How America was discovered. Discovery of America. A path of mistakes and mysteries. Continents discovered by Columbus
For the first time the idea of crossing Atlantic Ocean, in order to find a direct and quick route to India, supposedly visited Columbus as early as 1474 as a result of correspondence with the Italian geographer Toscanelli. The navigator made the necessary calculations and decided that the easiest way would be to sail through the Canary Islands. He believed that from them to Japan there were only about five thousand kilometers, and from the Country rising sun Finding a way to India will not be difficult.
But Columbus was able to fulfill his dream only a few years later; he repeatedly tried to interest the Spanish monarchs in this event, but his demands were recognized as excessive and expensive. And only in 1492, Queen Isabella gave for the trip and promised to make Columbus admiral and viceroy of all discovered lands, although she did not donate money for it. The navigator himself was poor, but his comrade-in-arms, the shipowner Pinson, gave his ships to Christopher.
Discovery of America
The first expedition, which began in August 1492, involved three ships - the famous Niña, Santa Maria and Pinta. In October, Columbus reached land and ashore on an island he named San Salvador. Confident that this was a poor part of China or some other undeveloped land, Columbus, however, was surprised by many things unknown to him - he saw tobacco, cotton clothing, and hammocks for the first time.
Local Indians told about the existence of the island of Cuba in the south, and Columbus went in search of it. During the expedition, Haiti and Tortuga were discovered. These lands were declared the property of the Spanish monarchs, and Fort La Navidad was created in Haiti. The navigator went back with plants and animals, gold and a group of natives, whom the Europeans called Indians, since no one had yet suspected the discovery of the New World. All lands found were considered part of Asia.
During the second expedition, Haiti, the Jardines de la Reina archipelago, Pinos Island, and Cuba were explored. For the third time, Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad, found the mouth of the Orinoco River and Margarita Island. The fourth voyage made it possible to explore the shores of Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The route to India was never found, but South America was discovered. Columbus finally realized that a whole continent lay south of Cuba - a barrier to rich Asia. The Spanish navigator laid the foundation for exploration of the New World.
America is a part of the world whose official discovery is attributed to Columbus, but its history is full of dark spots.
The modern United States plays a key role in political strife and has a serious influence on other countries and the world economy. But the way is so high level was long and thorny. It all started with the discovery of America.
Christopher Columbus was a Spanish navigator who discovered two new continents for Europeans. He made 4 expeditions, each sent by kings, hoping to find a short trade route with India.
The first expedition consisted of three ships with a total complement of 91 people. She ended up on the island of San Salvador on October 12, 1492.
The second expedition, consisting of 17 ships and 1,500 people, lasted from 1493 to 1496. During this time, Columbus discovered Dominica, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and about 20 more Lesser Antilles. In June, he already reported to the government about his amazing findings.
The third expedition, which included 6 ships, set off in 1498, and two years later returned to their native shores. Several more lands were discovered, including Trinidad, Margarita, the Araya and Paria peninsulas.
The last expedition, sailing in 1502, included 4 ships. Within two years, the islands of Martinique, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica were discovered. Columbus was wrecked near Jamaica, and help arrived only a year later. The travelers arrived in their native Castile in November 1504.
Date when America was discovered - Vikings in 1000
Erik the Red was known as a great Viking. His son, Leif Erikson, was the first to set foot on American soil. After spending the winter in its vastness, Erickson and his expedition returned to Greenland. This happened around the year 1000.
Two years later, brother Torvald Erikson, the second son of Erik the Red, founded his settlement on the territory discovered by his brother. Less than a month later, his men were attacked by local Indians, killing Thorvald and forcing the others to return home.
Subsequently, Erik the Red's daughter Freydis and his daughter-in-law Gudrid also tried to conquer new spaces. The latter even managed to trade with the Indians, offering various goods. But the Viking settlement was never able to survive in America for more than 10 years, despite constant attempts.
When did Amerigo Vespucci discover America?
Amerigo Vespucci, after whom, according to some historians, the continents are named, first visited New World as a navigator. The route of Alonso de Ojeda's expedition was chosen using a map created by Christopher Columbus. Along with him, Amerigo Vespucci took about a hundred slaves who were indigenous to America.
Vespucci visited new territory twice more - in 1501-1502 and from 1503 to 1504. If the Spaniard Christopher wanted to stock up on gold, then the Florentine Amerigo wanted to discover as many new lands as possible in order to gain fame and preserve his name in history.
