet five thousand years ago. The examination was unable to establish whether the map was original or a fake, but it is quite obvious: such an accurate designation of the coastline and detailing of the interior regions of the continents can only be achieved through satellite imagery. Along with the maps, the origin of which cannot be established, there were others made at a much lower level. As a rule, they detail the line of the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (the most studied at that time), and more distant lands are indicated very approximately. But it is incorrect to draw conclusions from this fact, since it is quite natural that the demand was found for maps of those seas along which the main routes of merchants ran.
There is no doubt that before the start of the expedition, Columbus studied all the materials available at that time, among which were documents mentioning the journey of the Madeiran Antonio Lemme. He saw islands or a continent in the west around 1484. Columbus apparently also had at his disposal the records of anonymous pilots, who after 1460 were also seen in the west of the island. Thus, the navigator based his calculations on real facts. Although he is credited with a rather strange statement for an experienced sailor. In one of the petitions, Christopher Columbus allegedly wrote that the distance from the Canary Islands to Sipangu (modern Japan, considered part of India) is equal to 2,400 miles (in fact - 10,600), and he proved his calculations with a quote from the Bible. It says, "And you dried six parts." Therefore, Columbus said, six-sevenths of the earth is land, and the ocean cannot be too wide.
It is difficult to imagine that a person who spent most of his life at sea relied only on Providence. It is likely that the Bible reference was included in the report specifically for the church, but other sources provided guidance for the drafting. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how Columbus twice chose the optimal route for his voyage. A very strong Canary Current follows from the shores of the Iberian Peninsula to the Canary Islands. Immediately south of these islands, the current turns abruptly and merges into the stream of the North Passat Current. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern trade winds and reaches the shores of Cuba and Florida. This is the path followed by Columbus' expedition. Columbus set off on the return trip in 1493, using the Gulf Stream, which carried ships to the Azores. Here it is already difficult to talk about a coincidence, Columbus should have had accurate data.
Who paved the way to the New World? There is no single answer to this question, because existing hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. According to one of them, belonging to Thor Heyerdahl, on the eve of the official discovery of America, Columbus took part in the Portuguese-Danish expedition led by John Skolp. The day before the lookout on the Pint shouted "Earth!", Columbus, according to Thor Heyerdahl, said, "We'll be there tomorrow." So he saw the American coast for the second time in 1492. And John Skolp, in turn, was guided by the experience of the Vikings.
The version that the Vikings repeatedly sailed to the shores of North America and even founded settlements there is far from groundless. Along with the cycle of the Scandinavian sagas about Vinland - an overseas Viking colony - scientists have archaeological data. Runic inscriptions are found on the east coast of Canada, Labrador, New Foundland. Remains of settlements, quite comparable in time and type with those mentioned in the sagas, were also found. According to the theory of researcher Jacques de Mayo, the Inca civilization maintained ties with the Vikings.
However, the Vikings were the first, but not the only visitors to the American continent. The fact that the Antilles are marked on the Zuane Pizzigano map of 1424 gives the right to assert that the Portuguese knew about the existence of the Antilles and the coast of the American continent as early as the first quarter of the 15th century. Probably, the discovery of the New World was started in 1452 by the expedition of Diogo de Teivi and continued with the journey to the shores of America by João Vaz Corti-Real in 1472. If this is so, then the refusal of the Portuguese king to Columbus is quite understandable: he knew too well what kind of lands lay in the west, so there was no need for a new expedition. Confirmation of the hypothesis is provided by a large number of royal charters, which (starting from 1460-1462) give awards to captains and pilots for some undefined islands for the purpose of their discovery and settlement. The most curious and important of them are the letters of the Madeiran Rui Gonsalves da Camara (1473) and Fernand Telish (1474).
