Christopher Columbus

Read about Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was born on October 31, 1451 in Genoa, Italy and was the oldest of five children. His father was a weaver and Christopher helped him with his weaving but he always wanted to sail. He didn’t get to go to school very much but he learned to read and write Spanish. Columbus also learned Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian, and read widely about geography, astronomy, and history.

Traveling to India around the southern tip of Arica was dangerous so Christopher wanted to find a new route by sailing west. Columbus thought that if they sailed west, they would eventually circle the globe and arrive in the Indies. For seven years Christopher Columbus traveled around Europe looking for someone who would finance his journey. Finally, Columbus arrived in Spain. For many years Spain had been caught up in a civil war and as a result, they were behind much of Europe in their development. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were anxious to prove that Spain could be as powerful and successful as their neighbor Portugal.

In August of 1492, they granted Christopher Columbus the supplies, men and ships that he needed to carry out his expedition. Columbus was given three sailing ships. These ships were named the Nina, the Pinta, and the larger ship the Santa Maria.

Columbus’ men were terrified that they would be lost at sea and that they would suffer starvation. As the days wore on these men began to turn against him. Columbus was forced to agree to turn back if they did not find land within three days.

On the night of the second day, just before he would have had to turn around, land was sighted. Columbus and his men discovered an island in the Caribbean, which they named Hispanolia. This island is the location of the present day nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Columbus did not realize that he had arrived in a new part of the world. He was convinced that he was in India. For this reason, he called the natives who lived on these islands the Indians.

Columbus returned to the Americas three more times. Each time believing that he was in India. During his life, he never realized what he had discovered.