He discovered America. The mysterious name of the continent. The fate of the natives of America
What Christopher Columbus did, you will learn from this article.
What did Christopher Columbus discover? Discoveries of Christopher Columbus
The navigator is the most mysterious person era of the Great Geographical Discoveries and travels. His life is full of mysteries, dark spots, inexplicable coincidences and deeds. And all because mankind became interested in the navigator 150 years after his death - important documents already lost, and the life of Columbus remained fanned with speculation and gossip. Plus, Columbus himself hid his origin (for unknown reasons), the motives of his actions and thoughts. The only thing that is known is 1451 - the year of his birth and the place of birth - the Republic of Genoa.
He made 4 expeditions, which were supplied by the Spanish king:
- The first expedition - 1492-1493.
- The second expedition - 1493-1496.
- The third expedition - 1498 - 1500.
- The fourth expedition - 1502 - 1504.
During four expeditions, the navigator discovered many new territories and two seas - Sargasso and Caribbean.
Lands discovered by Christopher Columbus
It is interesting that all the time the navigator thought that he had discovered India, and behind it he would find rich Japan and China. But it wasn't. He owns the discovery and exploration of the New World. The islands discovered by Christopher Columbus are the Bahamas and Antilles, Saman, Haiti and Dominica, Lesser Antilles, Cuba and Trinidad, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe and Margarita. He is the discoverer of the lands of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and also north coast South America and Caribbean Central America.
Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
But the most important thing is that during his expedition Christopher Columbus discovered America. It happened on October 12, 1492, when he landed on the island of San Salvador.
And it all started like this: on August 3, 1492, the expedition of the European navigator, consisting of the ships Santa Maria, Nina and Pinta, set out on a long journey. In September, the Sargasso Sea was discovered. They walked along German for three weeks. On October 7, 1492, the Columbus team changes its course to the southwest, believing that they missed Japan, which they so wanted to discover. After 5 days, the expedition stumbled upon an island named by Christopher Columbus in honor of the savior of Christ San Salvador. This date - October 12, 1492 is considered the official day of the discovery of America.
A day later, Columbus landed and hoisted the Castilian banner. Thus, he formally became the owner of the island. Having explored the nearby islands, the navigator sincerely believed that these were the vicinity of Japan, India and China. First time open lands called the West Indies. Christopher Columbus returned to Spain on March 15, 1493 on the ship Nina. As a gift to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, he brought gold, natives, plants unprecedented to Europeans - potatoes, corn, tobacco, as well as bird feathers and fruits.
We hope that from this article you have learned what discoveries of Christopher Columbus became famous all over the world.
Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. 1492. (briefly)
The first landing of Christopher Columbus on the shores of the New World: in San Salvador, Wisconsin, October 12, 1492.
Spanish artist Tolin Puebla Theophilus Dioscorus (1831-901)
Date of: 1492
"Old World" called the area of the Earth known to Europeans before the discovery of America. It included Europe, Asia and Africa. "New World"- this is America.
Discovery of America- this is the name of the event, as a result of which the inhabitants of the Old World learned about the existence of America - the New World.
From the history:
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506). Genoese. Navigator, Spanish admiral.
Columbus made 4 expeditions. America was discovered as a result of the first expedition. The king of Spain of this period is Ferdinand, the queen is Isabella (she supported H. Columbus).
1st expedition- 1492-1493
Vessel: "Santa Maria", "Pinta", "Nina".
Route: Palos da la Flonter, a city in Spain - Canary Islands - crossing the Atlantic ocean-island San Salvador in the Bohamian Archipelago (12 October 1492 - the official date of the discovery of America) - Cuba is an island Haiti - Castile (Italy)
H. Columbus himself believed that opened the way to Asia, calling the land the West Indies, and the inhabitants - the Indians.
In Spain, H. Columbus was met with great honors. The king appointed him "admiral of the sea - ocean", the viceroy of those lands that he discovered and will open in the future.
Ironically, the discoveries of the lands did not give Columbus wealth. He died in poverty, forgotten by everyone.
During the expedition 1501-1502. Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci came to the conclusion that Columbus dug new mainland. In 1507 appeared on the map new earth, conditionally called "Land of Amerigo", later America.
Events in the history of Russia of this period:
Period of government IvanaIII (1462-1505)
1492-1494 - successful war with Lithuania, annexation of Vyazma and other cities.
Material prepared: Melnikova Vera Alexandrovna
There are many accidental discoveries in history, when the discoverers sought a completely different goal. Most a prime example-discovery of America by Columbus, made during the search sea route to India.
