The lands were the most common: the founding of cities, the discovery of deposits of gold and wealth. In the 15th century, navigation was actively developing, and expeditions were set up in search of the unexplored continent. What was on the continent before the arrival of Europeans, when Columbus discovered America, and under what circumstances did this happen?
The story of the great discovery
By the 15th century, European states were different high level development. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, searching for additional sources of profit to replenish the treasury. New colonies were formed.
Before the discovery, tribes lived on the continent. The natives were distinguished by their friendly character, which was favorable for the rapid development of the territory.
Christopher Columbus, while still a teenager, discovered the hobby of cartography. A Spanish navigator once learned from the astronomer and geographer Toscanelli that if he sailed westward, he could reach India much faster. It was 1470. And the idea came just in time, since Columbus was looking for another route that would allow him to reach India in short time. He assumed that it was necessary to build a route through the Canary Islands.
In 1475, the Spaniard organized an expedition, the purpose of which was to find a quick route by sea to India across the Atlantic Ocean. He reported this to the government with a request to support his idea, but received no help. The second time Columbus wrote to King João II of Portugal, however, he was also rejected. He then turned again to the Spanish government. Several commission meetings were held on this issue, which lasted for years. The final positive decision on financing was made after the victory of Spanish troops in the city of Granada, liberated from Arab occupation.
If a new route to India was discovered, Columbus was promised not only wealth, but also a noble title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of the lands he would discover. Since Spanish ships were prohibited from entering the waters for west coast Africa, then such a step was beneficial for the government in order to conclude a direct trade agreement with India.
In what year did Columbus discover America?
Officially, the year of the discovery of America in history is recognized as 1942. Having discovered undeveloped lands, Columbus did not imagine that he had discovered a continent that would be called the “New World”. In what year the Spaniards discovered America can be said tentatively, since a total of four campaigns were undertaken. Each time the navigator found new lands, believing that this was the territory of Western India.
Columbus began to think that he was following the wrong route after Vasco de Gama's expedition. The traveler arrived in India and returned in a short time with rich goods, accusing Christopher of deception.
It later turned out that Columbus discovered the islands and continental parts of North and South America.
Which traveler discovered America earlier?
It is not entirely true to say that Columbus became the discoverer of America. Before this, the Scandinavians landed on the lands: in 1000 - Leif Eriksson and in 1008 - Thorfinn Karlsefni. This is evidenced by the historical records “The Saga of the Greenlanders” and “The Saga of Eric the Red”. There is other information about travel to the “New World”. Traveler Abu Bakr II, a resident of the Celestial Empire Zheng He and a nobleman from Scotland Henry Sinclair arrived from Mali to America.
There is historical evidence indicating that in the 10th century New World visited by the Normans after the discovery of Greenland. However, they were unable to develop the territories due to heavy weather conditions, unsuitable for agriculture. In addition, the journey from Europe was very long.
Visits to the mainland by the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.
Wake up anyone in the middle of the night with the question: “Who discovered America first?”, and without hesitation, they will immediately give you the correct answer, calling the name of Christopher Columbus. This is for everyone known fact , which no one seems to dispute. But was Columbus the first European to set foot on new land? Not at all. There is only one question: “So who?” But they didn’t call Columbus for nothing discoverer.
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How Columbus became a discoverer
In what century did such significant changes for the world take place? The official date for the discovery of a new continent called the Americas is 1499, 15th century. At that time, the inhabitants of Europe began to have speculation that the earth was round. They began to believe about the possibility of navigation by Atlantic Ocean and the opening of the western path straight to the shores of Asia.
The story of how Columbus discovered America is very funny. It so happened that he randomly stumbled upon the New World, heading to distant India.
Christopher was an avid sailor, who from a young age managed to visit all those known at that time. Carefully studying a huge number of geographical maps, Columbus planned to sail to India across the Atlantic, without passing through Africa.
He, like many scientists of that time, naively believed that, having gone straight from Western Europe to the east, he would reach the shores of such Asian countries as China and India. No one could even imagine what was suddenly on his way new lands will appear.
It was the day when Columbus reached the shores of the new continent and is considered the beginning of American history.
Continents discovered by Columbus
Christopher is considered the one who discovered North America. But in parallel with it, after news of the New World spread throughout all countries, the struggle for the development of the northern territories the British entered.
