After Christopher Columbus. What did Christopher Columbus discover? Discoveries of Christopher Columbus

Essay on discipline Geography

Completed by: student of the BDA-2 group Aleschik Andrey

Grodno State Polytechnic College

2007/2008 academic year G.

Great navigator.

Columbus, Christopher (Colon, Cristobal; Cristoforo Colombo) (1451-1506), great spanish navigator of Italian origin, who led four transatlantic expeditions to America.

Early years in Genoa and Portugal. Columbus was born in the Italian Republic of Genoa, in port city or in its vicinity. Despite the presence of a significant number of documents, many facts of the biography of Columbus are difficult to establish accurately. Columbus used the Portuguese version of his name, Cristovan Colon, while living in Portugal, and the Spanish, Cristobal Colon, after moving to Spain in 1485.

The navigator's grandfather, Giovanni Colombo, moved to Genoa from mountain village located to the east of this city. Columbus's father, Domenico, born around 1418, married Susanna Fontanarossa and, to support his family, worked as a weaver, wool merchant, innkeeper, and even acted as a politician. Christopher had three younger brothers (Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino and Giacomo) and a younger sister (Biancinetta). Bartolomeo and Giacomo participated in the expeditions of Columbus after 1492 New World and were called in the Spanish manner - Bartolome and Diego.

Judging by the letters, Columbus became a sailor at an unusually early age and sailed mediterranean sea on merchant ships to the east up to the island of Chios, which then belonged to Genoa. He may have been a merchant and at least once commanded a ship. In the mid-1470s, Columbus settled in Portugal and joined a small colony of Italian merchants in Lisbon. Under the Portuguese flag, commercial or naval, he sailed north to England and Ireland, and possibly Iceland. He also visited Madeira and the Canary Islands and walked along west coast Africa to the Portuguese trading post of San Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana).

In Portugal, Columbus married, becoming a member of a mixed Italo-Portuguese family, whose Italian ancestors settled in this country at the end of the 14th century. and reached a high position there. The youngest member of this family, Bartolomeu Perestrelu, was taken into Royal Palace as a comrade of princes Juan and Henry (Henry the Navigator). Bartolomeu was widowed early and inherited the rank of captain on the island of Porto Santo near Madeira. This gave him a good income, but he never amassed much wealth. The second wife of Bartolomeu, Isabel Moniz, belonged to a family of noble landowners, their estates were located in the south of Portugal and the island of Madeira. They had a daughter, Felipa Moniz (full name Felipa Perestrelu e Moniz), whom Columbus married in 1478 or 1479. Isabelle Moniz gave her son-in-law maps and documents that were kept by her husband, who died in 1457. Perhaps Columbus drew extensive geography information.

Travel plan for India.

For centuries, lucrative Asian goods such as spices attracted the attention of European merchants. However, at the end of the 15th c. merchants from Europe still could not enter Asia by land and were forced to purchase Asian goods from Arab merchants in Alexandria or other ports. Therefore, the Europeans became interested in searching sea ​​route to Asia, which would allow them to purchase Asian goods, bypassing intermediaries. In the 1480s, the Portuguese tried to go around Africa in order to penetrate Indian Ocean to India. Columbus suggested that Asia could be reached by moving west. Probably, Columbus' ideas about the world and the western route to Asia evolved gradually. His assumptions were based on the discovery of islands in the Atlantic (Canaries, Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira), on rumors about other islands, various finds, as well as on reading numerous scientific books on geography, including the Picture of the World (Imago mundi) by the French theologian Pierre d " Aii and Geography of the Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy.

Columbus's theory was based on two misconceptions: first, that the Asian continent stretched about 30° farther east than it actually did, and second, that Japan was 2,400 km east of that continent. Columbus also miscalculated the circumference of the earth. Although he divided the globe into 360°, his equatorial circumference was an underestimate. Columbus believed that the Canary Islands were about 4,440 km from Japan, while in fact this distance is 19,615 km. Similar misconceptions were shared by other educated people of the era, including the Florentine humanist and geographer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, with whom Columbus may have corresponded.