It all started with the idea of sailing to India along a new route - the Atlantic Ocean. Her Christopher Columbus first offered Portugal: however, King Juan II did not approve of the navigator's plan.
An Italian by birth, Columbus went to Spain. Here, not far from Palos, in one of the monasteries, a familiar monk was found. He helped Columbus get an audience with Queen Isabella. After listening to the navigator, she instructed the scientific council to discuss the project. The council consisted mainly of people who bore the clergy.
Columbus prepared a vivid report. He talked about how the ancient scientists proved that the Earth is a sphere. Showed a copy of the map compiled by the famous Italian astronomer Toscanelli. On it, the Atlantic Ocean was covered with a mass of islands, behind which one could see the eastern coast of Asia. He remembered the legends that there is a land beyond the ocean, from which tree trunks sometimes sail by sea, obviously processed by people. Columbus, who was well educated and spoke four languages, managed to win over the members of the council to his side.
In addition, interest Spanish crown had other reasons.
In a country that had just survived the capture of Granada and the Reconquista, the economy was in a deplorable state. There was no money in the treasury, many nobles went bankrupt. If Columbus' voyage succeeded, it could help make a difference. Columbus received the status of viceroy of all the lands that would be open - and set off on his way.
First expedition
The first expedition began on August 3, 1492 in the port of Palos. The flotilla included 3 caravels (“Santa Maria”, “Pinta”, “Nina”), on which there were 90 people. First, the ships went to Canary Islands from where they turned west. On the way, the Sargasso Sea was discovered, where green algae grew in amazing abundance.
It took 2 months before the team saw land. On the night of October 12, 1492, at two o'clock, the watchman noticed the coast, which was illuminated by flashes of lightning. These were Bahamas, but Columbus believed that he managed to reach India, China or Japan. Therefore, the people who met here were called Indians. And the archipelago was called the West Indies.
The island to which the travelers descended was named San Salvador, which belongs to the American continent. Officially, October 12, 1492 is considered the day of the discovery of America.
Continuing the voyage, the ships reached new islands - Cuba and Haiti. This happened on December 6, and on the 25th the ship "Santa Maria" was aground.
The expedition returned to Spain on March 15, 1493. Natives also arrived on ships, as well as potatoes, tobacco and corn - products unknown in Europe at that time. Columbus was surrounded with honor and given the title of admiral of the sea-ocean, as well as viceroy of the open lands and those that he had yet to find.
Second expedition
During his second voyage, Columbus explored most of the islands caribbean. 17 ships set sail, with 1,500 people on them.
On this journey, Guadeloupe, the islands of Dominica and Jamaica, Antigua and Puerto Rico were discovered. It was on this expedition, without suspecting it, that the navigators reached the coast of a new continent, which is now called Colombia - after the name of Columbus. On June 11, 1496, the Spanish ships returned to their homeland.
Third expedition
The third voyage of Columbus took place in 1498. The flotilla under his command reached the Orinoco Delta. It was the coast of a new unknown mainland. Also, 2 islands were discovered - Trinidad and Margarita, as well as the Paria Peninsula.
In 1500, the Spanish settlers of the New World rebelled against Columbus. He was relieved of his duties as head of the new lands. However, he received permission to go on a new journey.
Fourth expedition
The fourth voyage of Columbus lasted 2 years. From 1502 to 1504, he sailed along a large part of the coast of the new continent, which later became known as Central America.
Four ships traveled a long distance and discovered new islands - Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama. But at the end of June 1503, the ships got into a storm off Jamaica and were wrecked.
Great and unfortunate
Columbus himself did not suspect that he had discovered a new continent. He died believing that all expeditions led to India, and his discovery was the way to India from the west. On the lands that he discovered, there was no gold, there were no spices. This did not bring wealth to either Spain or Columbus himself.
The sailor was poor. All his money that he had, he spent on equipping a rescue expedition to save people on one of the caravels. He died sick and forgotten in 1506.
Who else discovered America
When the navigator and astronomer from Florence Amerigo Vespucci decided to go to the lands discovered by Columbus, he concluded that this was not India, but completely new continent. This happened during the expedition in 1501-1502. He published his thoughts, which became the basis for the creation new card peace in 1507. To Europe, Asia and Africa, another continent was added, which at first bore the name of the land of Amerigo. Later it was transformed into America.
This continent, as it became clear later, was discovered more than once. In 1497, a flotilla of Portuguese ships set off for India, led by Vasco da Gama (1469-1524). 4 ships, on which there were 170 people, left the port of Lisbon in the direction of the cape Good Hope. They went around the cape, reached the mouth of the Zambezi, passed north of Africa, after which they reached the harbor of Malindi. From here, the ships reached the port of Calicut, where they were led by an Arab pilot. This was the opening of the route to India, which took about 10 months.