Another contender for the palm is China. While studying the ancient manuscripts of Venice, the submarine commander Gavin Menzies came across a map dated 1459, on which there was the Cape of Good Hope, discovered by Bartolomeu Dias only in 1488. Other documents were soon discovered. It turned out that many European travelers used maps of lands that Europeans had not yet visited. After devoting fourteen years to studying the riddle, Menzies came to the conclusion that the real discoverer of America was the Chinese naval commander Zheng He. Chinese chronicles suggest that Zheng He was known to the world under the name of Sinbad the Sailor. At least some details of his biography served as a basis for the emergence of the famous legend. Zheng He, according to Menzies, visited Australia with his fleet and almost reached the South Pole. China had the technical ability to make a discovery: the Celestial Empire had a fantastic fleet of more than 300 ships. However, Chinese scholars disagree with Menzies' opinion. The fact is that the life of Zheng He is described in the most detailed way in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" and there is not a word about the discovery of America ...
We may never know who actually discovered America. The primacy of Columbus is confirmed only by his own words, or rather, by the magazine that he allegedly kept during his voyage. And this document is deliberately written in a very vague and full of contradictions. According to J. Cortezan, "if it is impossible to prove with indisputable documents in hand that the American land was reached by unknown or well-known navigators before Columbus sailed for the first time to the Antilles in 1492, it is even more difficult to refute this thesis with logical arguments."
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These events took place at the end of the 15th century due to the rapid development of navigation and shipping in Europe. In many ways, we can say that the discovery of the American continent happened quite by accident and the motives were very commonplace - the search for gold, wealth, large trading cities.
In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America, who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, in those days, the states were already quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, to find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury. At the end of the 15th century, trade flourished, the development of new colonies.
In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America, who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, even then, the states were quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, to find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury.
When you ask any adult and child who discovered America, we will hear about Columbus. It was Christopher Columbus who gave impetus to the active search and development of new lands.
Christopher Columbus is the great Spanish navigator. There is little information about where he was born and spent his childhood and they are contradictory. It is known that being young, Christopher was fond of cartography. He was married to the daughter of a navigator. In 1470, the geographer and astronomer Toscanelli informed Columbus of his suggestions that the journey to India was shorter by sailing west. Apparently then Columbus began to nurture his idea of \u200b\u200ba short route to India, while according to his calculations, it was necessary to sail through the Canary Islands, and there already Japan would be close.
Since 1475, Columbus has been making attempts to implement the idea and make an expedition.
The goal of the expedition is to find a new trade route to India across the Atlantic Ocean. To do this, he turned to the government and merchants of Genoa, but he was not supported. The second attempt to find funding for the expedition was the Portuguese king João II, but even here, after a long study of the project, he was refused.
The last time with his project, he came to the Spanish king. At the beginning, his project was considered for a long time, even several meetings and commissions were held, this lasted several years. His idea was supported by bishops and Catholic kings. But Columbus received the final support for his project after the victory of Spain in the city of Granada, which was freed from the Arab presence.
The expedition was organized on the condition that Columbus, if successful, will receive not only the gifts and riches of the new lands, but will also receive, in addition to the status of a nobleman, the title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands, which he will discover.
For Spain, a successful expedition promised not only the development of new lands, but also the opportunity to trade with India directly, since according to the agreement concluded with Portugal, Spanish ships were forbidden to enter the waters of the west coast of Africa.
When and how did Columbus discover America?
Historians consider the year 1942 to be the year of America's discovery, although these are rather rough figures. Discovering new lands and islands, Columbus did not even imagine that this was another continent, which would later be called the "New World". The traveler undertook 4 expeditions. He came to new and new lands, believing that these are the lands of "Western India". For a long time, everyone in Europe thought so. However, another traveler Vasco da Gama declared Columbus a deceiver, since it was Gamma who found the direct path to India and brought gifts and spices from there.
What kind of America did Christopher Columbus discover? We can say that thanks to his expeditions since 1492, Columbus discovered both North and South America. To be more precise, the islands were discovered, which are now considered either South or North America.
Who Discovered America First?
Although historically it is believed that it was Columbus who discovered America, in fact this is not entirely true.