Around 1483, Columbus tried to interest the Portuguese king João II with his plan for an expedition to Asia. western way. A committee of scientists was convened to evaluate the project. Then, for unknown reasons, the king refused Columbus. Perhaps the Portuguese experts doubted his estimates of the size of the globe and the distance between Europe and Asia. It should be noted that at the same time, João II had already sent an expedition to search for a sea route to India around Africa. It is possible that Columbus demanded too much for himself. Subsequently, the king found seafarers who were ready to go west at their own expense, without requiring royal subsidies or large benefits. However, one way or another in Portugal, the Columbus project did not receive approval.

Spain supports Columbus. In 1485 Columbus left Portugal to try his luck in Spain. At the beginning of 1486, when the court was in Alcala de Henares, Columbus was introduced to the royal court and received an audience with the king and queen. Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon, showed interest in the Columbus project. The royal couple appointed a commission under the leadership of Talavera to clarify the question of the advisability of traveling to the west. The commission issued an unfavorable opinion, but the king and queen encouraged Columbus, assuring him that they could support him after the end of the long war to free Granada from the Moors.

While waiting for the end of the war for Granada, Columbus met a young woman from Córdoba, Beatriz Henriques de Arana. Although they never married, their son Hernando (also known as Fernando) was born in 1488. Hernando accompanied Columbus on his fourth voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and later wrote a biography of his father - still one of the most important sources of information about the life of Columbus.

In January 1492, during the siege of Granada, Queen Isabella invited Columbus to court. After lengthy negotiations and deliberations, the royal courtiers realized that supporting Columbus was worth the small financial risk and overruled the objections of their advisers. The monarchs agreed to subsidize the expedition and promised to give Columbus the noble rank and titles of admiral, viceroy and governor-general of all the islands and continents that he would discover. The position of admiral gave Columbus the right to decide in disputes arising from trade matters, the position of viceroy made him the personal representative of the monarch, and the position of governor general provided him with the highest civil and military power.

Map showing the proposed route of Columbus

First expedition, 1492–1493.

Since the sailors from Palos de la Fontera violated royal law by engaging in illegal trade in African waters, the monarchs decided that this city would provide Columbus's expedition with two ships. These were two caravels named "Pinta" and "Nina". In addition, Columbus chartered a four-masted sailboat (nao) called the Santa Maria. All three ships were small and were typical merchant ships of that era. The Santa Maria had a width of 5.8 m and a length of 18.3 m, while other ships were even smaller. Columbus had difficulty recruiting men for his crew, as the sailors feared they would not find land and be unable to return home. Finally, with the help of renowned sailor Martin Alonso Pinzón, Columbus recruited a crew of 90 men. The monthly salary for the crew was 2,000 maravedis for captains and pilots, 1,000 for sailors and 666 for cabin boys.

Three ships left Palos early in the morning on August 3, 1492. A small flotilla first headed for the Canary Islands, where Columbus decided to wait for a fair wind. After repairing the ships and replenishing provisions, the flotilla left about. Homer on canary archipelago September 6, 1492, heading west. Columbus and other pilots used a navigation system based on taking into account the direction, time and speed of movement when laying the course of the vessel and establishing its position. They determined the direction with a compass, time with an hourglass that marked every half hour, and speed with an eye. Columbus kept two systems for calculating the distance in the logbook, one for himself and the other for the crew. Contrary to legend, he did not try to trick the team. On the contrary, he probably calculated the course first in the measures he had learned in Italy and Portugal, and then translated these figures into the measures taken by the Spanish navigators.

The journey was uneventful with fair winds and almost no complaints from the crew. On October 12, at 2 pm, the watchman on the Pinta, Juan Rodriguez Bermejo, saw a light ahead. And at dawn, the ships anchored off an island in the archipelago of the Bahamas, which the inhabitants of the local tribe called Guanahani, and Columbus renamed San Salvador. Although the discussion about the first landing site is still ongoing, most likely it was a modern about. San Salvador. Assuming that he is in Asia, Columbus called the natives Indians.

