Christopher Columbus what he discovered. VI century - Irish monks. India travel plan

Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus

The continents known today as North and South America were discovered in the prehistoric period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the Americas, tens of millions of indigenous peoples lived here. The lands of the Americas have been repeatedly "discovered" by peoples coming from different parts of the world over many generations, beginning with the Stone Age, when a group of hunters first visited a land that was really an unexplored New World.

It becomes curious why then it is believed that America was discovered by Christopher Columbus. In addition, there are other theories about who first discovered America: Irish monks (6th century), Vikings (10th century), sailors from China (15th century), etc.

The first settlers in America

The first people who settled in America came there from Asia, probably about 15,000 years ago. During the Pleistocene epoch, the ice sheets of the Laurentian and Cordillera glaciers, as a result of melting, formed a narrow corridor and a land bridge between Russia and Alaska. A land bridge between the western coast of Alaska and Siberia, known as the Bering Isthmus, opened due to falling ocean levels and connected the continents of Asia and North America.

: In place of the Bering Isthmus, the current Bering Strait was formed, separating Asia and North America. The strait was named after the officer of the Russian fleet Vitus Bering, who crossed it in 1728.

The ancient settlers of America - the Paleo-Indians - passed through the Bering Isthmus from Asia to America following the movement of large animals. These migrations occurred before the Laurentian and Cordilleran glaciers closed and closed the corridor. The settlement of America continued in the future by sea or on ice.

After the ice plates melted and the ice age ended, the settlers who arrived in the Americas became isolated from other continents.

Thus, the American continents first discovered nomadic Asian tribes about 15,000 years ago, who initially settled North America, then spread to Central and South America and became the Native American peoples.

VI century - Irish monks

According to popular Irish legend, a group of Irish monks, led by Saint Brendan, took a boat to the west in the 6th century in search of new lands. Seven years later, the monks returned home and reported that they had found a land covered with lush vegetation, which was modern Newfoundland.

There is no exact evidence confirming that Irish monks landed on the coast of North America. However, in 1976, British traveler Tim Severin tried to prove that such a journey was possible. Severinus built an exact replica of the 6th-century monks' ship and sailed from Ireland to North America along the route described by the traveling monks. The explorer reached Canada.

10th century - Vikings

Around 984, the Scandinavian navigator Erik Kras explored ancient shipping routes and discovered Greenland. Leif Eriksson, the son of Eric Kras, in 999, with a crew of 35 people on one ship, set off from Greenland to Norway. Soon Leif Eriksson traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, where around 1000 he founded a Norwegian settlement on the territory of the modern Canadian island of Newfoundland. The Vikings named the settlement "Vineland" (eng. Vineland - "Grape land") because of the abundance of grapes growing on this land. However, Erickson and his team did not stay long - only a few years - before returning to Greenland. Relations with native North Americans were hostile.

In the sagas, the Vikings who settled in America are referred to as "skrelings" by the Native Americans. Most of the sagas come from Scandinavian folklore, but in 1960 the Norwegian archaeologist Helge Ingstad found the first European Viking settlement of the end of the 11th century, identical to the settlements in the Scandinavian countries, in the northern tip of Newfoundland (Canada). This historical and archaeological site has been named "L'Anse aux Meadows" and is recognized by scientists as evidence of pre-Columbian transoceanic contacts.

XV century - sailors from China

British naval officer Gavin Menzies theorized that the Chinese had colonized South America. He claimed that the Chinese explorer Zheng He, who commanded an armada of wooden sailing ships in the early 15th century, discovered America in 1421. Zheng He explored Southeast Asia, India, and the east coast of Africa using advanced navigational techniques.
Gavin Menzies, in 1421 - The Year China Discovered the World, wrote that Zheng He sailed to the east coast of the United States and may have established settlements in South America. Menzies based the theory on evidence from ancient shipwrecks, Chinese and European maps, and reports compiled by navigators of the day. However, this theory is questionable.

Christopher Columbus

Discovery of Christopher Columbus

August 3, 1492 the Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus, originally from the Italian city of Genoa.

With the support of the Spanish rulers - King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella - with a fleet of 3 caravels ("Nina", "Pinta", "Santa Maria") and 90 crew members, sailed from the port of Palos (Spain).

