On August 3, 1492, the first expedition of the navigator Christopher Columbus began, discovering new lands for Europeans.
Born in Genoa, Columbus became a sailor at an early age, sailing Mediterranean Sea on merchant ships. Then he settled in Portugal. Under the Portuguese flag he sailed north to England and Ireland, walked along west coast Africa to the Portuguese trading post of São Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana). He was engaged in trade, mapping and self-education. During this period, Columbus had the idea of reaching India by a western route through the Atlantic Ocean.
At that time, many Western European countries were looking for sea routes to the countries of South and East Asia, which were then united under the common name “India”. From these countries, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and expensive silk fabrics came to Europe. Traders from Europe could not penetrate Asian countries by land, since Turkish conquests cut off traditional merchant connections with the East through the Mediterranean Sea. They were forced to purchase Asian goods from Arab merchants. Therefore, the Europeans were interested in finding a sea route to Asia, which would allow them to purchase Asian goods without intermediaries. In the 1480s, the Portuguese tried to circumnavigate Africa to penetrate Indian Ocean to India.
Columbus suggested that one could get to Asia by moving west through Atlantic Ocean. His theory was based on the ancient doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth and the incorrect calculations of 15th century scientists who believed globe significantly smaller in size, and also underestimated the real extent of the Atlantic Ocean from west to east.
Between 1483 and 1484, Columbus tried to interest the Portuguese King João II with his plan for an expedition to Asia by the western route. The monarch handed over his project for examination to the scientists of the "Mathematical Junta" (Lisbon Academy of Astronomy and Mathematics). Experts recognized Columbus's calculations as "fantastic", and the king refused Columbus.
Having received no support, Columbus set off for Spain in 1485. There, at the beginning of 1486, he was presented to the royal court and received an audience with the king and queen of Spain - Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. The royal couple became interested in the project of the Western route to Asia. A special commission was created to consider it, which in the summer of 1487 issued an unfavorable conclusion, but the Spanish monarchs postponed the decision to organize the expedition until the end of the war they waged with the Emirate of Granada (the latter Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula).
In the fall of 1488, Columbus visited Portugal, where he again proposed his project to John II, but was again refused and returned to Spain.
In 1489, he tried unsuccessfully to interest the regent of France, Anne de Beaujeu, and two Spanish dukes in the idea of sailing to the west.
In January 1492, unable to withstand a long siege by Spanish troops, Granada fell. After long negotiations, the Spanish monarchs, overriding the objections of their advisers, agreed to subsidize Columbus's expedition.
On April 17, 1492, the royal couple entered into a treaty (“capitulation”) with him in Santa Fe, granting him the title of nobility, the titles of admiral of the Sea-Ocean, viceroy and governor-general of all the islands and continents that he would discover. The title of admiral gave Columbus the right to rule in disputes arising in matters of trade, the position of viceroy made him the personal representative of the monarch, and the position of governor general provided the highest civil and military authority. Columbus was given the right to receive a tenth of everything found in the new lands and an eighth of the profits from trading operations with foreign goods.
The Spanish Crown pledged to finance most of expenses of the expedition. Italian merchants and financiers gave part of the funds for it to the navigator.
He named the island San Salvador (St. Savior), and its inhabitants - Indians, believing that he was off the coast of India.
However, there is still ongoing debate about Columbus's first landing site. For a long time (1940-1982), Watling Island was considered San Salvador. In 1986, American geographer George Judge processed all the collected materials on a computer and came to the conclusion: the first American land Columbus saw was the island of Samana (120 km southeast of Watling).
On October 14-24, Columbus approached several more Bahamian islands. Having learned from the natives about the existence of a rich island in the south, the ships left the Bahamian archipelago on October 24 and sailed further to the southwest. On October 28, Columbus landed on the northeastern coast of Cuba, which he named “Juana.” After this, the Spaniards, inspired by the stories of the natives, spent a month searching for the golden island of Baneque (modern Great Inagua).
On November 21, the captain of the Pinta, Martin Pinson, took his ship away, deciding to search for this island on his own. Having lost hope of finding Baneke, Columbus with the two remaining ships turned east and on December 5 reached the northwestern tip of the island of Bohio (modern Haiti), to which he gave the name Hispaniola ("Spanish"). Moving along north coast Hispaniola, the expedition on December 25 approached the Holy Cape (modern Cap-Haïtien), where the Santa Maria ran aground and sank, but the crew escaped. By using local residents They managed to remove guns, supplies and valuable cargo from the ship. From the wreckage of the ship they built a fort - the first European settlement in America, named "Navidad" ("Christmas town") on the occasion of the Christmas holiday.