With the help of guides from the Taino tribe, the flotilla continued to sail in the waters of the Bahamas and visited Cuba. All this time, Columbus searched in vain for the rich ports of Asia. Pinzón left Cuba without permission from Columbus and went on the Pinta to search for other lands in order to establish trade with the natives. Columbus on the two remaining ships sailed to the island, which he called Hispaniola (translated " spanish island", now about. Haiti), and surveyed its northern coast. Early in the morning near Christmas, through the fault of a young sailor on duty, the Santa Maria ran aground and crashed. On the only ship "Nina" Columbus reached the coast and founded the first settlement of Navidad (Spanish for "Christmas City"), in which he left 39 people. On January 4, 1493, he prepared to return to Spain on the Nina and sailed east along north coast Hispaniola. Pinzón soon joined him, and on January 16, Nina and Pinta set off on their return journey. Columbus took with him seven captive Indians as proof that he had reached a part of the world previously unknown to Europeans.

500 years ago, from the caravel of Columbus, they saw a previously unknown land. From that moment, a new page in the history of mankind began - the expansion of the ecumene, the development of a giant continent, called the New World.

What was it: discovery, colonization, Christianization of pagans? Conquest, enslavement, Indian resistance? A meeting of two worlds, two cultures? Each of these concepts has adherents both in scientific circles and among the general public. The interpretation of the events beginning in October 1492 is ambiguous and depends both on the position taken by the researcher and on the point of view from which they are considered.

Today, on the eve of the 500th anniversary, these different positions have come to light with particular clarity, since the question has come to the fore: the anniversary of what event are we celebrating? To paraphrase a Latin proverb, one can say: "Tell me what you are celebrating, and I will tell you who you are."

In the very general plan existing concepts can be grouped into three areas. The Eurocentric emphasizes the contribution and significance of the mission of Europeans in the New World; Latin American highlights the importance of the cultures and traditions of the indigenous peoples of the continent, whose development was interrupted by foreign invasion; the last, conciliatory, marks, first of all, such an aspect as the meeting of two worlds. Therefore, it is necessary first of all to determine what exactly we are honoring, not forgetting, of course, the main thing: the landing of Europeans on american continent changed the course of historical development and its significance for all mankind is indisputable.

Note that most interpretations of this event are based on a narrow, often speculative approach: events are considered from the side of one people, one continent and within the same time - the past. Consequently, they are considered biased, based on certain interests, logical and ideological constructions, and thereby come into conflict with other points of view.

Columbus, Christopher (Cristoforo Colombo, Cristobal Colon) (1451-1506), Spanish navigator who discovered America. Italian by birth. Born in Genoa between August 25 and October 31, 1451 in the family of woolen weaver Domenico Colombo. In 1470 he began to actively participate in commercial transactions (until 1473 under the leadership of his father). In 1474-1479 he made several voyages with trading expeditions Genoese company Centurion Negro: visited the island of Chios, England, Ireland, the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira. In 1476 he settled in Portugal. In 1482-1484 he visited the Azores and the Guinean coast (fort Sao Jorge da Mina).

In the early 1480s, he began to develop a project for sailing to the shores East Asia westward across the Atlantic Ocean; he was inspired by the works of Aristotle, Seneca, Pliny the Elder, Strabo, Plutarch, Albert the Great and Roger Bacon, while the Florentine cartographer Paolo Toscanelli (1397-1482) was his main inspiration. In 1484 he presented his project to the Portuguese king João II (1481-1495). However, in the spring of 1485, the Mathematical Junta (Lisbon Academy of Astronomy and Mathematics) recognized Columbus's calculations as "fantastic". In the summer of 1485 he left for Spain (Castile) and in January 1486 proposed his project to the Spanish royal couple - Ferdinand II of Aragon (1479-1516) and Isabella I of Castile (1474-1504), who created a special commission headed by E. de Talavera. In the summer of 1487, the commission issued an unfavorable opinion; nevertheless, Ferdinand and Isabella postponed the decision until the end of the war with the Emirate of Granada.