Sailors set off in search of a western route to Asia in order to acquire precious metals, pearls, silk, and spices.

October 12, 1492 the team of Christopher Columbus saw the earth and discovered the New World (America). In his personal notes, Columbus noted that he had found a "New World" unknown to Europeans. The crew went ashore on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Columbus assumed that sailors reached the islands located near India. Hence the name of the islands of the Caribbean - "West Indies". Columbus called the local natives "Indians" - the name of the indigenous population of America, which has survived to this day.

Christopher Columbus created a colony in America, which became the first European settlement in the New World. The Spanish navigator also opened the southern trade, which supplied the sailing ships carrying goods to the New World. After the first successful voyage (1492-1493), the Spanish monarchs awarded Columbus the rank of admiral.

Christopher Columbus made four expeditions to America during 1492-1504 Columbus died on May 20, 1506, still believing that he had found a new route to Asia and that the islands he was exploring were part of the Asian continent. By that time, other explorers were following the sea route first found by the admiral, and Europeans were already talking about Columbus' discoveries as the "New World".

: The first geographical map showing open overseas lands appeared in 1507. The German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller named the New World "America" ​​in honor of the Florentine navigator and merchant Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the coast of South America and found that it was a separate continent and not part of Asia.

Thus, America was first discovered by nomadic Asian tribes about 15,000 years ago. Many peoples probably visited the lands of America before the famous voyage of Christopher Columbus: Irish monks, Vikings, Chinese sailors.

Christopher Columbus discovered America in the sense that he introduced it to Western Europe during four expeditions to the region between 1492 and 1504.

Thanks to Christopher Columbus, the inhabitants of the Old World became aware of the New World - America, which includes two continents. Columbus opened the way from the Old World to the New, paving the way for the European colonization of the Americas, which led to the formation of new countries, including the United States, Canada and Mexico. The travels of Columbus are significant events in history that are considered the beginning of the colonial period.

Name: Christopher Columbus

Date of birth: 26-08-1451

Birthplace: Genoa, Italy

Date of death: 20-11-1506

Activity: Spanish navigator who discovered America for Europeans in 1492

Biography of Christopher Columbus

It is difficult to say what kind of thirst attracts people to distant lands. Curiosity and profit grow from the same root. In his time, miracles were told about unknown lands. Countless treasures and bizarre creatures excited the imagination. Christopher Columbus ventures into the unknown because curiosity is stronger than fear. As soon as he realized that the natives did not pose a threat, he proclaims the “terra” discovered by him as the possession of the Spanish crown. Until the end of his days, he believed that he had sailed to India, and with his light hand, the natives of America began to be called Indians.

Genoese childhood

Christopher Columbus came from a modest Genoese family and was born in 1451. The exact date, as well as the place of his birth, are unknown, which gives food for controversy to six cities in Spain and Italy. He was educated at the University of Pavia, married and continued his father's work, becoming a sailor. Participation in trading expeditions brings him some income, but not satisfaction. The young man dreams of unknown countries and dangerous journeys.

They say that the muse of wanderings begins to beckon from inner dissatisfaction and mental discord. Such people are bored or cramped to live among their fellow tribesmen. These dreamers want to find a paradise on earth, where rivers of milk flow and kissel shores shine. Enlightened minds already guess that the Earth is round, but this has yet to be proven by geographical discoveries. India is known only by hearsay, but enlightened monarchs are ready to fight for its untold riches.

crazy dream

We do not know what was the reason, but in 1474 Columbus moved to Portugal, where he lived for 9 years. He is thoroughly preparing his "great flight" across the ocean. It was inspired by the astronomer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli, who suggested that fabulous India could be reached by sailing west. Columbus visits England, Ireland and Iceland, where he collects information about the travels of the Vikings, participates in an expedition to Guinea. His plan to circumnavigate the Earth and reach blessed India from the other side was so daring that it seemed ridiculous. The wise rulers of Genoa, England and Portugal did not dare to give him money, people and ships. And only the Catholic Majesties of Spain, a country that was still at war with the Moors on its southern outskirts, are ready to discuss the proposal of the madman from Genoa. In 1482, after the liberation of Granada, Queen Isabella agrees to finance Columbus' overseas project. He is appointed viceroy of yet undiscovered lands and admiral of the endless sea deserts.