What does Wikipedia say about the dates of the discovery of America?
The famous Wikipedia talks about the discovery of the American continents in unprecedented detail. In the vastness of the world encyclopedia you can find information about all the expeditions to the New World, about each of the possible discoverers, and the further history of the Indians.
Wikipedia names the date of the discovery of America as October 12, 1492, speaking about Christopher Columbus.
It was he who managed not only to discover new territories, but to capture them on his map. Amerigo Vespucci was able to provide Europeans with a more complete picture of what the continents look like. Although his “complete” map was significantly different from the modern one.
In what year after the discovery did the settlement of America begin?
The settlement of American soil began many thousands of years before its official discovery. It is believed that the ancestors of the Indians were the Eskimos, Inuits, and Aleuts. The Vikings, as you know, also tried to take over the territories of the New World. But they failed - the indigenous people protected it too zealously.
After the discoveries of Columbus and Vespucci, almost 50 years passed before the first European settlements appeared.
In the American city of St. Augustine, the first small settlement of Spaniards was organized in 1565.
In 1585, the first British colony of Roanoke was created, which was destroyed by the Indians. The next attempt by the British was a colony in Virginia, which appeared in 1607.
And finally, the first colony in New England was the settlement located in Plymouth in 1620. This year is recognized as the official date of colonization of the New World.
Possible discoverers before Christopher Columbus
There are many people on the list of possible discoverers. Historians cannot find reliable facts about this, but there are sources indicating that the information is still correct.
Among the hypothetical discoverers it is worth highlighting:
- Phoenicians - 370 BC;
- ancient Egyptians;
- Hui Shen, who was a Buddhist monk who performed the first, as it turned out, trip around the world- V century;
- Irish monk Brendan, who followed in the footsteps of Shen - 6th century;
- Malay Sultan Abubakar II - 1330;
- Chinese explorer Zheng He - 1420;
- Portuguese Joao Corterial - 1471.
These people had pure intentions, did not seek fame and gold, and therefore did not tell the general public about their discovery. They were not trying to bring evidence or enslave Native Americans.
Perhaps that is why their names are not familiar to most contemporaries, and the more cruel and greedy Christopher Columbus is indicated as the discoverer of the new land.
The fate of the Native Americans
The story of the discovery of America is presented in modern history as a joyful event that laid the foundation for a new nation of “emigrants.” But it also became a nightmare for many Indians, who had to endure unspeakable horrors created by the conquerors.
The Spaniards killed several thousand native Americans and took several hundred into slavery. They made fun of the Indians and killed them with extreme cruelty, not even sparing babies. The “Whites” who arrived on the new lands sprinkled them with blood, reducing the joyful discovery to a bloody massacre.
One of those who observed the fate of the Indians, the priest Bartolome de Las Casas, who arrived with Columbus, tried to protect the Indians, even went to the Spanish court in the hope of their pardon. As a result, the court decided whether it was worth calling the Indians people at all, whether they had a soul.
The negative attitude is explained by the fact that Columbus left his crew to look after the New World and went home. When he returned, he saw all his people dead. As it turned out, the Spaniards became impudent, beating the men and raping the women of the tribe, as well as killing the rebellious. The Indians, who initially considered the “whites” to be gods, quickly realized how things were and began to defend themselves. This is what led to further tragic incidents.
In any case, the discovery of America- an important event, which today is considered one of the loudest in the history of civilization.
Christopher Columbus. Discovery of America.