In the autumn of 1488, Columbus visited Portugal to re-propose his project to Juan II, but was again refused and returned to Spain. In 1489, he unsuccessfully tried to interest the regent of France, Anne de Baeuze, and two Spanish grandees, Dukes Enrique Medinasidonia and Luis Medinaceli, with the idea of ​​sailing west. But after the fall of Granada, with the support of influential patrons at the Spanish court, he was able to obtain the consent of Ferdinand and Isabella: on April 17, 1492, the royal couple entered into an agreement (“capitulation”) with Columbus in Santa Fe, granting him a noble rank, the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean, Vice - the king and governor-general of all the islands and continents that he discovers. The position of admiral gave Columbus the right to decide 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 with overseas goods. The Spanish crown pledged to finance most expenses of the expedition Volnikov A.A. General history state and law. M.: Delo, 1993. - S. 145.

First journey (1492-1493). Early in the morning of August 3, 1492, the Columbus flotilla of three ships (the caravels Pinta and Nina and the four-masted sailing ship (nao) Santa Maria) with a crew of 90 people. left the port of Palos de la Frontera (near the confluence of the Rio Tinto in the Gulf of Cadiz). On August 9, she approached the Canary Islands. After the repair of the "Pint" on the island of Homer, on September 6, 1492, heading west, the ships began crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Having passed the Sargasso Sea, Columbus turned to the southwest on October 7. On October 12, the Spaniards reached the island of Guanahani (modern Watling) in the Bahamas - the first land they encountered in the Western Hemisphere. Columbus Island called San Salvador (St. Savior), and its inhabitants - Indians, believing that he was off the coast of India. This day is considered the official date of the discovery of America.

Having learned from the natives about the existence of a rich island in the south, Columbus left the Bahamas on October 24 and sailed further to the southwest. On October 28, the flotilla approached the shores of Cuba, named by Columbus "Juan". Then the Spaniards, inspired by the stories of local Indians, spent a month searching for the golden island of Baneke (modern Great Inagua); On November 21, the captain of the Pinta M.A. Pinson took his ship away, deciding to search for this island on his own. Having lost hope of finding Baneke, Columbus turned east with the two remaining ships and on December 5 reached the northwestern tip of the island of Bohio (modern Haiti), which he named Hispaniola (“Spanish”). Moving along the northern coast of Hispaniola, on December 25, the expedition approached the Holy Cape (modern Cap Haitien), where the Santa Maria crashed and sank. This forced Columbus to leave part of the team (39 people) in the fort Navidad (“Christmas”) he founded and set off on the Nina on the way back (January 2, 1493). On January 6, he met "Pint". On January 16, both ships headed northeast, using a favorable current - the Gulf Stream. On February 11-14, they fell into a severe storm, during which the Pint was lost. On February 15, Nina reached the island of Santa Maria in the Azores, but only on February 18 did she manage to land on the shore. The Portuguese governor of the island tried to delay the ship by force, but ran into the determined resistance of Columbus and let the travelers go; On February 24, Nina left the Azores. On February 26, she again fell into a storm, which washed her on the coast of Portugal on March 4 near the mouth of the Tagus (Tajo). Juan II gave an audience to Columbus, at which he informed the king about the discovery of a western route to India and reproached him for refusing to support his project in 1484. Despite the advice of the courtiers to kill the admiral, Juan II did not dare to go into conflict with Spain, and on March 13, the Nina was able to sail home. March 15, on the 225th day of the voyage, she returned to Palos. Later, "Pinta" also came there. Isabella and Ferdinand gave Columbus a solemn reception and gave permission to new expedition.