The loss of the ship forced Columbus to leave part of the crew (39 people) in the established settlement and set off on the Niña on the return journey. For the first time in the history of navigation, on his orders, Indian hammocks were adapted for sailor berths. To prove that he had reached a part of the world previously unknown to Europeans, Columbus took with him seven captive islanders, strange bird feathers and the fruits of plants unknown in Europe. Having visited open islands, the Spaniards saw corn, tobacco, and potatoes for the first time.
On January 4, 1493, Columbus set out to sea on the Niña and sailed east along the northern coast of Hispaniola. Two days later he met "Pinta". On January 16, both ships headed northeast, taking advantage of a passing current - the Gulf Stream. On February 12, a storm arose, and on the night of February 14, the ships lost sight of each other. At dawn on February 15, the sailors saw land, and Columbus determined that he was near the Azores. On February 18, "Nina" managed to land on the shore of one of the islands - Santa Maria.
On February 24, Niña left the Azores. Two days later she was again caught in a storm, which washed her ashore on the coast of Portugal on March 4. On March 9, the Niña dropped anchor in the port of Lisbon. The team needed a break, and the ship needed repairs. King John II gave Columbus an audience, at which the navigator informed him of his discovery of the western route to India. On March 13, "Nina" was able to sail to Spain. On March 15, 1493, on the 225th day of the voyage, the ship returned to the Spanish port of Palos. On the same day, “Pinta” arrived there.
King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile gave Columbus a ceremonial welcome and, in addition to previously promised privileges, gave him permission for a new expedition.
During his first voyage, Columbus discovered America, which he mistook for East Asia and called the West Indies. Europeans first set foot on the islands Caribbean Sea— Juan (Cuba) and Hispaniol (Haiti). As a result of the expedition, the width of the Atlantic Ocean became reliably known, the Sargasso Sea was discovered, the flow of ocean water from west to east was established, and the incomprehensible behavior of the magnetic compass needle was noted for the first time. The political resonance of Columbus's voyage was the "papal meridian": chapter catholic church established a demarcation line in the Atlantic, indicating to rival Spain and Portugal different directions for the discovery of new lands.
In 1493-1504, Columbus made three more voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of which he discovered part of the Lesser Antilles and the coast of South and Central America. The navigator died in 1506, fully confident that the lands he discovered were part of the Asian continent, and not a new continent.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
America is a part of the world whose official discovery is credited to Columbus, but its history is full of dark spots.
The modern United States plays a key role in political strife and has a serious influence on other countries and the world economy. But the way is so high level was long and thorny. It all started with the discovery of America.
Christopher Columbus was a Spanish navigator who discovered two new continents for Europeans. He made 4 expeditions, each of which was sent by kings, hoping to find a short trade route with India.
The first expedition consisted of three ships with a total complement of 91 people. She ended up on the island of San Salvador on October 12, 1492.
The second expedition, consisting of 17 ships and 1,500 people, lasted from 1493 to 1496. During this time, Columbus discovered Dominica, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and about 20 more Lesser Antilles. In June, he already reported to the government about his amazing findings.
The third expedition, which included 6 ships, set off in 1498, and two years later returned to their native shores. Several more lands were discovered, including Trinidad, Margarita, the Araya and Paria peninsulas.
The last expedition, sailing in 1502, included 4 ships. Within two years, the islands of Martinique, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica were discovered. Columbus was wrecked near Jamaica, and help arrived only a year later. The travelers arrived in their native Castile in November 1504.
Date when America was discovered - Vikings in 1000
Erik the Red was known as a great Viking. His son, Leif Erikson, was the first to set foot on American soil. After spending the winter in its vastness, Erickson and his expedition returned to Greenland. This happened around the year 1000.
Two years later, brother Torvald Erikson, the second son of Erik the Red, founded his settlement on the territory discovered by his brother. Less than a month later, his men were attacked by local Indians, killing Thorvald and forcing the others to return home.
Subsequently, Erik the Red's daughter Freydis and his daughter-in-law Gudrid also tried to conquer new spaces. The latter even managed to trade with the Indians, offering various goods. But the Viking settlement was never able to survive in America for more than 10 years, despite constant attempts.
When did Amerigo Vespucci discover America?
Amerigo Vespucci, after whom, according to some historians, the continents are named, first visited the New World as a navigator. The route of Alonso de Ojeda's expedition was chosen using a map created by Christopher Columbus. Along with him, Amerigo Vespucci took about a hundred slaves who were indigenous to America.