Unfortunately, apart from a high-profile title and sponsorship promises, he receives almost nothing from Isabella. Private individuals Martin Alonso Pinzón, Juan de la Cosa and Juan Niño supply him with money and ships. Three ships: "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina" set off into the unknown on August 3, 1492.

First expedition of Christopher Columbus

In three months, the expedition crossed the Atlantic Ocean without incident, discovering the Sargasso Sea filled with algae along the way. On October 12, 1482, the "vanguard" of the new continent was discovered by the sailor Rodrigo de Triana. The island that the first Europeans set foot on is now called Guanahani and is part of the Bahamas. The locals did not know the shame of nakedness, iron and fear of aliens. They were neither the Japanese that Columbus expected to find, nor the Negroes, nor the Indians. Ritual patterns on the body, pieces of gold and tobacco leaves were the first discoveries of the Spaniards.

Columbus gradually moves south along the Bahamas, discovering more developed tribes. The inhabitants of these lands use a hammock, grow potatoes, maize, tobacco and cotton. Still believing that he has sailed to Southeast Asia, Columbus discovers Cuba. The natives live in thatched huts and say that there is gold on the mainland. On December 6, 1482, Columbus discovers Haiti and names the island Hispaniola.

The captain and owner of the Pinta takes his ship on a quest on his own, and the Santa Maria crashes on the reefs. Having hastily built a fortress in Haiti from the wreckage of the ship, Columbus leaves a garrison of sailors in it, and he sets off on the Nina on the return voyage, taking with him several natives. The Pinta is waiting for them off the northern coast of Haiti. March 9, 1493 ships enter the harbor of Lisbon, where they are met with honors by the Portuguese king.

Golden fever

The discovery of new lands by Columbus caused a stir among the maritime powers. Portugal felt cheated, because it was she who was granted the right to own lands in the west by the popes. New acquisitions of Castile, as Spain was then called, violated the status quo. Pope Alexander Borgia reconciled both states, indicating the meridian separating the future possessions of Spain and Portugal.

Nothing inspires people like gold and novelty. The second expedition of Columbus took place six months after the first. About two thousand warriors, fathers, officials and noblemen on seventeen ships set off to develop new lands and exterminate the local inhabitants. The city and port of Saint-Domingue is being laid in Haiti. The Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands, the islands of Puerto Rico, Jamaica are opening. On the site of the fortress founded on the first voyage, traces of a fire and corpses were found. Diseases, vices and revenge of the natives exterminated the sailors left here.

The logbook details the yellow fever, clashes with the Caribs and the crew's muffled discontent. Suffocating heat hinders the development of new lands and spoils food supplies. Staying in Haiti, Columbus tries to establish gold mining. Some of the Spaniards seize the newly arrived food ships and flee. Others roam the island, robbing and raping the locals. The natives die from unknown diseases and flee to the mountains.

Meanwhile, the royal couple are unhappy with Columbus. Placers of treasures were not found, and it was decided to send an excess of passionaries to the new possessions, who did not find themselves in a peaceful life after the end of the Reconquista. The supply of India and new expeditions was entrusted to the enterprising merchant Amerigo Vespucci.

Third Expedition of Christopher Columbus

Now he has to catch up with cunning entrepreneurs sailing to rob no man's land. The third expedition of Columbus consists of 6 small ships and 300 crew members, many of whom are recruited from Spanish prisons. Arriving in Hispaniola (Haiti), which was left in the care of his brother Bartolomeo, Columbus observes the complete savagery of his relatives, who demand land plots and slaves. The seriously ill viceroy is forced to allow slavery and plantations.

In 1498, the Portuguese Vasco de Gama paved the way to true India, returning with a cargo of spices. The royal couple believe that Columbus deceived them. The new governor of Hispaniola, Francisco de Bobadil, is given unlimited powers and an order to arrest the unfortunate discoverer of America. Shackled, he arrives in Spain.