Second journey (1493-1496). On September 25, 1493, Columbus' flotilla of 17 caravels (except for ship crews, there were soldiers, officials, monks and colonists on board) left Cadiz and on October 2 reached Canary Islands ov. On October 11, Columbus began crossing the Atlantic, heading more southerly than on his first voyage, as he planned to reach Hispaniola from the southeast. On November 3, the ships approached one of the Lesser Antilles, which Columbus gave the name Dominica (it was Sunday - “the day of the Lord”); Aboriginal people who practiced ritual cannibalism, he called "cannibals." Then navigators discovered a number of other islands in the northern part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago - Montserrat, Antigua, Nevis, San Cristobal (modern St. Christopher), San Eustasio (modern Sint Eustatius), Santa Cruz and the "Islands of Eleven Thousand Virgins » (Virgin), and large island Boriken, renamed San Juan Batista (modern Puerto Rico) by the admiral. Approaching the eastern tip of Hispaniola, the flotilla moved along its northern coast and on November 27 reached Fort Navidad, which was ruined; not a single colonist survived. East of the fort (at extreme bad place) Columbus founded a new settlement, naming it La Isabela in honor of the Queen of Spain. In January 1494, he sent an expedition inland under the command of A. de Ojeda, who obtained a huge amount of gold objects from the Indians. On February 2, the admiral sent twelve ships with booty home. In the spring of 1494, the Spaniards switched to a policy of systematic robbery and extermination local population Volnikov A.A. General History of State and Law. M.: Delo, 1993. - S. 296.

Leaving his brother Diego to manage Hispaniola, Columbus sailed west on April 24, 1494 with three ships, continuing to search for a route to Asia (China). April 29, he approached the eastern tip of Cuba. Moving along her south coast, the flotilla reached Guantanamo Bay, and then turned south and on May 5 anchored off north coast Jamaica. Faced with the open hostility of the natives, Columbus returned to the Cuban coast, headed west and reached Cortez Bay near the western tip of the island. Deciding that the Malacca Peninsula was in front of him, he turned back (June 13). Bypassing Jamaica from the south, the flotilla returned to La Isabela on September 29.

Throughout 1495, Columbus suppressed the uprising of the Indians that broke out in Hispaniola. In the same year, under the influence of complaints about the admiral from the colonists who fled to Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella deprived him of his monopoly on discovering overseas lands and sent their plenipotentiary J. Aguado to the island. After a conflict with J. Aguado, Columbus left Hispaniola on March 10, 1496, transferring power to his brother Bartolome. On June 11 he arrived in Cadiz.

Third journey (1498-1500). Although Ferdinand and Isabella had serious doubts about the profitability of the discoveries of Columbus, the preparation by the Portuguese of a flotilla under the command of Vasco da Gama for a decisive throw into the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope made them agree to organize a third expedition to the west Erofeev N .. English colonialism in the middle . XIX century - M .: Thought, 1977. - S. 112.

On May 30, 1498, six ships of Columbus left the port of San Lucar de Barrameda (at the confluence of the Guadalquivir into the Gulf of Cadiz). Having entered the island of Madeira, they reached the Canary Islands. There, the admiral sent three ships with colonists directly to Hispaniola, and he himself, with one nao and two caravels, moved south to the Cape Verde Islands, intending to cross the Atlantic using the South trade winds. Leaving the Cape Verde Islands, on July 4, the flotilla headed southwest, and then west, and on July 31 reached the large island, which Columbus called Trinidad ("Trinity"). On August 1, we saw the coast of Venezuela - this is how South America was discovered. On August 5, the Spaniards were the first of the Europeans to land on its coast (the peninsula of Paria). The admiral decided that he had found the outskirts of Asia, where the “country eternal spring", earthly paradise.

Having passed on August 13 the strait, to which Columbus gave the name Bocas del Dragon ("Dragon's mouth"), the expedition moved to the northwest, reached Hispaniola on August 21 and anchored on August 31 at the new administrative center Islands - Santo Domingo. Having become the head of the administration, Columbus in August 1499 achieved an end to the rebellion of F. Roldan, who rebelled against his brother Bartolome. Rumors of unrest on the island, however, prompted the Spanish court to send a plenipotentiary judge-auditor F. de Bobadilla to investigate cases in the colony. In September 1500 F. de Bobadilla arrested Columba and his two brothers and in early October sent them to Spain in chains. However, Ferdinand and Isabella gave the admiral a warm welcome, dropped all charges against him and returned some of his titles and all his property to him. At the same time, they did not retain the title of Viceroy of the Indies for him, thereby depriving him of the rights to manage the lands he had discovered.