The meeting in Calicut was cold. After staying there for 3 months, the Portuguese set off on the return journey. The captain decided to sail Indian Ocean, bypassing East Africa. The voyage lasted about a year, but by September 1499, two ships returned to Lisbon, having lost most commands.
History of the Discovery of America
When and who discovered America? The issue remains controversial to this day. Because first you need to decide: what is considered the discovery of America? First proven European visit to the New World? This happened half a millennium before Christopher Columbus (remember the Normans). The first settlement of Europeans on the new mainland arose at the same time. Although the Vikings did not appreciate their discovery…
But so is Columbus! The discovery of America at the end of the Middle Ages is of particular importance: it was from that time that the colonization of the new continent by Europeans began, and then its study. However, uncertainty remains. Consider: in the first two expeditions, Columbus explored only the islands adjacent to the New World. Only in the summer of 1498 did he set foot on the land of South America.
A year earlier, members of the English expedition, led by John Cabot, an Italian by birth, reached North America. And in this case, it was assumed that the "Kingdom of the Great Khan" (China) was discovered. In the spring of next year, the voyage was repeated. But the lack of economic benefits, income from such enterprises cooled the interest of the British in the development of new territories. Scientific achievements should be realized and connected with the expansion of the horizons of knowledge. And here - a complete misunderstanding of the essence of what has been achieved. It is more logical to determine the moment when the truth was first revealed. And then the name of Amerigo Vespucci comes to the fore.
But we must pay tribute to the feat of Columbus and his contribution to the knowledge of the Earth. It was he who obtained the evidence (albeit later significantly refined), received facts confirming the idea of the Earth's sphericity. It is no coincidence that he thought trip around the world and tried to make it happen. Let Columbus imagine the Earth much smaller than it really is. More importantly, not only speculatively, in his imagination, but also really, thanks to his travels, he was convinced of the sphericity and closedness of the earthly space.
And yet, the oceans have turned from a great barrier into great connecting links connecting all the continents and all the peoples of the planet. Conditions have developed for the creation of a single all-terrestrial civilization (“oceanic”, according to the idea of L.I. Mechnikov). In the following centuries, it remained only to develop vehicles and make contacts.
A significant fact: almost at the same time with the entry of Columbus into the land of South America, and Cabot - North, the Portuguese flotilla under the command of Vasco da Gama for the first time reached by sea India. Dozens of years later, the Spanish conquistador Vasco Balboa with a military detachment, having overcome mountain slopes and dense thickets, crossed the Isthmus of Panama and was the first European to visit the shores of the unknown "South Sea".
The World Ocean somehow immediately, almost overnight, submitted to people. Why did it happen? First of all, as a result of the appearance of navigational instruments, which make it possible to navigate on the high seas, as well as geographical maps of lands and oceans. Although the instruments and maps were imperfect, they made it possible to navigate in space, set specific goals and pave the way to them.
Christopher Columbus
Amerigo Vespucci was a fairly experienced helmsman and cartographer, he knew navigation; last years life was the chief pilot of Castile (he checked the knowledge of ship helmsmen, supervised the compilation of maps, was engaged in compiling secret reports to the government on new geographical discoveries). He took part in one of the first expeditions to reach " southern mainland”(as South America was originally called) and, perhaps, the first to realize the essence of achievement. In other words, he made a scientific theoretical discovery, while Columbus practically discovered new lands.
At the time of Amerigo, his letter was allegedly printed, which reported on his visit to the southern mainland as early as 1497, that is, before Columbus. But this is not documented. It looks like nothing like that ever happened. But Amerigo's non-involvement in such misunderstandings is beyond doubt. He did not claim the laurels of the discoverer and did not try to assert his priority. This was affected by the popularization of knowledge and the spread of printing.
In Europe, reports of new lands and peoples were in great demand. People understood all the greatness of the deeds performed, their enormous significance for the future. Printing houses promptly printed messages about travels to the west. One of them appeared in 1503 in Italy and France: a small pamphlet entitled " New World". The preface says that it has been translated from Italian into Latin, “so that all educated people know how many wonderful discoveries have been made these days, how many unknown worlds discovered and how rich they are.
The book was a great success with readers. It is written vividly, interestingly, truthfully. It reports (in the form of a letter to Vespucci) about sailing in the summer of 1501 on behalf of the King of Portugal across the stormy Atlantic to the shores of the Unknown Land. It is not called Asia, but the New World.