There is evidence that the "New World" was previously visited by the Scandinavians (Leif Eriksson in 1000, Thorfinn Karlsefni in 1008), this journey became known from the manuscripts "The Saga of Eric the Red" and "The Saga of the Greenlanders". There are other "discoverers of America", but the scientific community does not take them seriously, as there is no reliable data. For example, the African traveler from Mali Abu Bakr II, the Scottish nobleman Henry Sinclair, and the Chinese traveler Zheng He previously visited America.
Why was America called America?
The first widely known and recorded fact is the visit of this part of the "New World" by the traveler and navigator Amerigo Vespucci. It is noteworthy that it was he who put forward the assumption that this is not India or China, but a completely new, previously unknown continent. It is believed that this is why the name of America was assigned to the new land, and not its discoverer, Columbus.
Around 1474 to Portugal arrived sailor Christopher Columbus... Where he came from, who he was, where he spent his youth - all these questions have been of interest to European and American scientists for many decades. Columbus himself obviously had very serious reasons to keep secret everything related to his origin and youth, therefore information about him is very scarce and contradictory.
It is usually believed that he was a Genoese and spent his youth in voyages, that he visited various ports of the Mediterranean Sea, traveled to Ireland and Iceland.
In 1474, Columbus entered the Portuguese service, visited the newly founded Portuguese colonies in Africa and lived for several years on the island of Madeira.
At this time, Portuguese ships were slowly but stubbornly moving south, exploring the African coast, establishing trading posts and preparing the opening of the eastern route to India around Africa.
But Columbus wanted to take a different path.
For a long time he had collected fragmentary information about the lands lying across the Atlantic Ocean, confused stories about voyages to the west, fantastic legends of antiquity and the Middle Ages. He heard that from time to time the current brought unknown flowers and other parts of plants to the shores of the Azores, as well as the bodies of unknown people. Columbus compared all information with ancient descriptions of Asia.
His imagination was especially struck by the book of Marco Polo, which told about the golden-covered palaces of Jipango (Japan), about the splendor and splendor of the court of the great khan, about the homeland of spices - India.
Columbus had no doubt that the Earth had the shape of a ball, but it seemed to him that this ball was much smaller than it actually was. This is why he thought Japan was relatively close to the Azores.
Columbus decided to make his way to India by a western route, and in 1484 he laid out his plan to the Portuguese king. But this project seemed fantastic to the king and his advisers. And the possibilities of Portugal were very limited. The war with the Moors in Morocco and the expeditions to Africa so depleted the treasury of Portugal that the Portuguese king flatly refused to equip a new expedition to the unknown west.
At the end of 1484, Columbus fled to Spain to offer his project to King León Ferdinand and his wife, Queen Isabella of Castile. But here, too, Cristoval Colon (as Columbus was called in Spain) faced many years of need, humiliation and disappointment. The royal advisers found Columbus's project impracticable. Columbus was refused. Then he proposed his plan to England, and then again to Portugal, but nowhere he was taken seriously.
Only after the Spaniards took Granada, Columbus, after much trouble, managed to get three small ships in Spain. With incredible difficulty, he assembled a team, and finally on August 3, 1492, a small squadron left the Spanish port of Paloe and headed west to search for India.
The sea was calm and deserted, a fair wind blew. This went on for over a month. On September 15, Columbus and his Companions saw a green streak in the distance. But their joy soon gave way to chagrin. This was not a long-awaited land, it was the Sargasso Sea - a giant accumulation of algae.
On September 18-20, the sailors saw flocks of birds flying west. "Finally," thought the sailors, "the land is close!" But this time too, the travelers were disappointed. The crew began to worry. In order not to frighten people with the distance traveled, Columbus understated the distance traveled in the logbook.
On October 11 at ten o'clock in the evening, Columbus, eagerly peering into the darkness of the night, saw a light flickering in the distance, and on October 12, 1492, in the morning, still in the moonlight, one of the sailors of the leading ship shouted: "Earth!" The sails were removed on the ships. In the morning, the travelers saw a small low-lying island overgrown with palm trees. Naked people with copper-colored skin ran along the beach along the sand. Columbus put on a scarlet dress on his armor and with the royal flag in his hands went down to the shores of the New World. It was Watling Island from the Bahamas.