Fourth journey (1502-1504). In March 1502 Columbus received highest resolution to organize a new expedition, however, with a recommendation not to visit Hispaniola. On May 9, 1502, a flotilla of four small caravels (140-150 people) set sail from Cadiz. Having entered the Canary Islands, on May 25 she left for open ocean and on June 15 reached the island of Matininho, which Columbus renamed Martinique. Passing past the coast of Hispaniola and rounding Jamaica from the south, the ships approached the islands of Jardines de la Reina (“Queen's Gardens”), and then turned sharply to the southwest. In three days (July 27-30) they crossed the Caribbean Sea and reached the Islas de la Bahia archipelago and the land, which the admiral named Honduras ("Deeps") because of the great coastal depths. This is how Central America was discovered.

Having first taken a course to the east, Columbus rounded m. Gracias-a-Dios ("Thanks to God") and sailed south along the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Having learned from the Panamanian Indians about the richest country of Siguara lying in the west and big river, he decided that this is both India and the Ganges River. On January 6, 1503, the ships stopped at the mouth of the Belen River and in March founded a small settlement of Santa Maria there. However, already in the first half of April they had to leave it because of the attack of the Indians; during the retreat they abandoned one caravel. Then moving east along the Panamanian coast, the flotilla at the end of April reached the Gulf of Darien and the shores of the modern. Colombia, and on May 1 from the metro station Punta de Mosquitas turned north and on May 12 reached the islands of Jardines de la Reina. Due to the deplorable state of the ships, Columbus was only able to bring them to the north coast of Jamaica (June 25); sailors were forced to whole year in the bay of Santa Gloria (modern St. Ann's). Volunteer D.Mendez saved them from imminent death, who managed to get to Santo Domingo on two canoes and send a caravel from there. August 13, 1504 rescued arrived in the capital of Hispaniola. Columbus sailed home on September 12 and landed at San Lucar on November 7.

At the beginning of 1505, Columbus finally abandoned further plans for sea expeditions. He devoted the last year and a half of his life to the struggle for his reinstatement as Viceroy of the Indies and the satisfaction of financial claims, but he achieved only partial monetary compensation. Until his death, he remained convinced that the lands he discovered were part of the Asian continent, and not a new continent N. Erofeev. English colonialism in the middle. XIX century - M .: Thought, 1977. - S. 220.

Columbus died on May 20, 1506 in Valladolid, where he was buried. In 1509, his ashes were transferred to Seville to the monastery of Santa Maria de las Cuevas, from where in 1536-1537 (according to other sources, in the 1540s) they were sent to Hispaniola and placed in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. In 1795, the remains were transported to Cuba in the Cathedral of Havana, and in 1899 - back to Spain, where they finally finally rested in the Seville Cathedral.

The name of Columbus is the state of Colombia in South America, the Columbian Plateau and the Columbia River in North America, federal district Colombia in the US and province British Columbia In Canada; There are five cities in the USA named Columbus and four named Columbia.

As everyone is probably well aware, such a process as the discovery of the continent of America is a very extensive topic, but this article will talk about the discovery of America briefly, laying out the main essence.
The discovery of America is one of the most important events in the world history of mankind, as a result of which, the Old World - that is, Western Europe, learned about the existence of a new, vast continent named America.

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus - discovery of a new continent

The origin of Columbus and his dream to open a western route to India

Christopher Columbus (in Spanish - Cristobal Colon), born in 1446 in Genoa, was originally engaged in the weaving craft of his father and undertook trade sea ​​travel, traveled to England, to Portugal, in 1482 he was in Guinea.

In the same year, Columbus married the daughter of a noble Italian sailor in Lisbon and then went with his wife to the estate of his father-in-law, on the island of Porto Santo, which lies northeast of Madeira. Here he found nautical charts, which belonged to his father-in-law, from which he drew the first information about the islands and lands lying to the west of Europe. From time to time, the sea washed up on the shores of Porto Santo, either the trunks of a strange tree species, or a mighty reed, or the corpse of an unfamiliar human race. Unaware of the existence of a vast continent unknown to Europeans, Columbus saw in these signs confirmation of the testimony of ancient writers - Aristotle, Seneca and Pliny - that India lies on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and that from Cadiz you can travel there in a few days.

