Christopher Columbus
, an Italian-born navigator who sailed in the service of Spain, is commonly described as the "discoverer" of the New World--America. Although Columbus was in search of a westward route to Asia by sea, the "discoveries" he did make were more important and valuable than the route he failed to find. It is certain, however, that Columbus was not the first European to cross the Atlantic. Documentary evidence supports claims that the Vikings reached the New World about AD 1000. And there is good circumstantial evidence, though no documentation, to suggest that both Portuguese and English fishing vessels made the crossing during the 14th century, probably landing in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...
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found his way ashore, and went to Lisbon; he apparently traveled to Ireland and England and later claimed to have gone as far as Iceland. He was in Genoa in 1479, returned to Portugal, and married. His wife, Dona Felipa, died soon after his son, Diego, was born (c.1480).
By this time Columbus had become interested in westward voyages. He had learned of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors' reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. Acquiring books and maps, he accepted Marco Polo's erroneous location for Japan--2,400 km (1,500 mi) east of China--and Ptolemy's underestimation of the circumference of the Earth and overestimation of the size of the Eurasian landmass. He came to believe that Japan was about 4,800 km (3,000 mi) to the west of Portugal--a distance that could be sailed in existing vessels. His idea was furthered by the suggestions of the Florentine cosmographer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli. In 1484, Columbus sought support for an exploratory voyage ...
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was met by Arawak, a friendly local population that Columbus called Indians. Some days later the expedition sailed on to Cuba, where delegations were landed to seek the court of the Mongol emperor of China and gold. In December they sailed east to Hispaniola, where, at Christmas, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Cap-Haitien. Columbus got his men ashore. The Indians seemed friendly; so 39 men were left on the island at the settlement of Navidad while Columbus returned to Spain on the Nina. He had sailed due west from the Canaries with favorable winds; now he sailed north before heading east and so again found favorable winds. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, who had explored on his own with the Pinta, ...
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Christopher Columbus. (2008, January 30). Retrieved April 25, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Christopher-Columbus/78252
"Christopher Columbus." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Christopher-Columbus/78252>
"Christopher Columbus." Essayworld.com. January 30, 2008. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Christopher-Columbus/78252.
"Christopher Columbus." Essayworld.com. January 30, 2008. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Christopher-Columbus/78252.
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