In total the navigator accomplished four expeditions. The continents that Columbus discovered: the island of Haiti or, as the traveler himself called it, Spain Minor, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua and many other territories of North America. From 1498 to 1504, during his last expeditions, the navigator had already mastered lands of South America, where it reached the shores of not only Venezuela, but also Brazil. A little later the expedition reached Central America, where they were mastered coastlines Nicaragua and Honduras, all the way to Panama.
Who else explored America?
Formally, many sailors opened America to the world in different ways. History goes back many names related to the development of the lands of the New World. Columbus's case continued:
- Alexander Mackenzie;
- William Baffin;
- Henry Hudson;
- John Davis.
Thanks to these navigators, the entire continent was explored and developed, including Pacific coast.
Also, another discoverer of America is considered no less famous person - Amerigo Vespucci. The Portuguese navigator went on expeditions and explored the coast of Brazil.
It was he who first suggested that Christopher Columbus sailed far not to China and India, but to previously unknown. His speculations were confirmed by Ferdinand Magellan, after completing his first trip around the world.
It is believed that the continent was named precisely in honor of Vespucci, contrary to all the logic of what is happening. And today the New World is known to everyone under the name America, and not by any other name. So who really discovered America?
Pre-Columbian expeditions to America
In the legends and beliefs of the Scandinavian peoples you can often come across mention of distant lands called Vinland located near Greenland. Historians believe that it was the Vikings who discovered America and became the first Europeans to set foot on the lands of the New World, and in their legends Vinland is nothing more than Newfoundland.
Everyone knows how Columbus discovered America, but in fact Christopher was far away not the first navigator who visited this continent. Leif Erikson, who named one of the parts of the new continent Vinland, cannot be called a discoverer.
Who should be considered first? Historians dare to believe that he was a merchant from distant Scandinavia - Bjarni Herjulfsson, which is mentioned in the Greenlanders' Saga. According to this literary work, in 985 g. he set out towards Greenland to meet his father, but lost his way due to a strong storm.
Before the discovery of America, the merchant had to sail at random, since he had never seen the lands of Greenland before and did not know the specific course. Soon he reached the level shores of an unknown island, covered with forests. This description did not suit Greenland at all, which greatly surprised him. Bjarni decided not to go ashore, and turn back.
Soon he sailed to Greenland, where he told this story to Leif Erikson, the son of the discoverer of Greenland. Exactly he became the first of the Vikings who tried their luck to join to the lands of America before Columbus, which he nicknamed Vinland.
Forced search for new lands
Important! Greenland is not the most pleasant country to live in. It is poor in resources and has a harsh climate. The possibility of resettlement at that time seemed like a pipe dream for the Vikings.
Stories about fertile lands covered with dense forests only spurred them on to move. Erickson gathered himself a small team and set off on a journey in search of new territories. Leif became the one who discovered North America.
The first unexplored places they stumbled upon were rocky and mountainous. In their description today, historians see nothing more than Baffin Island. Subsequent coasts turned out to be low-lying, with green forests and long sandy beaches. This reminded historians very much of the description coast of the Labrador Peninsula in Canada.
On the new lands they mined wood, which was so difficult to find in Greenland. Subsequently, the Vikings founded the first two settlements in the New World, and all these territories were called Vinland.
The scientist nicknamed "the second Columbus"
The famous German geographer, naturalist and traveler - all this is one great person whose name is Alexander Humboldt.
This greatest scientist discovered America before others on the scientific side, having spent many years on research, and he was not alone. Humbaldt did not think long about what kind of partner he needed and immediately made his choice in favor of Bonpland.
Humboldt and the French botanist in 1799. went on a scientific expedition to South America and Mexico, which lasted five whole years. This journey brought scientists worldwide fame, and Humboldt himself began to be called the “second Columbus.”
It is believed that in 1796 The scientist set himself the following tasks:
- explore little-studied areas of the globe;
- systematize all received information;
- taking into account the research results of other scientists, comprehensively describe the structure of the Universe.
All tasks, of course, were successfully completed. After the discovery of America as a continent, no one dared until Humbaldt conduct similar studies. Therefore, he decides to go to the most little-studied area - the West Indies, which allows him to achieve colossal results. Humboldt created the first geographical maps discovered America almost simultaneously, but in world history the name of Christopher Columbus will always be first on the list of those who explored the territories of the New World.