Portrait of Christopher Columbus. Artist S. del Piombo, 1519

Thus, Christopher Columbus had a plan to open the shortest and most direct route to India without going around Africa. With his project, he turned (in 1483) to the Portuguese king John, but appointed by the king, a commission of scientists recognized the thought of Columbus as a fantasy without foundation. Failure did not disarm Columbus, and after the death of his wife, he went to Spain to get the necessary funds there to implement his idea. In Spain, Columbus was not refused, but the equipment of the expedition was constantly delayed. Having stayed in Spain for about 7 years, Columbus had already decided to look for patrons in France, but on the way he met in a monastery with the confessor of Queen Isabella. He was very sympathetic to the bold thought of Columbus and convinced the queen to put three ships at his disposal. On April 17, 1492, an agreement was signed between Christopher Columbus and the crown, by virtue of which he was granted broad powers and viceroy rights in the lands that he would discover on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Discovery of America by Columbus (briefly)

May 28, 1492 three ships, "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina", with 120 crew members, left the harbor of Palos and headed for Canary Islands From there they sailed in a straight westerly direction. A long journey began to instill in the sailors distrust of the feasibility of Columbus's idea. However, the surviving diary of Columbus does not mention anything about the mutiny of the crew, and the story of this, apparently, belongs to the realm of fiction. On October 7, the first signs of the proximity of the land appeared, and the ships took to the south-west towards land. October 12, 1492 Columbus landed on the island of Gwanagani, solemnly declared it, under the name of San Salvador, possession Spanish crown and proclaimed himself Viceroy. Further voyage in search of the gold-bearing lands, which were reported by the natives of San Salvador, led to the discovery of Cuba and Haiti.

On January 4, 1493, Christopher Columbus undertook a return journey to Spain to personally report on the success of the enterprise. March 15, he arrived in Palos. Travel from Palos to royal residence, Barcelona, ​​was a real triumphal procession, and the same brilliant reception awaited Columbus at court.

Columbus before Kings Ferdinand and Isabella. Painting by E. Leutze, 1843

New expeditions of Columbus (briefly)

The government hastened to equip a new expedition with Columbus, consisting of 17 big ships with a detachment of 1200 warriors and horsemen and numerous colonists attracted by the general rumors about the fabulous wealth of new countries. September 25, 1493 Columbus went to sea, after 20 days of sailing he reached the island of Dominica, on further way discovered the islands of Marie Galante, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and others. Having laid a new fort in Haiti in place of the fortress he had previously built, destroyed in his absence by the natives, he headed further west to reach India, which he considered very close. Having met a dense archipelago on the way, Columbus decided that he was near China, since Marco Polo says that a group of thousands of islands lies to the east of China; then he postponed for a while further searches for a way to India, in order to arrange more firmly government in open lands.

Meanwhile, the unhealthy climate of some inhabited islands, which caused great mortality, the natural failures of the first settlers who followed Columbus with the most ardent dreams, finally, the envy of many high position, occupied by a foreigner, and the harsh disposition of Columbus, who demanded strict discipline, created many enemies for Christopher Columbus in the colony and in Spain itself. Discontent in Spain took such proportions that Columbus found it necessary to go to Europe for personal explanations. He again met with a warm welcome at the court, but among the population, faith in the wealth and convenience of the new lands was undermined, no one else rushed there and, equipping a new expedition (May 30, 1498), Columbus had to take exiled criminals with him instead of voluntary colonists . During the third trip, Columbus discovered the islands of Margarita and Cubagua.