The last voyage of Christopher Columbus

Spanish financiers managed to convince the king of the innocence of Christopher Columbus. He goes on his fourth expedition, where he takes his brother Bartolomeo and son Hernando. In this voyage, he discovers the island of Martinique, reaches Central America and describes the customs of the Indians, whose descendants live in the territories of the modern states of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. From the inhabitants of the country of Veragua, he learns that the Atlantic Ocean is separated from the South Sea (as the Pacific Ocean was called) by an insurmountable barrier.

Luck left the great navigator. The governor of Hispaniola does not allow Columbus to take shelter from the storm in the bay of St. Domingo, the city he founded. He will never reach the Pacific coast, which would crown him with new glory. An attempt to establish a new colony on the continent fails due to the militancy of the local population. From the Indians along the Darien Bay, he learns that white people have already been here. He sails to Jamaica and runs aground. The new head of Hispaniola is in no hurry to come to the aid of his compatriot. Columbus manages to scare the native kings by predicting a lunar eclipse. Aborigines supply sailors with provisions.

Only a year later, it is possible to save the Spaniards stuck near Jamaica. In September 1504, having crossed the turbulent ocean, the brothers Christopher and Bartolomeo Columba returned to Spain. Poor and sick, the admiral of the endless seas dies in Seville on May 20, 1506. His last words are known: "Into your hands, Lord, I commit my spirit."

Posthumous glory

Did he think that the peoples and lands he discovered were doomed to destruction? Crowds of greedy conquerors rushed along the route he had beaten to baptize and rob, kill and rape. To the credit of the Spaniards, they were not racist like the British. In the former Spanish colonies live the descendants of the former natives who have adopted the culture of Catholic Europe. In the United States of America, a former colony of England, the Indians are almost completely exterminated.

The country, to which he gave power and glory, deprived him of privileges during his lifetime and left him to die in poverty and obscurity. It was remembered only in the middle of the 16th century, when the gold and silver of Latin America flowed like a river to Spain.

The fate of his remains is symbolic. The restless spirit of the admiral seems to drag lifeless bones along the routes he once traveled. Emperor Charles V of Habsburg, fulfilling the last will of the navigator, on 2 1540 transports his ashes from Seville to Saint-Domingue (Haiti). When the French took part of Hispaniola at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Spaniards transported the relics of Columbus to Havana (Cuba). Finally, in 1898, after the expulsion of the Spaniards from Cuba, his remains are again transported to San Domingo, and then to Seville. The Viceroy of Spain again reminded himself at the end of the 19th century, when a box with bones was discovered in the main cathedral of San Domingo, on which it was inscribed that they belonged to Christopher Columbus. Seville and San Domingo began a long dispute about where the great relic actually lies.

Despite the fact that the famous navigator was able to discover America with the help of the Spanish king, he himself was from Italy. The young years of life fell on a stay on the Apennine Peninsula. He was born in Genoa in 1451 and educated at the University of Pavia. Since birth, he lived near the sea and decided to devote himself to travel. The point is also that the years of the life of Christopher Columbus fell on the era of geographical discoveries, when the Europeans left the Mediterranean Sea and began to look for a way to India.

Beginning of navigation

Christian governments financed the 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 by the western route. According to his calculations, it was necessary to go in this direction along the latitude of the Canary Islands, after which it would be possible to reach the coast of Japan.

At this time he lived in Portugal, which was the center of all European navigation. He participated in an expedition to Guinea, where in 1481 the fortress of Elmina was built. At the same time, the ambitious explorer visited England, Iceland and Ireland, where he learned about the local legends about Vinland. So in the old days, the Vikings called the land they discovered. These were the shores of North America. Due to the fact that in the Middle Ages there were no strong ties between pagan Scandinavia and Christian Europe, this discovery went unnoticed.

Arranging a trip to the west

Many years of the life of Christopher Columbus were spent persuading various governments or merchants to finance the expedition he had planned 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 laid on the table of João II. He, too, rejected the risky undertaking.

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. Officially, 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 merged 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 offered to revise the project. Then he tried to negotiate with the king of England and Portugal (again).

Treaty with Spain

In 1492, Spain captured Granada and completed the Reconquista - the expulsion of Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula. The king and queen again freed themselves from political issues and took up the expedition of Columbus. The decisive word was given by Isabella, who even agreed to pawn all her personal treasures and ornaments in order to secure 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 a nobleman and Admiral of the Sea-Ocean.