In 1492, Columbus sailed across the Atlantic and was long considered the first European to set foot in the New World. Then came evidence of the Vikings, led by Leif Ericson, who preceded Columbus by five centuries. Early archaeological uncertainty gave rise to controversy over the primacy of the discovery of America. Authors appeared who claimed that the Chinese general Zheng He was only a few years ahead of Columbus. Not a European, but since he arrived in the New World by water, and not by bridge over the Bering Strait, we will allow him to take part in the competition. Then, someone discovered petroglyphs in West Virginia that pointed to the sixth century Irish navigator, St. Brendan (St. Brendan). Perhaps St. Did Brendan beat everyone else in discovering America? Eventually, Muslims joined the competition between the Spanish, Vikings, Irish and Chinese when explorers found evidence that Muslims from West Africa had discovered the New World even earlier.
Someone else is declaring their primacy in the discovery of America (as, indeed, in other discoveries too). Today we will consider only the five listed above. They can't all be first. Which of them discovered America first? And among those who lost the championship, were all of them there?
Now no one doubts the veracity of Columbus's story. He landed in the Bahamas in 1492 and, although he believed he had reached India, he saw a large continent blocking progress. During his three expeditions over 12 years, Columbus explored the Caribbean, part of South America and the shores of Central America. Following in Columbus' footsteps, colonists and other explorers arrived. It was after the discovery of Columbus that the connection between America and Europe was established. Let us now consider other contenders for primacy in chronological order from the date of Columbus's landing.
Muslims do not claim a specific date for the discovery of America. They express an opinion about the likelihood of Europeans visiting the continent long before Columbus. Piri Reis was an Ottoman navigator and cartographer who died in 1553. His name means Captain Pirie and is best known in connection with a map drawn in 1513. Alternative historians cite the Piri Reis map as an incredibly accurate depiction of the Earth's surface, exceeding the knowledge of Columbus. Consequently, the Turks traveled all over the world, including America, Brazil and even Antarctica. All modern claims about the primacy of Muslim sailors in the discovery of America are based on the Piri Reis map.
There is no doubt about the historical significance of the Piri Reis map, but most of the sensational claims based on it are incorrect. The map doesn't change history, it matches what we know. Piri Reis's notes in the margins of the map say that this is a generalized edition that he completed based on two dozen existing maps compiled by the seafaring nations of Europe and Asia. Including ancient Greek maps of the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, Arabic cards India, Portuguese maps of Pakistan and China, Columbus maps describing the Caribbean and the eastern coast of America. The Piri Reis map is far from the accuracy and completeness of the content that they are trying to rely on. Significant discrepancies are obvious at first glance. The lack of commentary on the source materials led Piri Reis to make mistakes. Peary annexed Brazil to Antarctica. Perhaps this was an attempt to show “Undiscovered Lands”, or perhaps an attempt to squeeze an expanded South America. Portuguese navigators, who followed Henry the Navigator, carefully explored the western shores of Africa and crossed the Atlantic before Columbus. Columbus studied navigation in Portugal. Portuguese sailors followed on the heels of Columbus when he reached the New World. Information about the western shores of the Americas, from Newfoundland to Argentina, was collected quite quickly. In the first decade of the 16th century there were enough resources to compile a map of Piri Reis.
In short, it is not necessary to talk about the Muslim journey to the shores of America to explain the origin of the Peri Reis map. Moreover, there is no documentary or archaeological evidence of such an event. We give the version of the Muslim Discovery of America 0.5 trust points out of a possible 5.
Zheng He was a prominent Chinese Admiral of the 15th century and died 18 years before the birth of Columbus. Many legends are associated with this name and his travels. It is well known and documented that he traveled south and west from China, reaching the coast of Africa. But there is no evidence that Zheng decided to cross the Atlantic and reach the shores of America. New information originated in 2006, when Chinese lawyer Liu Gang discovered a 1763 map copied from an original dated 1418, entitled “Overall Map of the Geography of all Under Heaven.” The map, representing America in all its glory, confirmed that Zheng He's cartographers were ahead of Columbus in discovering the New World, coming from the other direction.
