Who discovered a new continent. Who discovered America - Columbus or Vespucci

The history of the discovery of America is quite amazing. These events took place at the end of the 15th century due to the rapid development of navigation and shipping in Europe. In many ways, we can say that the discovery of the American continent happened quite by accident and the motives were very banal - the search for gold, wealth, large trading cities.

In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America, who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, in those days, even then the states were quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, to find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury. At the end of the 15th century, trade flourished, the development of new colonies.

Who discovered America?

In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America, who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, even then the states were quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, to find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury.

When you ask any adult and child who discovered America, we will hear about Columbus. It was Christopher Columbus who gave impetus to the active search and development of new lands.

Christopher Columbus - the great Spanish navigator. Information about where he was born and spent his childhood is scarce and contradictory. It is known that being young, Christopher was fond of cartography. He was married to the daughter of a sailor. In 1470, the geographer and astronomer Toscanelli informed Columbus of his assumptions that the journey to India was shorter if one sailed west. Apparently, then Columbus began to hatch his idea of ​​​​a short way to India, while, according to his calculations, it was necessary to sail through the Canary Islands, and Japan would already be close there.
Since 1475, Columbus has been trying to implement the idea and make an expedition. The purpose of the expedition is to find a new trade route to India across the Atlantic Ocean. To do this, he turned to the government and the merchants of Genoa, but he was not supported. The second attempt to find funding for the expedition was the Portuguese king João II, however, even here, after a long study of the project, he was refused.

For the last time, with his project, he came to the Spanish king. At the beginning, his project was considered for a long time, even several meetings, commissions were held, this lasted for several years. His idea was supported by bishops and Catholic kings. But Columbus received final support for his project after the victory of Spain in the city of Granada, which was freed from the Arab presence.

The expedition was organized on the condition that Columbus, if successful, would receive not only the gifts and wealth of new lands, but also receive, in addition to the status of a nobleman, the title of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands, which he would open. For Spain, a successful expedition promised not only the development of new lands, but also the opportunity to trade directly with India, since according to an agreement concluded with Portugal, Spanish ships were forbidden to enter the waters of the western coast of Africa.

When and how did Columbus discover America?

Historians consider 1942 to be the year of the discovery of America, although this is rather approximate data. Discovering new lands and islands, Columbus did not even imagine that this was another continent, which would later be called the "New World". The traveler undertook 4 expeditions. He arrived in new and new lands, believing that these were the lands of "Western India". For a long time everyone in Europe thought so. However, another traveler, Vasco da Gama, declared Columbus a deceiver, since it was Gamma who found a direct route to India and brought gifts and spices from there.

What America did Christopher Columbus discover? We can say that thanks to his expeditions since 1492, Columbus discovered both North and South America. To be more precise, the islands were discovered, which are now considered either South or North America.

Who discovered America first?

Although historically it is believed that it was Columbus who discovered America, but in fact this is not entirely true.

There is evidence that the "New World" was previously visited by the Scandinavians (Leif Eriksson in 1000, Thorfinn Karlsefni in 1008), this journey became known from the manuscripts "The Saga of Eric the Red" and "The Saga of the Greenlanders". There are other "discoverers of America", but the scientific community does not take them seriously, as there is no reliable data. For example, America was previously visited by an African traveler from Mali - Abu Bakr II, a Scottish nobleman Henry Sinclair, a Chinese traveler Zheng He.

Why is America called America?

The first widely known and recorded fact is the visit to this part of the "New World" by the traveler and navigator Amerigo Vespucci. It is noteworthy that it was he who suggested that this is not India or China, but a completely new previously unknown mainland. It is believed that this is why the name America was assigned to the new land, and not its discoverer - Columbus.

In what century Columbus discovered America, you will learn from this article.

In what century was America discovered?

The year that marked the discovery of America is rightfully considered a turning point in the life of all of Europe. The appearance of a new continent on the world map has inspired people on sea expeditions to explore and develop new territories. The most significant was the navigation of Columbus, who, looking for ways to India, stumbled upon previously unknown lands. But in what century he discovered America to the whole world, we will tell you right now.

America was discovered in the 15th century.

Who discovered North America?

The discovery of North America belongs to a Norwegian with Icelandic roots - Leif Erikson. He is believed to have been born in Iceland. But Erikson really wanted to go to the service of the Christian king of Norway, Olav Triggvason, and moved to a new country. Being engaged in sea expeditions, he reached Greenland. Here he met Bjarni Herjolfson, a navigator who discovered unknown lands west of Greenland, but he did not land on them. Leif Erickson bought a ship from a navigator and decided to go to new lands in order to explore them. According to the current Greenlanders saga, Leif and 15 of his sailors reached the ground covered with stones. This is the island now known as Baffin Island. It is located between Greenland and Canada. The next stop was dry land with forests and sandy beaches. It is assumed that it was a Labrador. Not stopping there, the Norwegians continued swimming and stopped in modern Newfoundland, building a village here for the winter.
There is no exact date when North America was discovered. Researchers agree that it was discovered at the beginning of the 11th century, based on the date of the chronology of Erikson's life - 970-1020.

Who discovered South America?