Vespucci visited new territory twice more - in 1501-1502 and from 1503 to 1504. If the Spaniard Christopher wanted to stock up on gold, then the Florentine Amerigo wanted to discover as many new lands as possible in order to gain fame and preserve his name in history.
What does Wikipedia say about the dates of the discovery of America?
The famous Wikipedia talks about the discovery of the American continents in unprecedented detail. In the vastness of the world encyclopedia you can find information about all the expeditions to the New World, about each of the possible discoverers, and the further history of the Indians.
Wikipedia names the date of the discovery of America as October 12, 1492, speaking about Christopher Columbus.
It was he who managed not only to discover new territories, but to capture them on his map. Amerigo Vespucci was able to provide Europeans with a more complete picture of what the continents look like. Although his “complete” map was significantly different from the modern one.
In what year after the discovery did the settlement of America begin?
The settlement of American soil began many thousands of years before its official discovery. It is believed that the ancestors of the Indians were the Eskimos, Inuits, and Aleuts. The Vikings, as you know, also tried to take over the territories of the New World. But they failed - the indigenous people protected it too zealously.
After the discoveries of Columbus and Vespucci, almost 50 years passed before the first European settlements appeared.
In the American city of St. Augustine, the first small Spanish settlement was organized in 1565.
In 1585, the first British colony of Roanoke was created, which was destroyed by the Indians. The next attempt by the British was a colony in Virginia, which appeared in 1607.
And finally, the first colony in New England was the settlement located in Plymouth in 1620. This year is recognized as the official date of colonization of the New World.
Possible discoverers before Christopher Columbus
There are many people on the list of possible discoverers. Historians cannot find reliable facts about this, but there are sources indicating that the information is still correct.
Among the hypothetical discoverers it is worth highlighting:
- Phoenicians - 370 BC;
- ancient Egyptians;
- Hui Shen, who was Buddhist monk who made the first, as it turned out, trip around the world - 5th century;
- Irish monk Brendan, who followed in the footsteps of Shen - 6th century;
- Malay Sultan Abubakar II - 1330;
- Chinese explorer Zheng He - 1420;
- Portuguese Joao Corterial - 1471.
These people had pure intentions, did not seek fame and gold, and therefore did not tell the general public about their discovery. They were not trying to bring evidence or enslave Native Americans. Perhaps that is why their names are not familiar to most contemporaries, and the more cruel and gold-hungry Christopher Columbus is indicated as the discoverer of the new land.
The fate of the Native Americans
The history of the discovery of America is presented in modern history as a joyful event that laid the foundation for a new nation of “emigrants.” But it also became a nightmare for many Indians, who had to endure unspeakable horrors created by the conquerors.
The Spaniards killed several thousand native Americans and took several hundred into slavery. They made fun of the Indians and killed them with extreme cruelty, not even sparing babies. The “Whites” who arrived on the new lands sprinkled them with blood, reducing the joyful discovery to a bloody massacre.
One of those who observed the fate of the Indians, the priest Bartolome de Las Casas, who arrived with Columbus, tried to protect the Indians, even went to the Spanish court in the hope of their pardon. As a result, the court decided whether it was worth calling the Indians people at all, whether they had a soul.
The negative attitude is explained by the fact that Columbus left his crew to look after the New World and went home. When he returned, he saw all his people dead. As it turned out, the Spaniards became impudent, beating the men and raping the women of the tribe, as well as killing the rebellious. The Indians, who initially considered the “whites” to be gods, quickly realized how things were and began to defend themselves. This is what led to further tragic incidents.
In any case, the discovery of America- a worthy event, which today is considered one of the loudest in the history of civilization.
Despite the fact that the famous navigator was able to discover America with the help of the Spanish king, he himself was from Italy. His early years were spent on the Apennine Peninsula. He was born in Genoa in 1451 and educated at the University of Pavia. From birth he lived near the sea and decided to devote himself to travel. The point is also that the years of life of Christopher Columbus fell on the era geographical discoveries, when Europeans left the Mediterranean Sea and began to look for a way to India.
The beginning of navigation
Christian governments financed sailors in order to gain access to expensive resources. Even before Columbus, Portuguese explorers traveled east along the coast of Africa. In the 70s, Christopher decided to find a way to a distant country via the Western route. According to his calculations, it was necessary to go in this direction along the latitude Canary Islands, after which it will be possible to reach the shores of Japan.