Biographical information about Christopher Columbus is very scarce. He was born in the fall of 1451 in Genoa, first lived in Italy and, like his father, belonged to a woolen guild. It is unknown where and when he studied, but it has been proven that he read at least four languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin). In 1476 he moved to Portugal and lived here for 9 years. According to him, during this time he took part in Portuguese expeditions several times and visited England, Guinea and the Gold Coast. In 1474, Columbus sought advice regarding the shortest sea route to India to the famous Florentine astrologer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli. Toscanelli replied to Columbus: “I know that the existence of such a path can be proven on the basis that the Earth is a sphere.” Toscanelli drew up a map and sent it to Columbus. Toscanelli's mistake was that he did not know how land and water were distributed on the surface of the Earth, and reduced the distance from Europe to Asia across the Atlantic Ocean several times. Columbus made “corrections” to this calculation and came to the conclusion that the distance from Lisbon to Japan is 4500 km. In the words of the famous 18th century French geographer Jean-Baptiste Anville: “It was a great mistake that led to a great discovery.” Columbus made his first proposal to the Portuguese King João II, but was refused. Then Columbus left Portugal and went to Spain. In 1485, Columbus offered his services to Queen Isabella of Spain. In November 1491, a special commission rejected the Genoese project, because considered the navigator’s demands excessive. Columbus headed to France, but was stopped. At this moment, Louis Santall, the head of the largest trading house, came to Isabella and convinced her to accept Columbus’s project. On April 17, 1492, the king and queen agreed to the draft treaty proposed by Columbus. Here are the two most important articles of this document: “Their Majesties, as masters of the seas and oceans, from now on grant Don Christopher Columbus their admiralship of all the islands and continents that he will personally discover and acquire... Their Majesties appoint Columbus as their viceroy and chief ruler on... the islands and the continents that he... will discover or acquire, and to govern each of them a ruler must be elected (from the candidates presented by Columbus).” And further - “from any and all goods, be they precious metals, stones, gold or silver, spices or other things and goods that will be bought, exchanged, found, or acquired within the said admiralty ... may he have, and let him retain 1/10 of everything acquired, presenting 9/10 of the parts to their Majesties.”
Generous in their promises, the kings decided to minimize the costs of the expedition. Columbus was provided with two caravels. Their crew traditional version, was forcibly recruited from the inhabitants of Palas, sentenced to hard labor for insulting the kings, i.e. filled with criminals. Columbus and the Pinson brothers equipped the third caravel at their own expense. The flotilla consisted of three small ships: the Santa Maria, Columbus's flagship, the Pinta, commanded by Martin Pinzón, and the Niña.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus's expedition went to sea, but the repair of one of the yachts took whole month, and only on September 6, 1492, the ships departed from the island of Homer, and 36 days later at 2 a.m. on October 12, 1492, the land was already visible. It was one of the islands of the Bahamas group. On the island, the Spaniards saw naked people, and Columbus described the first meeting with the people, who 20-30 years later were completely exterminated by the Spanish colonialists: “I gave them red caps and glass rosaries and many other low-value items that gave them great pleasure. They brought us parrots and skeins of cotton yarn and many other things, which they exchanged for other items that we gave them. But it seemed to me that these people were poor. And all the people I saw were still young, their bodies and faces were very beautiful, and their hair was coarse, just like horse hair, only short... And their skin was the same color as the inhabitants Canary Islands, who are neither black nor white... They do not carry and do not know weapons, when I showed them swords, they grabbed the blades and, out of ignorance, cut off their fingers. They don’t have any iron.”
On the island, Columbus was presented with “dry leaves” as a gift, which were highly valued by local residents; this is the first mention of tobacco. Columbus gave the island the Christian name San Salvador (Savior). The navigator noticed pieces of gold in the noses of some islanders. From that moment on, he never tires of repeating in his diary that he “with the help of our Lord, will find gold where it is born.” The sailors learned about the island of Cuba from the Indians and soon sailed to its shores. On December 5, Columbus approached the land (the island of Haiti), which he called Hispaniola (Spanish Island). The sailors saw thin gold plates and small ingots among the inhabitants of Hispaniola. The gold rush intensified among the sailors, and Columbus himself was in a fever. He writes in his diary the words of an old Indian man about one island “all gold”, and about other islands where “gold is collected and sifted through a sieve, and then melted and made into various things.” On January 4, 1493, Columbus set sail and arrived in Spain on March 15. He brought the happy news about open lands, some gold and several islanders unprecedented in Europe, who began to be called INDIOS (Indians), because until the end of his days Columbus thought that he had discovered west bank India.
The disappointment of the first expedition was greatly mitigated by Columbus's assertion that he had discovered India and only needed to deepen his search to find mountains of diamonds and golden roofs. Large funds were allocated to organize Columbus's second expedition (1493): the flotilla consisted of 17 ships with about 1,500 people. On this voyage, Columbus discovered the Lesser Antilles and founded a colony on Hispaniola.