Unfortunately, the card didn't turn out to be very significant. No one takes it seriously because it is a copy of a well-known French map from the 1600s. On the map, California appears as an island and is subject to description errors. The title is a common error from modern simplified language, but is not an error for a user of Traditional Chinese from the Qing Dynasty.
Louis Gang turned out to be his own enemy in this venture. In 2009 he published the book “Code ancient map", to popularize the map itself. In the book, he goes back 400 years, announcing the discovery of another Chinese map of the world, dated 1093. This “map” is even sadder. Louis presents photographs of Zhang Kuangzheng's tomb from 1093, which show peeling paint and plaster. He changed his interpretation of the map, due to damage to the drawing, to a pathetic version. Opener Zheng He receives one trust point out of five, while Louis has a deficit of 15.
Leif Eriksson was the son of Erik the Red, a Viking who landed in Greenland. Leif followed in the footsteps of his powerful father and founded the colony of Vinland. Most of Leif's deeds are known from two sagas: the Greenlander Saga and the Saga of Erik the Red. Main character saga is a person, not historical facts. The manner of presentation of the sagas is narrative in the style of “I came and I speak.” The main place of action in the sagas is the settlement of Vinland, the narrative time is approximately 1000.
Fortunately, the legend about Leif Eriksson received more significant confirmation. In 1960, archaeologists discovered ruins in the northern tip of Newfoundland. "Jellyfish Grotto" (L'Anse aux Meadows or Jellyfish Cove) and some other Norwegian settlements have been discovered. These are more than excellent historical finds. The method of construction, design, and materials undoubtedly confirm the everyday traditions of the Norwegians. We do not know for sure the connection between Vinland and L'Anse aux Meadows, nor whether Leif Eriksson was here. But there is confidence in the coincidence of the heyday of the Norwegian settlement and the period of the appearance of the saga.
Since we have a Norse settlement on our hands that underpins the long sea crossings of the Vikings and corresponds to a period around the year 1000, Leif Eriksson gets a 4.5 trust point, and the Vikings as a whole 5 out of 5 possible.
St. Brendan the Sailor was a legendary 6th century monk who sailed around the British Isles in leather boats. He is mentioned in only two sources: The Travels of St. Brendan and The Life of Brendan. The story tells about the Island of the Blessed or St. Brendan. Supposedly this is off the coast of Africa, but both Brendan and his island live only in legends.
Unfortunately, this statement comes with a long list of problems. Serious archaeologists do not undertake to decipher rock paintings. They are too far from the texts. The prevailing opinion is that these are scratches from sharpening tools by ancient aborigines. The marks on the stone were discovered by amateurs, filled with ash for contrast, and photographed. Barry Fell, a retired marine biologist, only saw the dashes in the photo and never examined the original. Ogham transcript experts disagreed with Barry Fell's conclusions and refused to examine the writing. We don't know what discoveries await us, but no one takes West Virginia petroglyphs seriously these days. St. Brendan receives 0 trust points out of a possible 5 and petroglyphs 0.5 points until new information becomes available.
Summing up, we have a winner. The Vikings, under the auspices of Leif Eriksson, or perhaps in his presence, discovered America earlier than other Europeans. The Portuguese, Spaniards, Irish and Turks appeared on these shores much later. Zheng He would not have received primacy even if he arrived earlier than the Vikings. Since the New World is sufficiently populated by immigrants from Asia through the Bering Strait, it would still be several tens of thousands of years late for the holiday.
Translation by Vladimir Maksimenko 2013
The discovery of America by Europe, carried out by Christopher Columbus in 1492, is the most important milestone in human history. The appearance of a new continent on the geographical map changed people’s understanding of planet Earth, forced them to comprehend its enormity, the countless possibilities of understanding the world and themselves in it. , the brightest page of which is the discovery of America, gave a powerful impetus to the development of European science, art, culture, the creation of new productive forces, the establishment of new production relations, which ultimately accelerated the replacement of feudalism with a new, more progressive socio-economic system - capitalismYear of discovery of America - 1492
First discovery of America by the Normans
The sailing of the Normans to the shores of North America was unthinkable without their settlement in Iceland. But the first Europeans to visit Iceland were Irish monks. Their acquaintance with the island occurred approximately in the second half of the 8th century.