In addition to the authorities, Columbus was helped by the shipowner Martin Alonso Pinson, who offered one of his ships ("Pinta"). The first expedition also involved the carrack "Santa Maria" and the ship "Nina". In total, a team of one hundred people was involved.

First expedition

The years of the life of Christopher Columbus were not wasted. He was finally able to realize his old dream. Many details of his first journey to the west are known to us thanks to the ship's log, which he kept every day. These priceless notes have been preserved thanks to the fact that the priest Bartolome de las Casas made a copy of the papers a few years later.

On August 3, 1492, the ships left the Spanish harbor. On September 16, the Sargasso Sea was discovered. On October 13, an unknown land appeared in the way of the ships. Columbus entered the island and hoisted 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. Then the expedition still believed that it was somewhere in East Asia. Some of the natives were found to have pieces of gold, which inspired the team to keep searching for the treasure.

Further discoveries

Second expedition

Even before that, the second journey of Christopher Columbus began. This time, under his command there were already 17 ships. 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 trip of Christopher Columbus differed from the first one in the composition of the team. 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, who were supposed to organize the life of a permanent colony in the west.

Already after 20 days of travel, Dominica and Guadeloupe were discovered, where the Caribs lived, distinguished by their aggressive attitude towards peaceful neighbors. The first encounter with them occurred on the shores of the island of Santa Cruz. At the same time, the Virginia archipelago and Puerto Rico were discovered.

Island colonization

The team wanted to get to the sailors left in Haiti during the first expedition. Only corpses and remains were found at the site of the fort. At the same time, the forts of La Isabella and Santo Domingo were founded. 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 his case. At the royal court, he declared that he had already reached Asia (in fact, it was Cuba). Christopher Columbus also briefly spoke about the fact that there is definitely gold there and now in new expeditions you can use the labor of prisoners for great economic benefits.

Third expedition

Thus began the third expedition of Christopher Columbus. In 1498, his ships rounded Haiti and went south, where, according to the captain, there should have been gold mines. So was opened as well as the mouth in present-day Venezuela. Having made this voyage, the expedition returned to Haiti (Hispaniola), where the local colonists had already managed to revolt. They did not like that they were given little land. Then it was decided to allow taking local Indians into slavery and increase personal allotments.

However, this did not solve the main problem posed by the discoveries of Christopher Columbus. Spain still had no gold. Meanwhile, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama was able to reach the real India. In accordance with the agreement with Castile, he circled 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 they were losing the ocean race to their neighbor, decided to revoke Columbus' monopoly on exploration. He himself was returned in chains to Europe.

Fourth expedition

The story of Christopher Columbus could have ended very badly if he had not acquired many influential friends - magnates and nobles during his successful expeditions. They persuaded King Ferdinand to give the navigator another chance and go on a fourth voyage.

This time, Columbus decided to go due west, bypassing the numerous islands. So he discovered the coast of modern Central America - Honduras and Panama. It became clear that the Atlantic Ocean is closed by some vast territory. On September 12, 1503, Columbus forever left the islands he discovered and returned to Spain. There he fell seriously ill.

Death and the meaning of discoveries

From that moment on, other navigators, and not Christopher Columbus, took up the discoveries. America has become a magnet for numerous adventurers and those who want to enrich themselves. The life of Christopher Columbus, meanwhile, was complicated by illness. He died on May 20, 1506 at the age of 54. This loss has gone virtually unnoticed in Spain. The value of Columbus' discoveries became clear only a few 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.

- a great traveler, an outstanding navigator, one of the great figures, whose discoveries were of world-historical significance for all mankind. Columbus was born in the autumn of 1451 in Genoa in the family of a weaver and wool merchant Domenico Colombo. At the age of 14, he entered the service of a sailor in the Genoese fleet, here he eventually received a serious wound. In 1477 he returned to Portugal, where he married in 1479 the daughter of a deceased owner on Fr. Porto Santo. In 1480, their son Diego Columbus was born. Until 1485, Columbus lived in Lisbon and on the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira, sails on ships, is engaged in trade, is intensively engaged in self-education and mapping. Based on ancient teachings about the sphericity of the Earth, Columbus was sure that it had the shape of a sphere, but due to incorrect calculations, he believed that the Earth was much smaller than it was in reality, and Asia was located west of Europe at a distance of only several thousand miles.