At this time he lived in Portugal, which was the center of all European navigation. He took part in an expedition to Guinea, where the Elmina fortress was built in 1481. At the same time, the ambitious explorer visited England, Iceland and Ireland, where he learned about local legends about Vinland. This is what the Vikings called the land they discovered in ancient times. These were the shores North America. Because there were no strong ties between pagan Scandinavia and Christian Europe in the Middle Ages, this discovery went unnoticed.
Organizing a trip to the west
Many years of Christopher Columbus's life were spent trying to convince various governments or merchants to finance his planned expedition to the west. At first he tried to find a common language with merchants from his native Genoa, but they refused to risk their money. In 1483, the project was placed on the desk of John II. He also rejected the risky idea.
After this failure, Christopher left for Spain. There he managed to enlist the support of local dukes, who brought him together with the king and queen. Formally, Spain did not yet exist. Instead, there were two states - Castile and Aragon. The marriage of their rulers (Ferdinand and Isabella) allowed the two crowns to be united into one. The couple gave an audience to the navigator. A commission was appointed to evaluate the costs and how justified it was for the treasury. The first results were disappointing for Columbus. He was refused and asked to reconsider the project. Then he tried to negotiate with the king of England and Portugal (once again).
Treaty with Spain
In 1492, Spain captured Granada and ended the Reconquista, the expulsion of Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula. The king and queen were again freed from political issues and took up Columbus's expedition. The decisive word was given by Isabella, who even agreed to pawn all her personal treasures and jewelry in order to provide ships and provisions. The navigator was promised that he would become viceroy of all those lands that he would discover. He was also immediately given the title of nobleman and Admiral of the Sea-Ocean.
In addition to the authorities, Columbus was helped by the shipowner Martin Alonso Pinzon, who offered one of his ships (Pinta). The first expedition also included the carrack "Santa Maria" and the ship "Nina". In total, a team of one hundred people was involved.
First expedition
The years of Christopher Columbus's life were not wasted. He could finally realize his old dream. Many details of his first trip to the west are known to us thanks to the ship's log, which he kept every day. These invaluable records were preserved thanks to the fact that the priest Bartolomé de las Casas made a copy of the papers a few years later.
On August 3, 1492, the ships left Spanish harbor. On September 16, the Sargasso Sea was discovered. On October 13, the ships found themselves in the way of unknown land. Columbus entered the island and planted the banner of Castile on it. It was named San Salvador. Here the Spaniards first saw tobacco, cotton, maize and potatoes.
With the help of the natives, Columbus learned about the existence of a large island, which was located somewhat to the south. It was Cuba. At that time, the expedition still believed that it was somewhere in East Asia. Pieces of gold were found in the possession of some of the Aboriginal people, which inspired the team to continue searching for the treasure.
Further discoveries
Second expedition
Even before this, the second voyage of Christopher Columbus began. This time there were already 17 ships under his command. This is not surprising, because the admiral now enjoyed the great favor of the king, queen and numerous Spanish feudal lords, who willingly began to give him money for travel.
The second voyage of Christopher Columbus differed from the first also in the composition of the crew. This time there were not only sailors on the ships. Monks and missionaries were added to them in order to baptize the local peoples. Also, officials and nobles took their place and had to organize the life of a permanent colony in the west.
After only 20 days of travel, Dominica and Guadeloupe were discovered, where the Caribs lived, distinguished by their aggressive attitude towards peaceful neighbors. The first clash with them occurred on the shores of the island of Santa Cruz. At the same time, the Virginia Archipelago and Puerto Rico were discovered.
Colonization of the islands
The team wanted to reach the sailors left in Haiti during the first expedition. Only corpses and remains were found at the site of the fort. The forts of La Isabela and Santo Domingo were founded at the same time. Meanwhile, in Spain, the government decided to transfer the exclusive rights of Columbus to another navigator - Amerigo Vespucci. Christopher, having learned about this, went to Europe to prove that he was right. At the royal court, he declared that he had already reached Asia (in fact it was Cuba). Christopher Columbus also briefly talked about the fact that there is definitely gold there and now in new expeditions it is possible to use the labor of prisoners for great economic benefit.
Third expedition
Thus began the third expedition of Christopher Columbus. In 1498, his ships rounded Haiti and went south, where, according to the captain’s ideas, there should be gold mines. This is how the mouth of what is now Venezuela was discovered. Having completed this voyage, the expedition returned to Haiti (Hispaniola), where the local colonists had already committed a riot. They did not like that they were given little land. Then it was decided to allow local Indians to be taken into slavery and to increase personal holdings.