In 1495 he returned to. The results of Columbus's second voyage disappointed the Spanish government, because the main goal of this expedition was the founding of trading colonies and the export of gold. But there was little gold in Hispaniola, and the colony founded there turned out to be an unsuccessful enterprise. The vast majority of the colonists consisted of Spanish hidalgos left idle after the war with the Moors. This lazy and stormy noble youth was good with a sword, but was incapable of any kind of work. Columbus did not reach the American continent on this journey either. This was done two years later - in 1497, the Genoese Giovanni Cabotto (John Cabot), who lived first in Venice, then in England, sailed from England and in June 1497 sailed to the American mainland. Cabot did not understand the meaning and significance of his discovery, and his journey was soon forgotten. The tireless Columbus set off on his third voyage in May 1498. Now he set the goal that is usually attributed to his first voyage - to penetrate Indian Ocean. Therefore, he took a course with a large deviation to the south, only on this journey did he approach the American continent at the mouth of the Orinoco River, and only now in August 1498, when there were huge masses around him fresh water, the thought flashed through his mind, had he discovered a new, unknown continent? However, this idea was not strengthened by Columbus, and the open coast South America was not examined by him. But another thought took hold in the mind of the aging navigator: he decided that to the south of “India” lies nothing more than Eden - paradise, the top of the world. All great rivers originate from here. Illuminated by this insight, Columbus increasingly falls into mystical rapture. He considered himself the first European destined to find his way to the earthly paradise from which, according to the Bible, Adam and Eve were expelled.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese discovered sea route to India, they brought spices, fabrics and other precious goods from there. Comparison of Columbus's expensive and, so far, little profitable enterprises with the expeditions of the Portuguese was, of course, not in his favor. During the third expedition, an uprising broke out among the Spaniards on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti). Civil strife began. Columbus and his enemies complained about each other. Ferdinand and Isabella appointed their own governor to the island. He arrived at the scene, arrested Columbus and sent him in chains to Spain, however, here he was quickly released.
Columbus's fourth voyage in 1502 was a direct response to the expedition of Vasco da Gama. On Columbus's part, this was an attempt to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. But everywhere he came across a solid mass of land. Sailing along the Isthmus of Panama, he received information about a large ocean lying on the other side of the earth, and about some “ bottleneck", through which it was possible to reach the ocean. The Indians meant the isthmus. Columbus believed that he was in front of the islands, which, in his opinion, blocked his path to the shores of Asia, and persistently looked for a strait between them. IN last years Throughout his life, Columbus tried in vain to restore his rights and privileges. In 1506 he died, almost forgotten by everyone, in poverty. In his will, the great navigator asked to put on his coffin the chains in which he was transported from the New World he discovered. It is still unknown where the grave of the famous sailor is located. Columbus died in Valladolid, then his ashes were transported to Seville, and later transported across the ocean to Hispaniola and buried in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. Many years later, Columbus's ashes were reburied in Havana, Cuba, but then returned to Seville. It is not known exactly where the true grave of the great navigator is located - Havana and Seville equally lay claim to this honor.
The continent discovered by Columbus was named America after another navigator, Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo Vespucci was also from Genoa, was a sailor, served in Spain and Portugal. Vespucci's world fame is based on two dubious (as Magidovich I.P. believes) letters of 1503 and 1504. The first letter was addressed to the Medici, in which Vespucci spoke about his voyage in 1501-1502. The second letter was addressed to Comrade Vespucci, in which he wrote that back in 1497 (a year before Columbus), at the head of an expedition he explored an unknown continent. In 1507, Vespucci's letters were studied by a geographer, and here for the first time this part of the world was called America. It is unlikely that the geographer wanted to diminish the glory of Columbus with this statement. For him, as for other educated people of the early 16th century, Columbus and Vespucci discovered new lands in different parts of the world:
a) Columbus discovered old light(Asia);
b) Vespucci – New World (America).
It is not for nothing that Columbus’s relatives had nothing against this name and Vespucci himself. Soviet researcher Joseph Petrovich Magidovich in his work “The History of the Discovery and Exploration of Central and South America” claims that Vespucci did not discover America at all and did not participate in any expeditions of 1497-1498. Among modern Western scientists today there are Colombians and anti-Colombians. The first believe that the main merit of the discovery of America should belong to Christopher Columbus, the second do not agree with this statement, their arguments are different: the Vikings, John Cabot, Vespucci are also discoverers. It seems to us that Columbus’s feat was in sailing in the open ocean; he was the first to go “nowhere.”
October 12, 1492 first expedition Christopher Columbus reached the island of San Salvador, which is part of the Bahamas archipelago. Its shore became the first land on the American continent that Europeans saw, so this day is considered the official date of the “discovery of America.”