Until the end of the 15th century, Europeans knew about the existence of only three continents - Europe, Africa and Asia. They did not suspect about America at all, despite the fact that the mainland was inhabited by peoples and tribes.
The first who tried to open India by the southern route (and we all know that he discovered America), was the navigator Christopher Columbus. The discoverer was born in the family of a weaver in Italy. He knew how to make geographical maps, studied the works of scientists and notes of sailors. He was sure that our planet has a spherical shape and wanted to make a voyage to prove it.

Having moved to Spain, Christopher Columbus spent 8 years seeking the consent of the king for an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean in order to find sea routes to India. The Spanish king agreed and appointed the persistent navigator as master of the lands he had discovered.
In 1492, 3 caravels on board with a crew of 90 people set off. A long voyage led to the fact that the sailors began to demand the commander to turn the ships home. But Columbus' faith was strong. After 70 days, finally, the earth was visible in the distance. These were the Greater Antilles. Next was the island of Trinidad, off the coast of South America. Continuing south towards the mainland, Columbus discovered the islands of Haiti and Cuba. Thus, in 1492, South America was discovered to the world.

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 recognized and connected with the expansion of 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 conceived a round-the-world trip and tried to implement it. 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 establish 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 India by sea. Dozens of years later, the Spanish conquistador Vasco Balboa with a military detachment, having overcome the 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; the last years of his life he was the chief pilot of Castile (he checked the knowledge of ship helmsmen, supervised the compilation of maps, and was involved in compiling secret reports to the government on new geographical discoveries). He took part in one of the first expeditions that reached the "Southern Continent" (as South America was originally called) and, perhaps, was the first to realize the essence of the 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 The 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 have been 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 the plane and on the 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.

Navigators such as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Buffin continued to explore the continent of North America. And thanks to their research, a new continent was explored up to the 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 the American coast in the 14th century, the Earl of Orkney de Saint-Clair, the Chinese explorer Zhehe He, the Portuguese Juan Korterial, etc.

In school textbooks around the world, you can find information that Columbus crossed the Atlantic and was the one who discovered America first. The only thing that can not be doubted is that he really overcame a long route across the ocean. In addition, Columbus landed on the continent only in 1498. This was the third expedition of the navigator. During the first trip, he could only get to the Bahamas and the Antilles.

Theories and hypotheses about who discovered America

The very term "discovery" in relation to the whole part of the world requires clarification, since America was not deserted. Indigenous tribes have lived on the mainland for over 15,000 years. Columbus opened the door for Western civilization to colonize the continent, nothing more. So did Columbus discover America or did he not?

The first who could actually get on their ships to the continent were the Phoenicians and Egyptians. There is no evidence to support this theory. A more convincing version is the Romans' voyage across the Atlantic. Some ships of the mighty empire were not inferior to the frigates of the XVIII century.

The only evidence that the Romans really were in America is only part of the statuette, a small terracotta head of a bearded man. It was discovered by archaeologists in the Tuluca Valley, 65 km from Mexico City. Thanks to new technologies, scientists were able to calculate: the find dates back to 200 BC. e. At this time, in ancient Rome, similar things were made in large quantities.

Viking sea voyages

Scandinavian navigators really were on the American continent, which is beyond doubt among modern scientists. The discovery of America is attributed to them. Much has been written about this in the Norwegian and Danish sagas. This is confirmed by many archaeological finds. There is a generally accepted theory about how exactly the Normans got to the continent.

In 986, Bjarn Herulfson traveled to Greenland via Iceland. A victim of strong winds and thick fog, Bjarn lost his way. For a long time, his crew swam almost blind, until a new land appeared before them. Heryulfson did not dare to leave the drakkars and set foot on land and ordered to go further along the coastline. A few days later he again saw the wooded coast, but Bjarne continued to sail north until he reached Greenland.

Stories about this journey interested the navigator Eirik the Red. The Scandinavian colonists needed a tree, so the story of the land covered with forests was very interesting for them, as it could solve some of their problems. In 1004, Eirik set off with a small team along the route of Kherulfson. The Vikings landed in America in several places. After wintering, they returned to Greenland with a large load of wood. And in what year did Columbus discover America to all Western civilization? This happened only after 500 years. Impressive, isn't it?

Amerigo Vespucci and Christopher Columbus

From the very beginning of the Columbus expedition, the discovery of America was perceived as a shortcut to India. That is why the indigenous inhabitants of the new continent were called Indians. Four countries actively participated in the seizure of new lands:

1. Spain.
2. England.
3. Portugal.
4. Holland.

Gold was exported from North and South America, new settlements were built here. The name "America" ​​comes from the name of the famous traveler Amerigo Vespucci (pictured). The Medici trading house in Seville, which Vespucci was in charge of, took part in equipping the second and third expeditions of Columbus. It was at this time that Amerigo met the navigator.

After a joint voyage with Columbus, Vespucci was engaged in compiling maps and globes, using materials from Spanish expeditions. The idea to perpetuate the name of the great explorer Amerigo Vespucci came from the famous cartographer Martin Waldseemüller. He published a book where the new part of the world was called America.

Later world maps also used this name for new continents. Thus, the name of the Italian merchant remained forever on the geographical map, despite the fact that many scientists protested against it.