He is drafting a western sea route from Europe to India. In 1484, Columbus turns to the Portuguese king with his project, but he refuses to support the project. In 1485, Columbus moved to Spain with his son. In Spain, he took a mistress, by whom he had a son, Fernando, born out of wedlock in 1487. Columbus addresses several times with his projects of expeditions to different countries and, finally, in 1492 the project was approved by the Spanish monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. He was given financial support in exchange for joining the Spanish crown with newly discovered lands with gold and spices on them, as well as converting the natives to Christianity.

Finally, in 1492, Columbus carried out the first expedition in three ships with a crew of 90 people. Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean, became the discoverer of the Sargasso Sea and on October 12, 1492 reached the island of Samana, which is part of the Bahamas archipelago. He called the island he discovered San Salvador, and the date of October 12, 1492 is considered the official date of the discovery of America. From October 14 to October 24, several more Bahamas were discovered, and on October 28, the island of Cuba was discovered, he explored the northeast coast until December 5. On December 6, the ships reached the island of Haiti. In the spring of 1493, Columbus returned to Spain on one of the ships ("Ninya").

He undertook a second expedition in the autumn of the same year as Viceroy of the lands he discovered. Under his command there were already 17 ships, the crew numbered more than two thousand people. In order to develop new lands, a team of colonists from priests, soldiers and farmers also went with them. During the second trip, he discovered the archipelago of the Lesser Antilles, in mid-November 1493 - the island of Puerto Rico, in the spring of 1494 he made a military campaign deep into Haiti, and in the summer he explored the rest of Cuba and discovered the islands of Jamaica and Huventud. In the same period, he founded the first European city, La Isabela, and began the conversion of the local population to Christianity. In June 1496 he returned to Spain, where he was given the title of "Admiral of the Ocean and the Seas".

Columbus undertook his third expedition with six ships in 1498, the main discovery of which was the island of Trinidad. (July 31). Having explored the Gulf of Paria, he discovered the Paria Peninsula in the Orinoco River basin, thereby marking the beginning of the discovery of South America. During this period he discovered the islands of Chakakchakare, Margarita, Tobago. At this time, another traveler, Vasco da Gama, discovered a real route to India, Columbus was accused of deceit and in 1500 he was sent in chains to Spain. Here the charges were dropped from him, but Columbus kept the shackles for life.

Columbus still dreams of finding a western route to India and, having obtained permission, in May 1502, on four ships, he makes his fourth voyage. He reached the shores of Central America, which indicated the presence of a mainland between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea. From August 1502 to May 1503, he explored 2000 km of the Caribbean coast of central America. Not finding a passage to the west, Columbus turned north and at the end of June 1503, near the island of Jamaica, was wrecked. Only a year later, help came from Spain, Columbus returned home in November 1504, being seriously ill.
Columbus demanded that Spain pay him 10 percent of the profits received from the lands he discovered, which was stipulated in previous agreements. However, all his demands were rejected. A serious illness, lack of money and fruitless negotiations undermined the health of the previously physically strong and courageous navigator, and on May 20, 1506, Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid. Columbus was buried in Spain in the Seville Cathedral. By the time of his death, Columbus was still convinced that he had traveled along the east coast of Asia and, mistaking the lands he discovered for the East Indies, he called the indigenous population "Indians". Despite this mistake, all the discoveries of Columbus were of great importance, and the expedition undertaken by Magellan confirmed that he had discovered a new part of the world. The state of South America, a river and a federal district in the USA, a huge number of rivers, mountains, waterfalls, lakes, capes, cities, parks, bridges and streets in many countries of the world are named after Columbus.

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 many times appealed to the rulers of 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 journey, the navigator discovered the Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba, although he himself considered these lands "Western India".

During the second expedition of Columbus' assistants, there were such famous personalities as 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, Lesser 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 coast of Central America, proving that the mainland lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea.

Last years

During the 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 criminals on the newly discovered lands.
• 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.

Biography test

The biography will fill up better if you try to answer the test questions.