Christopher+Columbus

=__**Christopher Columbus**__= toc

Christopher Columbus was an explorer from Italy in the late 1400's. Columbus' goal was to reach the Far East by a water route to set up trade with China. As an educated man he believed that by sailing West from Europe he would go around the globe and land in India or China. In 1492, Columbus became the "first" European to land on or "discover" America.

Early Life
Christopher Columbus, or "Cristoforo Colombo", was born in Geno, Italy sometime in the fall of 1451. He became well educated and could speak multiple languages including Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, and possibly Catalan. Columbus was also well-read in literature classics and geography. Sometime in his young life he began sailing. Columbus sailed to places like Ireland, Iceland, and Ghana on merchant ships. It is possible that Columbus served as owner or master of the ships he sailed on. Columbus married a women of nobility in Portugal named Doña Felipa Perestrello y Moniz. The two had a son named Diego.

First Voyage
With Columbus' strong interest in sailing and geography he decided that there must be a way to reach China or India by sailing west in the Atlantic. He brought his idea to Portugal, England, France, and Spain. Each place he went he was denied the funding and the ships needed to undertake this voyage. Finally, in 1492, Queen Isabella from Spain decided to give Columbus 3 small ships called the //Santa Maria,// the //Pinta,// and the //Nina//. There was a total of 87 men on these three ships. Columbus and his crew left Spain on August 3, 1492. Columbus used his compass to guide him and tried to measure their speed and distance using his extensive sailing knowledge. By mid- October many of Columbus' men were growing weak and wanted him to turn back. Columbus told his men to be strong and said if they had not seen land by October 12th they would return to Spain. Early morning October 12th one of the men in the lookout spotted land.

**Columbus Reaches America**
Columbus named the island they reached San Salvador, meaning Holy Savior, out of his happiness for reaching the island safely. Columbus was in search of spices, silk, rugs, or gold to bring back to the Queen. However, the only thing Columbus and his men discovered were some inhabitants. Believing that he had reached India, Columbus called the inhabitants Indians. This name has continued to describe all native people in America. Columbus and the Indians traded goods and tried to speak with one another using signs. Columbus and his men continued searching for gold by visiting near by islands Cuba and Hispaniola. In Hispaniola, the inhabitants had large amounts of gold and Columbus was given a belt with a solid gold buckle. Although Columbus and his men could not find the source of the gold, they were convinced that it was near. After the //Santa Maria// was wreaked after running aground, Columbus decided that some men would have to stay in America while he and the others returned to Spain. The 40 men that were left were to look for gold until Columbus could return.

Second Voyage
Columbus returned to Spain a hero on March 15,1493. He presented King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella with Indians from America and in return was made the governor of the new territories. In September 1493 Columbus left Spain again to head to America. This time he was accompanied by a fleet of 17 ships and 2,000 colonists. When Columbus returned to Hispaniola he found that the 40 men he left there on his first trip were all dead. He created a new colony called Isabella and gave orders for the men to look for gold. Columbus then continued sailing to see if he could find China. When Columbus returned to the newly formed colony of Isabella, he found that many were sick and fighting with Indians. The colonists at Isabella were also not successful in finding gold. Angry and frustrated, Columbus returned to Spain.

Third Voyage
In May 1498, Columbus sailed toward America again. This time he traveled further south to places like Trinidad and Venezuela. On this voyage Columbus actually made it to mainland South America which made him the first European since the Viking Leif Ericson to set foot on mainland America.

Fourth Voyage
Columbus' fourth and final voyage started in 1502. This time Columbus visited Mexico, Honduras, Panama, and Jamaica.



Later in Life
Christopher Columbus was an excellent sailor, but he was not very skilled at politics or business. He never became rich and he lost almost all power that was given to him. When he died in 1506 he was almost forgotten by the general public. Christopher Columbus believed, until the day he died, that he landed in the Indies.