Columbus was born in Italy into a poor Genoese family. He studied at the University of Pavia and lived in Genoa until 1472, and then in Savona. In the 1470s he participated in several maritime trade expeditions.
It is believed that back in 1474, the astronomer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli informed Columbus in a letter that India could be reached by a much shorter sea route if you sail to the west. The assumption was based on the ancient doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth, but the calculations of 15th century scientists about the size of the planet were incorrect. Based on them, Toscanelli believed that getting to India around the globe would be shorter than going around Africa through the Cape of Good Hope.
Columbus was inspired by this idea and drew up his project for a sea voyage to India. Having made his own calculations based on Toscanelli’s map, he decided that it was most convenient to sail through the Canary Islands, from which, in his opinion, Japan was about five thousand kilometers in a straight line.
In 1476, Columbus moved to Portugal, where he lived for nine years. In 1483 he proposed his project to the Portuguese king Joao II. There is evidence that at first the king wanted to support the bold project, but after a long study he rejected it. The likely reason was that the new sea route to India threatened the Portuguese monopoly on the spice trade.
In 1485, after his project was rejected in Lisbon, Columbus moved to Castile, where, with the support of mainly Andalusian merchants and bankers, he achieved the organization of a government ocean expedition under his leadership.
The first expedition of Christopher Columbus (1492-1493), consisting of 91 people on the ships "Santa Maria", "Pinta", "Nina", left the port of Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492. On September 9, the squadron turned west from the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the subtropical zone and reached the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas archipelago, where Christopher Columbus landed on October 12, 1492 (the official date of the discovery of America).
On October 14-24, Columbus's expedition visited a number of other islands of the archipelago, and on October 28 - December 5, they discovered and explored a section of the northeastern coast of Cuba. During this period, “Pinta” disappeared. Her captain Pinson Sr. was distinguished by unauthorized actions and repeatedly disobeyed. He left Columbus near the island of Cuba, hoping to discover another imaginary island.
On December 25, 1492, the flagship Santa Maria ran aground on the reefs. By using local residents They managed to remove guns, supplies and valuable cargo from the ship. A fort was built from the wreckage of the ship on the island of Haiti, called La Navidad (Christmas). Columbus left 39 sailors here, armed the fort with cannons from the Santa Maria and left them supplies for a year, and on January 4, 1493, taking several islanders with him, he set out to sea on the small Niña.
On January 6, 1493, off the northern coast of Hispaniola, the Niña unexpectedly encountered the Pinta. Pinson Sr. explained his absence due to the influence weather conditions. Under the circumstances, Columbus decided not to initiate disciplinary proceedings, and on January 16, the two ships set out on their return journey.
The road back turned out to be difficult - in the Atlantic the ships were scattered by a storm and they lost each other again. However, in the end everything ended well: on March 9, the Niña dropped anchor in Lisbon, where João II received Columbus as his Serene Highness and ordered that he be provided with everything he needed.
On March 15, Niña returns to Spain. On the same day, “Pinta” arrives there. Columbus brings with him the natives (who are called Indians in Europe), some gold, plants previously unseen in Europe, fruits and bird feathers.
Despite the rather modest results, the significance of Columbus's first expedition turned out to be, without exaggeration, epoch-making. At the same time, the discoverer himself never realized the true scale of his discoveries, despite the fact that after that he undertook three more expeditions. Until his death in 1506, Columbus continued to believe that the American lands he discovered were part of Asia.
At the same time, Columbus’s formal priority in the discovery of America in modern world is a subject of debate. It has been established that the islands and coastal areas of North and Northeast America were visited by the Normans hundreds of years before Columbus. It is possible that Europeans and Africans could have accidentally reached the shores of tropical America since ancient times.
However, the fact remains recognized that only Columbus’s discoveries had world-historical significance, since only after his voyages the American lands entered the sphere of geographical ideas.
The discovery of America by Europe, carried out by Christopher Columbus in 1492, is the most important milestone in human history. The appearance of a new continent on the geographical map changed people’s understanding of planet Earth, forced them to comprehend its enormity, the countless possibilities of understanding the world and themselves in it. , the brightest page of which is the discovery of America, gave a powerful impetus to the development of European science, art, culture, the creation of new productive forces, the establishment of new production relations, which ultimately accelerated the replacement of feudalism with a new, more progressive socio-economic system - capitalismYear of discovery of America - 1492
First discovery of America by the Normans
Sailing of the Normans to the shores North America it was unthinkable without their justification in Iceland. But the first Europeans to visit Iceland were Irish monks. Their acquaintance with the island occurred approximately in the second half of the 8th century.