“30 years ago (that is, no later than 795), several clerics who were on this island from February 1 to August 1 informed me that there not only during the summer solstice, but also on the previous and subsequent days, the setting sun seemed to only hides behind a small hill, so that even the most a short time it is never dark... and you can do any kind of work... If the clergy lived on the high mountains of this island, then the sun, perhaps, would not be hidden from them at all... While they lived there, days always gave way to nights, except for the period of the summer solstice; however, at a distance of one day's journey further north, they discovered a frozen sea" (Dicuil - Irish medieval monk and geographer who lived in the second half of the 8th century AD)
About 100 years later, a Viking ship accidentally washed up on the shores of Iceland in a storm.
“They say that people from Norway were going to sail to the Faroe Islands... However, they were carried west, into the sea, and there they found mainland. Entering the eastern fjords, they climbed high mountain and looked around to see if they could see smoke somewhere or any other signs that this land was inhabited, but they didn’t notice anything. In the fall they returned to the Faroe Islands. When they went out to sea, there was already a lot of snow on the mountains. That's why they called this country Snow Land."
Over time, a large number of Norwegian residents moved to Iceland. By 930 there were about 25 thousand people on the island. Iceland became the starting point for further travels of the Normans to the West. In 982-983, Eirik Turvaldson, who became Eric the Red in the Russian tradition, discovered Greenland. In the summer of 986, Bjarni Herulfson, sailing from Iceland to the Greenland Viking village, lost his way and discovered land to the south. In the spring of 1004, Erik the Red's son Leif the Happy followed in his footsteps, discovering the Cumberland Peninsula (south of Baffin Island), the eastern coast of the Labrador Peninsula and the northern coast of Newfoundland Island. The northeastern shores of North America were then visited more than once by Viking expeditions, but in Norway and Denmark they were not considered important, since their natural conditions were unattractive
Prerequisites for the discovery of America by Columbus
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the fall of Byzantium under the blows of the Ottoman Turks, the birth of the Ottoman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor led to the cessation of overland trade relations along the Great Silk Road with the countries of the East
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Europe's critical need for spices from India and Indochina, which were used not so much in cooking, but as a hygiene item, for making incense. After all, Europeans washed their faces in the Middle Ages rarely and reluctantly, and a quintal (measure of weight, 100 pounds) of pepper in Calicut or Hormuz cost ten times less than in Alexandria.
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misconception of medieval geographers about the size of the earth. It was believed that the Earth evenly consists of land - the giant continent of Eurasia with an appendage of Africa - and ocean; that is, the sea distance between the extreme western point of Europe and the extreme eastern point of Asia did not exceed several thousand kilometers
Brief biography of Christopher Columbus
Born in Genoa in 1451. He was the first-born in a large weaver's family. He participated in his father's manufacturing and trading enterprises. In 1476, by chance, he settled in Portugal. He married Felipe Moniz Perestrello, whose father and grandfather were actively involved in the activities of Henry the Navigator. Settled on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago. Was allowed access to family archives, reports on sea voyages, geographic maps and driving directions. Frequently visited the harbor of the island of Porto Santo
“in which nimble fishing boats scurried and anchored ships sailing from Lisbon to Madeira and from Madeira to Lisbon. The helmsmen and sailors of these ships whiled away the long hours of stay in the port tavern, and Columbus had long and useful conversations with them... (He learned from) experienced people about their voyages in the Sea-Ocean. A certain Martin Vicente told Columbus that 450 leagues (2,700 kilometers) west of Cape San Vicente, he picked up a piece of wood in the sea, processed, and very skillfully, with some kind of tool, clearly not iron. Other sailors met boats with huts beyond the Azores Islands, and these boats did not capsize even on a large wave. We saw huge pine trees off the Azores coast; these dead trees were carried by the sea at a time when strong westerly winds blew. Sailors came across corpses of broad-faced people of “non-Christian” appearance on the shores of the Azores island of Faial. A certain Antonio Leme, “married to a Madeiran,” told Columbus that, having traveled a hundred leagues to the west, he came across three unknown islands in the sea” (Ya. Svet “Columbus”)
He studied and analyzed contemporary works on geography, navigation, travel notes travelers, treatises of Arab scientists and ancient authors and gradually drew up a plan to reach the rich countries of the East by the western sea route.