The locals called him Guanahani, and Columbus called him San Salvador. This is how America was discovered.
However, until the end of his life, Columbus was sure that he did not discover any "New World", but found only the way to India. And with his light hand, the inhabitants of the New World began to be called Indians.
The inhabitants of the newly discovered island were growing and beautiful. They walked naked, their bodies were motley painted. Some had shiny sticks threaded through their noses, which delighted Columbus. After all, it was gold, and read, close to the country of golden palaces - Jipango.
In search of the golden Jipango, Columbus left Guanahani and moved on, discovering island after island. Everywhere the Spaniards were amazed by the lush tropical vegetation, the beauty of the islands scattered in the blue ocean, the friendliness and meekness of the Indians, who gave the Spaniards gold and colorful birds for trinkets, molasses and beautiful rags. Columbus reached Cuba on October 28.
The population of Cuba was more cultured than the inhabitants of the Bahamas. In Cuba, Columbus found statues, large houses, bales of cotton and for the first time saw cultivated plants - tobacco, corn and potatoes, the products of the New World, which later conquered the whole world. All this further strengthened Columbus' confidence that Jipango and India were somewhere nearby. On December 4, 1492, Columbus discovered the island of Haiti (the Spaniards called it then Hispaniola). On this island, Columbus built the fort of La Navidad (Christmas), left forty garrison there, and on January 16, 1493 headed for Europe on two ships. His largest ship "Santa Maria" was wrecked on 25 December.
On the way back, a terrible storm broke out, and the ships lost sight of each other. Only on February 18, 1493, the exhausted sailors saw the Azores, and on February 25 they reached Lisbon. On March 15, Columbus returned to the port of Palos after an eight-month absence. Thus ended the first voyage of Columbus.
The traveler was received in Spain with delight. He was awarded a coat of arms depicting a map of the newly discovered islands and with the motto:
FOR CASTILE AND LEON
THE NEW WORLD OPENED THE COLUMN
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Other books on similar topics: Thanks to him, we learned about potatoes and tomatoes, without which we cannot imagine a modern menu. I will tell you interesting facts, as well as about where the Spanish citizen sailed when he discovered new lands for Europeans. Columbus is not a nobleman, his father was a small merchant, the guardian of the city gates. Perhaps the son also began early to earn money as a cabin boy on a ship, but he received his education and knew geometry and geography well.
Later he worked as a cartographer, made geographical maps, which at that time were secret. He lived in Genoa, Portugal, and then in Spain, from where he began his sea expeditions. Most likely, the navigator was looking for a sea route to India, rich in spices and spices. Using the knowledge of that time, Christopher headed west, made four expeditions and discovered a new continent. Until the end of his life, he was sure that the lands he discovered were located not far from India.
Columbus discovered for Europeans such a convenient subject for a country holiday as a hammock, which he spied on local residents. Bunks on ships made of sail and net also appeared thanks to an unusual find. The idea of \u200b\u200bthe traveler was the decision to send criminals from prisons to develop open lands, which later became the cause of numerous uprisings of former prisoners.
Sadly, the discovery of lands also served to revive slavery. The development of overseas territories required a large number of workers, and the settlers did not want to work themselves.
And then the Spaniards enslaved the indigenous people who could not resist the Europeans with firearms. Spain allocated only ten kilograms of gold for the preparation of the first expedition of its subject. And after the discovery of the New World, over the years of her reign, she took out valuables worth three million kilograms of gold from there. One of the greatest geographical discoveries was made possible by an elementary mistake. In the Columbian era, mankind had already recognized that the Earth was round, so the Spanish Kingdom sent Christopher Columbus to find India, valuable for its spices.
Christopher Columbus is the discoverer of South and Central America. Columbus expeditions.