However, this did not solve the main problem set by the discoveries of Christopher Columbus. Gold still did not arrive in Spain. Meanwhile, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama was able to reach the real India. In accordance with the treaty with Castile, he circumnavigated Africa and ended up in the long-awaited country. From there he brought expensive spices to Portugal that were not available in Europe. They were worth their weight in gold.
The Spanish government, realizing that it was losing the ocean race to its neighbor, decided to revoke Columbus's monopoly on exploration. He himself was returned to Europe in chains.
Fourth expedition
The story of Christopher Columbus could have ended very badly if during his successful expeditions he had not acquired many influential friends - magnates and nobles. They persuaded King Ferdinand to give the navigator another chance and go on a fourth voyage.
This time Columbus decided to go due west, passing numerous islands. So he discovered the coast of modern Central America - Honduras and Panama. It became clear that the Atlantic Ocean was enclosed by a certain vast territory. On September 12, 1503, Columbus left the islands he discovered forever and returned to Spain. There he became seriously ill.
Death and the meaning of discoveries
From that moment on, discoveries were made by other navigators, not Christopher Columbus. America has become a magnet for numerous adventurers and those wishing to get rich. Meanwhile, the life of Christopher Columbus was complicated by illness. He died on May 20, 1506, aged 54. This loss went virtually unnoticed in Spain. The value of Columbus's discoveries became clear only several decades later, when the conquistadors discovered gold in America. This allowed Spain to enrich itself and become the most influential European monarchy for several centuries.
Hello, hello! Today is the time of great geographical discoveries, and I want to talk about Columbus.
Christopher Columbus, whose biography is very fascinating, will help us better imagine the history of the discovery of America.
We will consider all his expeditions to the New World with the most interesting details.
(1451 - 1506) - the great Spanish navigator of Italian origin. He made four transatlantic expeditions to America.
Columbus was born in the Italian Republic of Genoa. His family included three younger brothers (Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino and Giacomo), as well as a younger sister (Bianchinetta).
Bartolomeo and Giacomo took part in Columbus's expeditions to the new world after 1492 and were called Bartolome and Diego in Spanish. Christopher Columbus became a sailor very early and sailed in the Mediterranean Sea on merchant ships in 1474 and 1475. from Genoa to Chios.
In May 1476, Columbus, as clerk of a Genoese trading house, went to Portugal, where he lived for 9 years.
Columbus sailed to Ireland and England, and possibly Iceland, under the Portuguese flag. He also visited the Canary Islands and Madeira and traveled along the west coast of Africa to the Portuguese trading post of São Jorjima Mina (modern Ghana).
In Portugal he married and became a member of a mixed Italian-Portuguese family. He soon suggested that by moving west one could arrive in Asia.
Columbus, around 1483, tried to interest the Portuguese King John II with his plan for an expedition to Asia by the western route. But the king, for unknown reasons, refused Columbus.
Columbus left Portugal in 1485 and decided to try his luck in Spain. Early in 1486, while the royal court was in Alcala de Enaresi, Columbus received an audience with the king and queen.
Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband King Ferdinand of Aragon became interested in Columbus's project.
They assured Columbus that they could support him after the end of the long war to liberate Granada from the Moors.
While he was waiting for the end of the war, he met a young woman, Beatriz Enriquez de Arana. Despite the fact that they were never married, their son Hernando (Fernando) was born in 1488.
During Columbus's fourth voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Fernando accompanied him. He later wrote a biography of his father.
During the taxation of Granada in January 1492, he was invited to the court. In May, the monarchs agreed to support Columbus's project and promised to award him the title of nobility and the titles of admiral, viceroy and governor general of all the continents and islands that he would discover.
Representatives of the Seville merchants gave money to equip the expedition. The sailors of the port city of Palos, at the request of the monarchs, provided two ships for Columbus's expedition.
These were two caravels: "Pinta" and "Nina". In addition, he chartered a 4-masted sailing ship (NAO), which was named Santa Maria.
Columbus, with the help of the famous sailor Martin Alonso Pinzon, assembled a crew of 90 people. On August 3, 1492, 3 ships left Palos. First, a small flotilla headed for the Canary Islands.
In September 1492, Columbus's expedition repaired its ships and replenished provisions, after which it left the island of La Gomera in the Canary Archipelago and headed west.
Columbus and other pilots used a navigation system that relied on calculating the direction, time and speed of movement while plotting the ship's course and determining its position.
They determined the direction using a compass(more about types of compass), time (about the concept of time) - using an hourglass, and speed - by eye. In his logbook, Columbus kept two systems for calculating distances: one for himself and the other for his crew.