“30 years ago (that is, no later than 795), several clerics who were on this island from February 1 to August 1 informed me that there, not only during the summer solstice, but also on the previous and subsequent days, the setting sun seemed to only hides behind a small hill, so that it is not dark there even for the shortest time... and you can do any kind of work... If the clerics lived on the high mountains of this island, then the sun might not be hidden from them at all... While they are there lived, days always gave way to nights, except during the summer solstice; however, at a distance of one day's journey further north, they discovered a frozen sea" (Dicuil - Irish medieval monk and geographer who lived in the second half of the 8th century AD)
About 100 years later, a Viking ship was accidentally washed up on the shores of Iceland by a storm.
“They say that people from Norway were going to sail to the Faroe Islands... However, they were carried west, into the sea, and there they found a large land. Entering the eastern fjords, they climbed a high mountain and looked around to see if they could see smoke somewhere or any other signs that this land was inhabited, but they did not notice anything. In the fall they returned to the Faroe Islands. When they went out to sea, there was already a lot of snow on the mountains. That's why they called this country Snow Land."
Over time, a large number of Norwegian residents moved to Iceland. By 930 there were about 25 thousand people on the island. Iceland became the starting point for further travels of the Normans to the West. In 982-983, Eirik Turvaldson, who became Eric the Red in the Russian tradition, discovered Greenland. In the summer of 986, Bjarni Herulfson, sailing from Iceland to the Greenland Viking village, lost his way and discovered south of the land. In the spring of 1004, the son of Eric the Red, Leiv the Happy, followed in his footsteps, discovering the Cumberland Peninsula (south of Baffin Island), the eastern coast of the Labrador Peninsula and the northern coast of Newfoundland Island. The northeastern shores of North America were then visited more than once by Viking expeditions, but in Norway and Denmark they were not considered important, since their natural conditions were unattractive
Prerequisites for the discovery of America by Columbus
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fall of Byzantium under the attacks of the Ottoman Turks, birth Ottoman Empire in the east of the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor led to the cessation of land trade links by the Great Silk Road with the countries of the East
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Europe's critical need for spices from India and Indochina, which were used not so much in cooking, but as a hygiene item, for making incense. After all, Europeans washed their faces in the Middle Ages rarely and reluctantly, and a quintal (measure of weight, 100 pounds) of pepper in Calicut or Hormuz cost ten times less than in Alexandria.
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misconception of medieval geographers about the size of the earth. It was believed that the Earth evenly consists of land - the giant continent of Eurasia with an appendage of Africa - and ocean; that is, the sea distance between the extreme western point of Europe and the extreme eastern point of Asia did not exceed several thousand kilometers
Brief biography of Christopher Columbus
Born in Genoa in 1451. He was the first-born in a large weaver's family. He participated in his father's manufacturing and trading enterprises. In 1476, by chance, he settled in Portugal. He married Felipe Moniz Perestrello, whose father and grandfather were actively involved in the activities of Henry the Navigator. Settled on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago. Was allowed access to family archives, reports on sea voyages, geographic maps and driving directions. Frequently visited the harbor of Porto Santo Island
“in which nimble fishing boats scurried and anchored ships sailing from Lisbon to Madeira and from Madeira to Lisbon. The helmsmen and sailors of these ships whiled away the long hours of stay in the port tavern, and Columbus had long and useful conversations with them... (He learned from) experienced people about their voyages in the Sea-Ocean. A certain Martin Vicente told Columbus that 450 leagues (2,700 kilometers) west of Cape San Vicente, he picked up a piece of wood in the sea, processed, and very skillfully, with some kind of tool, clearly not iron. Other sailors met boats with huts beyond the Azores Islands, and these boats did not capsize even on a large wave. We saw huge pine trees off the Azores coast; these dead trees were carried by the sea at a time when strong westerly winds blew. Sailors came across corpses of broad-faced people of “non-Christian” appearance on the shores of the Azores island of Faial. A certain Antonio Leme, “married to a Madeiran,” told Columbus that, having traveled a hundred leagues to the west, he came across three unknown islands in the sea” (Ya. Svet “Columbus”)
He studied and analyzed contemporary works on geography, navigation, travel notes of travelers, treatises by Arab scientists and ancient authors, and gradually drew up a plan to reach the rich countries of the East by the Western sea route.