After the departure of Columbus from Spain, the party hostile to him managed to gain the upper hand at court, she managed to denigrate the brilliant traveler even in the eyes of Isabella, who more than others sympathized with the great enterprise. Columbus's personal enemy, Francis Bobadilla, was sent to revise affairs in the new lands. Arriving in the New World in August 1499, he arrested Columbus and his brothers, Eigo and Bartholomew, ordering them to be put in chains, and the man who prepared the subsequent power of Spain, who had rendered invaluable merit to the entire Old World, returned to Spain in chains. Ferdinand and Isabella, however, could not allow such a shame, and when Columbus drove up to Spain, they ordered the chains to be removed from him; however, Columbus was denied a request for the return of all his rights and privileges.

In 1502, Christopher Columbus undertook his fourth and last voyage across the ocean and, having reached the Isthmus of Panama, had to give up the desire to penetrate the Indian Ocean, with which, as he thought, the Caribbean Sea was connected.

Death of Columbus

November 26, 1504 Columbus arrived in Spain and settled in Seville. All requests for his return lost rights and incomes in the countries he discovered remained unsatisfied. With the accession to the throne of the new King Philip, the position of Columbus did not change, and on May 21, 1506, he died in Valladolid, not seeing the fulfillment of his desires and at the same time not realizing the true significance of his discoveries. He died believing that he had discovered new way to India, and not a new, hitherto unfamiliar part of the world.

After the death of Christopher Columbus was buried in the Franciscan monastery in the city of Valladolid. In 1513, his body was transferred to Seville, and between 1540-59, according to the dying wish of Columbus himself, his remains were transferred to the island of Haiti. In 1795, with the accession of Haiti to the French crown, the body of Columbus was transferred to Havana and buried in the Havana Cathedral. Statues have been erected to him in Genoa and Mexico. Columbus left a diary of his first journey, published by Navarrete.

Christopher Columbus was born between August 26 and October 31, 1451 on the island of Corsica in the Republic of Genoa. The future discoverer was educated at the University of Pavia.

A brief biography of Columbus did not retain accurate evidence of his first voyages, but it is known that in the 1470s he made sea expeditions for trading purposes. Even then, Columbus had the idea of ​​traveling to India through the west. The navigator addressed the rulers many times European countries with a request to help him organize an expedition - to King Juan II, the Duke of Medina Seli, King Henry VII and others. Only in 1492 was Columbus' voyage approved by the Spanish rulers, primarily Queen Isabella. He was given the title of “don”, rewards were promised if the project was successful.

four expeditions. Discovery of America

In 1492 Columbus made his first voyage. During the voyage, the navigator discovered Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba, although he himself considered these lands "Western India".

During the second expedition of Columbus' assistants were such famous people like the future conqueror of Cuba, Diego Velasquez de Cuellar, the notary Rodrigo de Bastidas, the pioneer Juan de la Cosa. Then the discoveries of the navigator included the Virgin, Small Antilles, Jamaica, Puerto Rico.

The third expedition of Christopher Columbus was made in 1498. The main discovery of the navigator was the island of Trinidad. However, at the same time, Vasco da Gama found a real way to India, so Columbus was declared a deceiver and sent under escort from Hispaniola to Spain. However, upon his arrival, local financiers managed to persuade King Ferdinand II to drop the charges.

Columbus did not leave the hope of opening a new shortcut to South Asia. In 1502, the navigator was able to obtain permission from the king for a fourth voyage. Columbus reached the shore Central America, proving that between Atlantic Ocean And South Sea lies the mainland.

Last years

During last trip Columbus fell seriously ill. Upon his return to Spain, he failed to restore the privileges and rights granted to him. Christopher Columbus died on May 20, 1506 in Seville, Spain. The navigator was first buried in Seville, but in 1540, by order of Emperor Charles V, the remains of Columbus were transported to the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), and in 1899 again to Seville.

Other biography options

• Historians still do not know the true biography of Christopher Columbus - there are so few actual materials about his fate and expeditions that the biographers of the navigator make many fictitious statements in his biography.
• Returning to Spain after the second expedition, Columbus proposed to settle on recently open lands criminals.
• Columbus' dying words were: "In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum" ("Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my spirit").
• The significance of the navigator's discoveries was recognized only in the middle of the 16th century.

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