He wasn't trying to fool the team, contrary to legend. On the contrary, he obviously calculated the course first in the units that he learned in Portugal and Italy, and then converted these figures into measurements that were accepted by Spanish navigators.
The journey proceeded calmly, with fair winds and almost no quarrels on the part of the crew. The watchman on the Pinta, J. Rodriguez Bermejo, saw fire ahead at two o'clock on October 12. Ships at dawn, near an island in the archipelago Bahamas, anchored.
The Taino Tubilians called this island Guanahani, and Columbus renamed it San Salvador. Christopher Columbus called the Tubilians Indians, believing that he was in Asia(more about this part of the world).
The flotilla, with the help of the Indians, continued its journey in the waters of the Bahamian archipelago and reached Cuba on October 28.
Columbus spent all this time looking in vain for the rich ports of Asia. Without Columbus's permission, Captain Pinzón left Cuba and went in search of new lands on the Pinta in order to establish trade with the Tubilos.
On the two remaining ships, Columbus headed to a large island, which he called Hispaniola (translated as " Spanish island", now Haiti), and explored its northern coast.
The Santa Maria, due to the fault of a young shift sailor, ran aground on Christmas morning and crashed. Columbus, on the only ship "Nina", reached the shore and for the first time fell asleep in the New World settlement - Fort Navidad, in which he left 39 people.
On January 4, 1493, Columbus prepared to return to Spain on the Niña, and sailed east along the northern coast of Hispaniola. Pinzón soon joined him, and on January 16, Niña and Pinta set sail for Spain.
To prove that he had reached a part of the world previously unknown to Europeans, he took 7 Indians with him. After some time, a fair wind drove his ship to the Azores.
The Spaniards reached the coast of Portugal on March 4, and stopped there to rest and repair ships. Columbus paid a courtesy call to King John II and sailed for Spain on March 13. "Nina" arrived in Palos 2 days later.
Columbus was warmly greeted by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. In addition to the privileges they had promised him earlier, they gave permission for a larger second expedition.
Christopher Columbus assured them that near the islands he discovered there was a rich Asian continent, where he wanted to establish a colony.
Columbus's plans were supported by Ferdinand and Isabella, they provided him with people and ships to go to Hispaniola. The Queen ordered the conversion of the Tuban people to the Christian faith.
Columbus easily found 1,200 people who agreed to go with him as future settlers. On September 25, 1493, a flotilla of 17 ships (including 3 large ships) and on October 2 reached the Canary Islands, and 10 days later went across the Atlantic Ocean.
Columbus landed on one of the Caribbean islands on November 3, and named it Dominica. From there to the Coast of Hispaniola he sailed along the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands.
To the surprise of the arrivals, it turned out that all 39 people left in Navidad in January died (this was mainly due to clashes with the Tubilis).
Columbus, despite this, founded a new settlement, and named it La Isabela in honor of the Queen of Spain (January 1494). Unfortunately, the place for settlement was poorly chosen: there was no nearby fresh water, and he was soon, so they left him.
In addition to searching for gold and determining the location of the ports of the Great Khanate of China, Columbus was engaged in the slave trade.
He and his men, armed with arquebuses, along with horses and fighting dogs, marched through the territory of Hispaniola, exchanging gold, and if they met resistance, they recaptured the gold by force and captured prisoners.
Columbus left his brother Diego to rule Hispaniola. And in the spring of 1494 he himself made an expedition along south coast Cuba, having discovered a number of new islands, including Jamaica.
During Columbus's absence, 3 ships arrived in Hispaniola under the command of his brother Bartolome. He found the colony in a state of chaos.
These ships were captured by a group of disappointed colonists and they fled to their homeland. In March 1495, Columbus began the conquest of Hispaniola using barbaric methods. During this conquest, thousands of Indians were captured or killed.
The Spanish monarchs were upset by this message, and they sent J. Aguado to check the affairs, who, at the end of 1495, confirmed their worst expectations: the mortality rate among the Indians was very high, mainly due to the cruel policies of the colonists.
The number of Europeans, in addition, decreased significantly due to disease and desertion. On March 10, 1496, Columbus set off for Spain, leaving his brother Bartolome in his place in Hispaniola, and on June 11, 1496, he arrived in Cadiz.
Isabella and Ferdinand in 1496 no longer hoped that they would be able to quickly benefit from Columbus's projects.
Columbus, even despite all the accusations of lack of ability to govern, managed to convince the monarchs to give permission to third expedition .