The main sources of knowledge on the issue of interest for Columbus were five books
- "Historia Rerum Gestarum" by Aeneas Silvia Piccolomini
- "Imago Mundi" by Pierre d'Ailly
- "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
- "The Book" of Marco Polo
- Parallel Lives of Plutarch
1492, April 30 - the royal couple approved a certificate granting Columbus the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands that would be discovered by him during his voyage along the said Sea-Ocean. Titles were complained forever “from heir to heir,” at the same time Columbus was elevated to the rank of nobility and could “name and title himself Don Christopher Columbus,” had to receive a tenth and an eighth share of the profits from trade with these lands, and had the right to litigate all litigation. The city of Palos was approved as the expedition's preparation center.
“He had heart-to-heart conversations with the Palos residents and said everywhere that the expedition needed brave and experienced sailors and that great benefits would accrue to its participants. “Friends, go there, and we will go on this hike all together; you will leave poor, but if, with God’s help, you manage to open up the land for us, then, having found it, we will return with gold bars, and we will all get rich, and we will receive a big profit.” Soon volunteers flocked to Palos harbor, wanting to take part in the voyage to the shores of an unknown land.”
Columbus's ships
Discovery of America. Briefly
- 1492, September 16 - Diary of Columbus: “They began to notice many tufts of green grass, and, as could be judged by its appearance, this grass had only recently been torn from the ground.”
- 1492, September 17 - Diary of Columbus: “Discovered that since sailing from the Canary Islands there was not so little salt water in the sea.”
- 1492, September 19 - Diary of Columbus: “At 10 o’clock a dove flew onto the ship. We saw another one in the evening.”
- 1492, September 21 - Diary of Columbus: “We saw a whale. A sign of land, because whales swim close to the shore.”
- 1492, September 23 - Diary of Columbus: “Since the sea was calm and warm, people began to grumble, saying that the sea here was strange, and the winds would never blow to help them return to Spain.”
- 1492, September 25 - Diary of Columbus: “The earth appeared. He ordered us to go in that direction.”
- 1492, September 26 - Diary of Columbus: “What we took for earth turned out to be heaven.”
- 1492, September 29 - Diary of Columbus: “We sailed our way to the West.”
- 1492, September 13 - Columbus noticed that the compass needle did not point to the North Star, but 5-6 degrees to the northwest.
- 1492, October 11 - Diary of Columbus: “We sailed west-southwest. During the entire voyage there had never been such rough seas. We saw “pardelas” and green reeds near the ship. People from the Pinta caravel noticed a reed and a branch and caught a stick hewn, possibly with iron, and a fragment of a reed and other herbs that were born on the ground, and one tablet
1492, October 12 - America is discovered. It was 2 o’clock in the morning when a cry of “Earth, earth!!!” was heard on board the faster “Pinta”, which was walking slightly ahead. and a bombard shot. The outline of the shore appeared in the moonlight. In the morning the boats were lowered from the ships. Columbus with both Pinsons, a notary, a translator, and a royal controller landed on shore. “The island is very large and very flat and there are many green trees and water, and in the middle is located big lake. There are no mountains,” wrote Columbus. The Indians called the island Guanahani. Columbus named it San Salvador, now Watling Island, part of the Bahamas archipelago
- 1492, October 28 - Columbus discovered the island of Cuba
- 1492, December 6 - Columbus approached big island, called Borgio by the Indians. Along its shore “beautiful valleys stretch, very similar to the lands of Castile,” the admiral wrote in his diary. Apparently that’s why he named the island Hispaniola, now Haiti
- 1492, December 25 - "Santa Maria" struck reefs off the coast of Haiti. The Indians helped remove valuable cargo, guns and supplies from the ship, but the ship could not be saved.
- 1493, January 4 - Columbus set off on his return journey. He had to sail back on the smallest ship of the Niñe expedition, leaving part of the crew on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), since even earlier the third ship, Pinta, separated from the expedition, and Santa Maria ran aground. Two days later, both surviving ships met, but on February 14, 1493 they were separated in a storm
- 1493, March 15 - Columbus returned to Palos on the Niña, and the Pinta entered Palos harbor with the same tide.
Columbus made three more voyages to the shores of the New World, discovered islands and archipelagos, bays, bays and straits, founded forts and cities, but he never learned that he had found a way not to India, but to a world completely unknown to Europe