Christopher Columbus biography
1 expedition. Discovery of America by Columbus in 1492
- The first expedition Christopher Columbus collected from three ships - "Santa Maria" (three-masted flagship 25 m long, displacement of 120 tons, the captain of the Columbus ship), caravels "Pinta" (captain - Martin Alonso Pinson) and "Niña" (captain - Vicente Yanes Pinson) with a displacement of 55 tons and 87 people of the expedition.
The flotilla left Palos on August 3, 1492, turned west from the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, opening the Sargasso Sea and reached an island in the Bahamas archipelago (the sailor of the "Pinta" Rodrigo de Triana was the first to see American land October 12, 1492). Columbus landed on the beach, which the locals call Guanahani, hoisted a banner on it, declared the open land the property of the Spanish king and formally took possession of the island. The island was named by him San Salvador.
For a long time (1940 -1982), Watling Island was considered San Salvador. However, our contemporary American geographer George Judge in 1986 processed all the collected materials on a computer and came to the conclusion: the first American land seen by Columbus was the island of Samana (120 km southeast of Watling).
On October 14-24, Columbus approached several more Bahamas, and on October 28 - December 5, he opened part of the northeastern coast of Cuba. December 6 reached the island of Haiti and moved along the northern coast. On the night of December 25, the flagship Santa Maria landed on the reef, but the crew escaped. For the first time in the history of navigation, on the orders of Columbus, Indian hammocks were adapted for sailor bunks.
Columbus on the "Niña" on March 15, 1493 returned to Castile. From America, Columbus brought seven captive American natives, who were called Indians in Europe, as well as some gold and plants and fruits unseen in the Old World, including an annual plant corn (in Haiti it is called maize), tomatoes, peppers, tobacco (“ dry leaves, which were especially appreciated by the locals "), pineapples, cocoa and potatoes (because of their beautiful pink and white flowers). The political resonance of Columbus's voyage was the "papal meridian": the head of the Catholic Church established a demarcation line in the Atlantic that indicated different directions for the rivals of Spain and Portugal for discovering new lands.First landing of Christopher Columbus on the shores of the New World: in San Salvador, Wisconsin, October 12, 1492.
Painting by: Spanish artist Tolin Puebla, Theophilus Dioscoro Dioscoro Teofilo Puebla Tolin (1831-1901)
Publisher: American firm Currier and Ives (prints, lithographs, popular prints), published 1892.
2 expedition of Christopher Columbus (1493 - 1496)
- The second expedition (1493-96), led by Admiral Columbus, as viceroy of the newly discovered lands, consisted of 17 ships with a crew of 1.5-2.5 thousand people. On November 3-15, 1493, Columbus discovered the islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe and about 20 Lesser Antilles, on November 19 the island of Puerto Rico. In March 1494, in search of gold, he made a military campaign deep into the island of Haiti, in the summer he discovered the southeastern and southern shores of Cuba, the islands of Juventud and Jamaica. For 40 days Columbus explored the southern coast of Haiti, the conquest of which he continued in 1495. But in the spring of 1496 he sailed home, completing his second voyage on June 11 in Castile. Columbus announced the opening of a new route to Asia. The colonization of new lands by free settlers, which began soon, cost the Spanish crown very dearly, and Columbus suggested that the islands be populated by criminals, halving their sentence. With fire and sword, plundering and destroying the country of ancient culture, the military detachments of Cortes marched through the land of the Aztecs - Mexico, the troops of Pizarro - across the land of the Incas - Peru.
3 expedition of Christopher Columbus (1498 - 1499)
- The third expedition (1498-99) consisted of six ships, three of which Columbus himself led across the Atlantic. July 31, 1498 discovered the island of Trinidad, entered the Gulf of Paria, discovered the mouth of the western branch of the Orinoco Delta and the Paria Peninsula, initiating the discovery of South America. Out into the Caribbean, he approached the Araya Peninsula, discovered Margarita Island on August 15 and arrived in Haiti on August 31. In 1500, on a denunciation, Christopher Columbus was arrested and, shackled (which he then kept all his life), was sent to Castile, where he was awaited by his release.
4 expedition of Christopher Columbus (1502 - 1504)