He could use 1 nao and 2 caravels to search for new lands, as well as another 3 caravels to bring new colonists and food to Hispaniola.
Near the island of La Gomera, the flotilla split up and left the mouth of the Guadalquivir on May 30, 1498. 3 ships set a course for Hispaniola.
On the other three ships, Columbus sailed south, reached the Cape Verde Islands and turned west on July 7. On July 31, he discovered the island of Trinidad, and then headed northwest to the shores of America.
Then he discovered a wide delta of some kind of river (in modern Venezuela the Orinoco River), and realized that there was a huge land mass there.
After examining the coast in the Orinoco delta area and discovering the island. Margarita, Columbus went to Hispaniola, where Bartolome and Diego could not restore order.
Isabella and Ferdinand, concerned by Columbus's reports, sent F. de Bobadillo to investigate affairs in the colony.
He quickly assessed the situation, and arrested all three of Christopher Columbus's brothers, confiscated all their money, shackled them, and sent them to Spain in December 1500.
Immediately after their return, Columbus was summoned to Granada. The monarchs convinced the Genoese that they had never ordered him to be kept in chains. However, until September 1501 they delayed the consideration of his applications for the renewal of rights.
Ferdinand and Isabella returned all property and part of the titles to Columbus, but did not retain any powers of authority. Also, the monarchs did not give their consent to a new expedition for a long time. They began to create a new structure for governing the colonies, and N. de Ovando was appointed governor of Hispaniola.
In February 1502, Ovando sailed to the Caribbean in 30 ships with a large group of settlers.
New expedition Columbus was allowed to lead only in March 1502. The flotilla of Columbus's fourth expedition consisted of 4 small caravels.
On May 11, 1502, the admiral, who was 51 years old, and his 13-year-old son Hernando sailed from Cadiz on the flagship.
On May 25 they left the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic and on June 15 reached the island that Columbus named Martinique.
The flotilla reached Hispaniola on June 29, passing along the islands of the Antilles archipelago. Columbus and his companions soon made a new journey, which took place mainly along the coast of Central America.
The admiral no longer believed that he was in Asia. On the territory of modern Panama lived the Guay Indians, who traded gold with the members of the expedition, but they opposed all the ways of the Europeans to establish a settlement.
Guayami forced the Spaniards to leave the Central American coast in May 1503. One of the ships sank at sea, and the remaining three ships barely stayed afloat.
Columbus left another ship, and then went to Jamaica, near the shores of which the ships ran aground.
Columbus spent a whole year in Jamaica until a ship from Hispaniola rescued him at the end of June 1504. Only in November 1504 Columbus was able to return to Spain.
Columbus died on May 21, 1506 spanish city Valladolidi. He died without knowing that he was the discoverer of the New World.
In 1513, his coffin was transported to Seville, and then, around 1542, it was reburied in the cathedral of the city of Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic).
Yes, the process of discovery and exploration of the New World by colonists was so interesting and complex. And Christopher Columbus helped us get acquainted with this, whose biography told us everything🙂
Such an event as the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus is now of little interest to anyone, but just a few centuries ago America itself did not exist for Europeans at all.
No one could have imagined that beyond their narrow little world there was a huge world inhabited by large nations, a developed culture and a mass of monuments of ancient history.
Today America is the center of development of our world, where people from all over the planet flock, the best scientists, programmers, and simply active people who want to realize the American dream in their lives. And this is one of the most important reasons, why it is worth knowing more about the discovery of this continent.
North America is interesting to study from a historical perspective, not only because it is unique and fascinating in its own way, but also in order to better understand its people, established values and culture.
It was the colonialist status of this powerful power that at one time became the incentive that forced it to actively develop and turn into what we see now. And it fell to the great traveler Columbus to discover this continent full of beauty and secrets.
Who discovered America first
We all know the stories about the travels of the great man Columbus, who, together with his crew, fearlessly sailed the oceans in search of new places to spread the power of his country. This man acted both from the will of his leadership and the country, and was driven by personal interests, the desire to move and discover new things.
Amerigo Vespucci (1454 - 1512)
But not everyone knows that Columbus was not the first to discover America, since another equally legendary traveler managed to do it before him.
America got its name in honor famous traveler of his time - Amerigo Vespucci. This resident of Florence, born in 1454, set out under the leadership of Admiral Alonso de Ojeda as a navigator to conquer unprecedented lands.
It was he who gave Venezuela its current name, which means “little Venice,” and also discovered dozens of other places, which later largely retained the names given to them. It is interesting that Vespucci most likely was personally acquainted with the Spanish traveler Columbus; their acquaintance probably took place in the trading house of Danoto Berardi.