A little later, another message was published about the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci. And in the end, a collection appeared, including stories by various authors about the voyages of Columbus, Vasco da Gama and some other travelers. The compiler of the collection came up with a catchy title that intrigues readers: "The New World and New Countries Discovered by Alberico Vespucci of Florence."
Thousands of readers of the book could decide that it was Amerigo (Alberico) who discovered both the New World and new countries, although this does not follow from the text at all. But the title is usually better remembered and more impressive than any paragraphs or chapters of the book. In addition, the descriptions written by Amerigo were vivid and convincing, which, no doubt, strengthened his authority as a discoverer.
A little later, Vespucci's "New World" was published in Germany under the title "On the Antarctic Belt." And then the same work, already under the guise of a letter to the lord of a small German kingdom, appeared as an addition to Ptolemy's famous and now classic Cosmography. The whole work was called as follows: “Introduction to cosmography with the basics of geometry and astronomy necessary for it.
Amerigo Vespucci
To this, 4 voyages of Amerigo Vespucci and, in addition, a description (map) of the Universe both on a plane and on a globe of those parts of the world that Ptolemy did not know about and which are open in modern times". About the discovery of America, it is said as follows: "Amerigo Vespucci, truly speaking, has informed mankind more widely about this." The authors of the supplement were sure that Amerigo was the first to set foot on the new continent back in 1497. Therefore, it was proposed to name the discovered land "by the name of the wise man who discovered it."
Rather fantastic outlines of the New World with the inscription: "America" were put on the world map. The sound of this word turned out to be attractive to many people. He was willingly put on the cards. Spread - spontaneously - the opinion of Amerigo as the discoverer of the New World. And among the specialists, the image of a clever rogue, an ambitious swindler who appropriated his name to an entire continent, was becoming more and more definite.
So, a sincere fighter for justice, Las Casas, angrily denounced Amerigo in his writings. But there was not a single document confirming such accusations. Vespucci himself never suggested that the open lands be named after themselves. He quite definitely wrote: "These countries should be called the New World" and referred to facts obtained in travels and research.
The Austrian writer Stefan Zweig said well about Vespucci: “And if, in spite of everything, the sparkling ray of glory fell on him, then this happened not because of his special merits or special guilt, but because of a peculiar combination of circumstances, mistakes, accidents, misunderstandings... A person who talks about a feat and explains it can become more significant for posterity than the one who accomplished it. And in the uncalculable play of historical forces, the slightest push can often cause the strongest consequences ...
America should not be ashamed of its name. This is the name of an honest and courageous man who, already at the age of fifty, set sail three times in a small boat across an unknown ocean, as one of those “unknown sailors”, hundreds of whom at that time risked their lives in dangerous adventures ... This mortal name was transferred to immortality not by the will of one person - it was the will of fate, which is always right, even if it may seem that she is acting unfairly ... And today we use this word, which was invented by chance, in a fun game, as a matter of course, the only conceivable and the only correct one is the sonorous, light-winged word America.
True, there is reason to believe that the New World was named after the Bristol philanthropist Richard America (England), who financed the second transatlantic voyage of John Cabot in 1497, and after that Amerigo Vespucci took the nickname in honor of the continent so named. To prove this version, the researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the shores of Labrador two years earlier, and therefore became the officially registered first European to set foot on the new land.
Explore the continent North America continued by such navigators as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Buffin. And thanks to their research, a new continent was studied up to Pacific coast. But history knows many other names of sailors who visited the new land even before Amerigo Vespucci and Columbus. This is Hui Shen - a Thai monk who visited there in the 5th century, Abubakar - the Sultan of Mali, who sailed to American coast in the XIV century, the Earl of Orkney de Saint-Clair, the Chinese explorer Zhe He, the Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.
The official discoverer of America is the Spaniard Christopher Columbus. However, today it is known that the Chinese, the Normans, the Phoenicians, the Celts, and the Portuguese sailed to the New World before him. And even earlier, the continent was inhabited by aborigines who settled there many centuries ago. Until now, the name of the real discoverer has not been finally named. One of the recent versions: the American continent was discovered by the Venetian merchant Marco Polo.
In 1933, the Library of Congress in Washington received a rare gift - an old geographic map, which is attributed to famous traveler Marco Polo. FBI historians became interested in an unusual document and began to study it. As a result, they found that the map was created gradually, in three stages. And shown on it not only Eastern India and part of China and Japan, but also North America! So, according to the emblem depicted on the map with the name of Marco Polo, the enterprising Venetian businessman visited America before Columbus by two hundred years. An extremely curious fact is that Columbus, before setting off on a voyage, carefully studied the “Book on the Diversity of the World”, compiled by Marco Polo in 1295 upon his return from Asia (it is possible that at the same time the merchant brought the first information about North America).