The main sources of knowledge on the issue of interest for Columbus were five books
- "Historia Rerum Gestarum" by Aeneas Silvia Piccolomini
- "Imago Mundi" by Pierre d'Ailly
- "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
- "The Book" of Marco Polo
- Parallel Lives of Plutarch
1492, April 30 - the royal couple approved a certificate granting Columbus the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands that would be discovered by him during his voyage along the said Sea-Ocean. Titles were complained forever “from heir to heir,” at the same time Columbus was elevated to the rank of nobility and could “name and title himself Don Christopher Columbus,” had to receive a tenth and an eighth share of the profits from trade with these lands, and had the right to litigate all litigation. The city of Palos was approved as the expedition's preparation center.
“He had heart-to-heart conversations with the Palos residents and said everywhere that the expedition needed brave and experienced sailors and that great benefits would accrue to its participants. “Friends, go there, and we will go on this hike all together; you will leave poor, but if, with God’s help, you manage to open up the land for us, then, having found it, we will return with gold bars, and we will all get rich, and we will receive a big profit.” Soon volunteers flocked to Palos harbor, wanting to take part in the voyage to the shores of an unknown land.”
Columbus's ships
Discovery of America. Briefly
- 1492, September 16 - Diary of Columbus: “They began to notice many tufts of green grass, and, as could be judged by its appearance, this grass had only recently been torn from the ground.”
- 1492, September 17 - Diary of Columbus: “I discovered that since sailing from Canary Islands there was never so little salt water in the sea.”
- 1492, September 19 - Diary of Columbus: “At 10 o’clock a dove flew onto the ship. We saw another one in the evening.”
- 1492, September 21 - Diary of Columbus: “We saw a whale. A sign of land, because whales swim close to the shore.”
- 1492, September 23 - Diary of Columbus: “Since the sea was calm and warm, people began to grumble, saying that the sea here was strange, and the winds would never blow to help them return to Spain.”
- 1492, September 25 - Diary of Columbus: “The earth appeared. He ordered us to go in that direction.”
- 1492, September 26 - Diary of Columbus: “What we took for earth turned out to be heaven.”
- 1492, September 29 - Diary of Columbus: “We sailed our way to the West.”
- 1492, September 13 - Columbus noticed that the compass needle did not point to the North Star, but 5-6 degrees to the northwest.
- 1492, October 11 - Diary of Columbus: “We sailed west-southwest. During the entire voyage there had never been such rough seas. We saw “pardelas” and green reeds near the ship. People from the Pinta caravel noticed a reed and a branch and caught a stick hewn, possibly with iron, and a fragment of a reed and other herbs that were born on the ground, and one tablet
1492, October 12 - America is discovered. It was 2 o’clock in the morning when a cry of “Earth, earth!!!” was heard on board the faster “Pinta”, which was walking slightly ahead. and a bombard shot. The outline of the shore appeared in the moonlight. In the morning, boats were lowered from the ships. Columbus with both Pinsons, a notary, a translator, and a royal controller landed on shore. “The island is very large and very flat and there are a lot of green trees and water, and in the middle there is big lake. There are no mountains,” wrote Columbus. The Indians called the island Guanahani. Columbus named it San Salvador, now Watling Island, part of the Bahamas archipelago
- 1492, October 28 - Columbus discovered the island of Cuba
- 1492, December 6 - Columbus approached big island, called Borgio by the Indians. Along its shore “beautiful valleys stretch, very similar to the lands of Castile,” the admiral wrote in his diary. Apparently that’s why he named the island Hispaniola, now Haiti
- 1492, December 25 - "Santa Maria" struck reefs off the coast of Haiti. The Indians helped remove valuable cargo, guns and supplies from the ship, but the ship could not be saved.
- 1493, January 4 - Columbus set off on his return journey. He had to sail back on the smallest ship of the Niñe expedition, leaving part of the crew on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), since even earlier the third ship, Pinta, separated from the expedition, and Santa Maria ran aground. Two days later, both surviving ships met, but on February 14, 1493 they were separated in a storm
- 1493, March 15 - Columbus returned to Palos on the Niña, and the Pinta entered Palos harbor with the same tide.