The discoverer Vespucci did not go unnoticed, and it was in honor of his discoveries that the lands of the New Overseas World were later named America.
What then did Columbus discover?
If it was Vespucci who discovered the continents of America, which is reflected even in its name, then what are the merits of the famous Columbus, why is he considered the discoverer of this region of the world?
Many travelers reached the shores of the New World before Columbus, but the problem with their travels was that they did not leave behind any clear and structured information. The heritage of the travels of Christopher's predecessors remained in the shadows, few knew about them, and that part of the world still remained distant and mysterious.
Columbus himself, starting from 1499 and later, in his further voyages not only reached the shores of the Western Hemisphere, but collected a lot of information about the countries and islands located there.
It was he who opened these places to a wide range of Europeans and launched mass travel and migration to this region, beginning a century of great change and transformation of the whole world.
When and how America was discovered by Christopher Columbus
The discovery of America is a collective concept that includes many events, and not just some found most big island or a country on a continent.
It is believed that the discoverer discovered the New World in 1492, during his first expedition there. At this time, Spanish ships reached Haiti, Caribbean Islands, visited the Bahamas archipelago, as well as Cuba.
The first island that travelers met in America was San Salvador, where they landed in the memorable year 1492.
This expedition, like the three subsequent ones, was organized by the Spanish king with the goal of finding shorter routes to India, with which increasingly close trade relations were being established at that time. But fate turned out differently, and the sailors’ path went to the shores of completely new lands.
Columbus's four expeditions - a brief history of the discovery of America
In total, Columbus, together with other brave sailors, made 4 expeditions to the shores of Novaya Zemlya. Thanks to these visits, a lot of new islands, countries and regions appeared on the map, many of which still have the names that the sailors of the past assigned to them.
The first trip took place in 1492-1493, there were 91 people on 3 ships, the places visited at that time have already been mentioned above. The sailors returned home on March 15, 1943.
The next, 2nd journey, took place in 1493-1496. The navigator was already in the rank of admiral and, in addition to this, also the viceroy of the open lands. Now a team of one and a half thousand people and 17 ships was faced with the task of gaining a foothold in new lands and thoroughly exploring them. This time we managed to discover the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Pinos, and delve significantly into the study of Haiti.
The third time the journey lasted 2 years (1498-1500) and this voyage made it possible to study even better New World. The islands of Trinidad and the Paria Peninsula were discovered, and the development of not only the lands of the present USA began, but also South America. The peninsulas of Margarita and Araya were also found, and many studies were carried out.
The last, 4th voyage of Columbus took place in 1502-1504. This time, the brave discoverer of new lands reached the Caribbean shores, visiting Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama. In 1503, trouble happened - a sailor's ship was wrecked near Jamaica.
Columbus's travel routes on the map
To clearly see the journey that the brave traveler from Europe took with his team, just look at the routes of all 4 expeditions shown on the map. IN general outline the features of the route of each new voyage are clear from the list of new lands discovered, but for greater clarity you can use the following image:
Official discovery date of America
As mentioned above, the official date of the discovery of America is considered to be 1492, when the very first expedition of the great European sailor took place.
There are many stories that indirectly indicate that the coast of America was first discovered not by Columbus or Vespucci, but by many other explorers and even representatives of the Viking people.
But the official date of discovery is exactly 1492, because it was not just a discovery on the map, but also the discovery of the countries of the New World as a cultural phenomenon, the beginning of an endless flow of emigrants and the establishment of trade and economic ties.
The fact that it was Christopher Columbus who took upon himself the great glory of being considered a discoverer is, in a way, a stroke of fate, but not just something that fell on one’s head, but given as a reward for courage, activity and lack of fear of trials and distant journeys.
The significance of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
Obviously, the discovery of the New World for Europe in the form of North and South America became a grandiose event of its time and set the vector for the development of an entire world civilization for hundreds of years to come.
Thanks to these events, the United States emerged, at first frail and mired in internal conflicts, populated by incomprehensible personalities and adventurers, and later quickly transformed into an advanced country that fought slavery, created the most powerful dollar currency, and shifted progress in science and technology to new horizons.
The event in question has become extremely important both for Europe and America, and for the whole world. It is difficult to imagine what the current civilization, economic and political maps worlds, if not for the presence at one time of a Spanish daredevil, who, for the sake of the call of honor and a reckless desire for adventure, would not have gone to conquer the Atlantic Ocean.