The Marco Polo map is not the only cartographic puzzle. There is a map of the Turkish admiral Piri Reis, which he created with his own hand in 1513 on a piece of parchment and discovered in 1929 in a private library in the Imperial possessions in Istanbul. On the map were marked West Side Africa, East End South America, and part north coast forever frozen continent - Antarctica! This ancient map is one of the very first, on which there is at least some mention of the two Americas. This map, according to history, was compiled 21 years after the brave Columbus discovered America. Pretty accurate contours were displayed on it. coastline, and rivers on the mainland, mountain system Andes, as well as the Strait of Magellan, the opening of which was officially announced only seven years later. And with all this variety of information, it is worth saying that Columbus never drew a map of America, but sailed on his expedition only to the Caribbean!
There are many small facts that testify to the development of the New World before Columbus landed on this land. For example, in recent years, scientists have been discovering Phoenician and Celtic writing on rocks in North and South America. The American scientist John Savoy recently found examples of Phoenician writing on boulders near the town of Gran Vilaya (in Peru, north of Lima). The threads of cultural exchange between the Old and New Worlds extend into antiquity as well. For example, researchers know that the Greek philosopher Aristotle noted in his writings that supposedly in the ocean beyond Pillars of Hercules inhabitants from Carthage found one desert island. There were many different trees on it, many navigable rivers, unusual big variety fruits of all varieties; it takes many days to sail to the island. It is only important that people do not visit too often this island, and in no case take possession of the lands and treasures of the indigenous population. According to scientists, Aristotle was referring to America.
But it is not latest version. According to a historian from Ulaanbaatar, about 8-25 thousand years ago, the medieval inhabitants of Mongolia, using stone tools, already crossed the Aleutian Islands and entered America on ships. As confirmation of his conclusions, he points to the fact that the names of some islands from the Aleutian archipelago coincide with many words Mongolian. In particular, more than 20 geographical names in the Aleutian Islands, five of these words are still used in Mongolian speech. And some of the names of the rivers of the state of Alaska, "in all likelihood, are of Mongolian origin." Linguistic examination confirmed the conclusions of the scientist. An interesting hypothesis was proposed by New Zealand scientists: the Polynesians discovered South America earlier than Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and Europeans in general. And they have proven this fact! During archaeological sites on south coast Chile ancient bones of chickens were found. After a series of examinations, it was found that their DNA is identical to that of the domestic birds of Polynesia.
According to the head of this project, “... the chickens did not get to South America on their own - they had to be brought by people. It follows from this that the Polynesians could have traveled through Pacific Ocean to the shores of South America about a hundred years before the European settlers.
Researcher from Russia T. Khvostenko contributed one interesting fact In this story, she showed that the inhabitants of Easter Island and South America used the same wax paints. Moreover, on various samples of American encaustic (a special coating of wax and wood resin), the influence of ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek technology is noticeable.
In 2002, a British historian made an even more sensational claim. He claimed that Zheng He, a Muslim admiral from China, was the first to discover America before Columbus. As evidence, the scientist showed Chinese navigation charts. The admiral's map shows Northern and South America, Africa and Australia. Back in the 1930s. archaeologists have found a pillar in China, on which there were inscriptions about the journey of Zheng He. IN historical reference there is even information about the people who lived on west coast America (New World): “Their skin was black and red, and on their heads they wore feather ornaments. The Chinese characters on the margins of the map indicate that it was copied from the original of 1418. However, many historians are very skeptical about this document.
There are a number of other facts proving that more than one Zheng He deserves to be among the discoverers. Some medieval Arabic sources suggest that Muslim explorers from Islamic Spain may have organized expeditions through Atlantic Ocean between the 9th and 14th centuries. The earliest of these were the explorer Hashhash ibn Said ibn Aswad of Córdoba, who crossed the Atlantic in 889, reached America and returned with incredible treasures, and Ibn Farrukh of Granada. In addition, archaeologists have discovered even rock inscriptions on Arabic. And Dr. Barry Fell wrote a book called "The Saga of America", which gives other facts about the presence of Muslims on the American continent before the arrival of Columbus.
So who did discover America? Apparently, it was discovered by many travelers, and in different historical periods. But their discoveries did not produce such an effect and did not have such large-scale and grandiose consequences as the voyages of the famous Columbus! It was he who put an end to the entire history of discovery.