Columbus made three more voyages to the shores of the New World, discovered islands and archipelagos, bays, bays and straits, founded forts and cities, but he never learned that he had found a way not to India, but to a world completely unknown to Europe
Who first discovered America? Several hundred years after the official discovery, the question became relevant again.
Wikimedia Commons/Lalinlalon1234567890 ()
It turns out that America, like the earth, was “discovered together.”
Official version. Christopher Columbus
According to the classical version, Christopher Columbus was the first to set foot on the lands of the American continent; in the Spanish version, it was Cristobal Colon. He reached America under the flag of the Spanish Crown on the ships "Santa Maria" (flagship), "Nina" and "Pinta" by accident, in search of rich India, or rather, a safe route there.
In August 1492, Columbus's flotilla sailed from the Andalusian town of Palos de la Frontera, and on October 13, Columbus set foot on the island he named San Salvador (today Guanahani, Lucaya archipelago, Bahamas). Then he decided that these were poor provinces of China, and continued his journey, discovering more and more new lands.
A series of tragic events - the temporary loss of the Pinta, the reefs that imprisoned the Santa Maria, the need to replenish supplies, etc. force him to return. In addition, he sailed home as a hero to change the world: the news of the “discovery of Western India” forced Portugal and Spain to literally divide new lands. 
Sebastiano del Piombo “Portrait of a Man (Christopher Columbus)”
Columbus made four expeditions to Western India" However, he never found what he was looking for - gold and spices. Knowing about the dissatisfaction of the Spanish court and the possible deprivation of all exclusive rights, during the second expedition, Columbus forced all sailors from the team to take an oath (with an oath and signature) that open land- Asia.
This document, dated June 12, 1494, is one of the few to survive and belongs to Seville - Spanish city, to which Columbus's discoveries gave a golden age, making Seville the main trading port of the Spanish Empire.
The Happy Discoverer of America
He is truly Happy - Leif Eriksson Happy, fearless Viking, hero of the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Eric the Red, who set foot on the soil of North America five centuries before the Spaniards.
Ericsson continued and multiplied the achievements of his father, Erik the Red, who turned icy Greenland into an inhabited island. Circumstances prompted him to do this: once upon a time his father (Leif’s grandfather) was expelled from Norway to Iceland for murder. Then Eric repeated his sad fate: again, he was expelled from Iceland for murder, and he swam to the island, which he saw from the Icelandic coast in clear weather. 
Wikimedia Commons/Claire Rowland ()
That island was Greenland - that’s what Eric later called his new harsh homeland, giving the scientists an interesting puzzle that has not been solved to this day. Why is an island, more than 80% of which is occupied by a glacier, “Green Land”? Perhaps the climate was milder then, or perhaps Eric had the sense of humor of a noble troll.
When Leif grew up, the hereditary passion for long roads and conquests captured him too. And the journey was inspired by the story of Bjarni Herjulfson, who once saw a mysterious land in the west...
Leif equips the ship and presumably sets off in the year 1000. Erikson's discoveries included Baffin Island, the coast of Newfoundland and the Labrador Peninsula, however, these are scientists' versions, because Erik himself gave the lands other names. He was the first European to discover America.
Ericsson and his discovery have not been forgotten. Every year October 9th is Ericsson Day in the USA. In 1887, a monument to Ericsson was erected in Boston. In Reykjavik, there is a monument to him with the inscription on the pedestal: “Discoverer of America.” There are sculptures of the discoverer in Seattle and St. Paul. The legendary Viking has become the hero of modern films, games, manga, rock music and literature.
… And others
There are other discoverers whose stories are little substantiated. One is a brave Irishman, Holy Father Brendan of Clonfert the Navigator, so nicknamed for his tireless search for an overseas Eden. 
Wikimedia Commons/Colin Park ()
In 530 (presumably) he once again equipped an expedition to the west. During it, the team landed on a huge fish, mistaking it for an island, and lit a fire. The fish woke up and rushed into the depths of the sea. The travelers miraculously escaped and still reached some island of the Blessed...
We don’t know what is true or fiction in this story. But Columbus, for example, also looked in that direction for Paradise, which is located on a cone-shaped outgrowth of the Earth. From somewhere in the culture of Europeans did a myth about a paradise land to the west appear?
It is likely that there were other discoverers whose names have not been preserved by history. Or she hid it safely until the time comes.
