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Discoveries Of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus is one of the more well-traveled people in history. He knew a lot about the Earth, even before he embarked on his journey across the Atlantic.
The following are some of the most mind-blowing discoveries of Christopher Columbus that many people don’t know.
Christopher Columbus First Voyage
On August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and their flagship, the Santa María. They were joined by two smaller caravels, the San Juan and Vizcaína.
The small fleet sailed to the Canary Islands where they rested and made repairs. Columbus left on 6 September; he sailed due west in an attempt to find a new sailing route to the East Indies.
Christopher Columbus’s First Voyage
Discovery of America
The crew aboard the Santa Maria had been instructed to keep a secret log recording their actual speed at sea. The information was recorded in such a way that no one but Christopher Columbus could decipher it.
This was done so that if they arrived back in Spain with nothing of value then at least their captain would have valuable information about their trip for future reference.
On October 7th Christopher Columbus sighted land which was a small island later named as Guanahani by the natives who lived there and San Salvador by Christopher Columbus himself.
On October 12th Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba which he thought was mainland China and stayed there for nearly a month before moving on to Hispaniola.
Christopher Columbus Second Voyage
The second voyage of Christopher Columbus set sail with 17 ships on September 25, 1493. Columbus had a total of 1,200 men with him to colonize the New World.
Among the crew were priests, farmers, and soldiers. Many of these men had just been through a war in Granada, Spain and wanted to start new lives in the New World.
The fleet arrived on November 3rd in what he called La Isabela on the north coast of Hispaniola. Columbus had to overcome many problems while creating this colony.
The natives were hostile, the colonists were unruly and rebellious, and there was much infighting among Columbus’ brothers and many of the colonists.
The crops that were grown here were for export back to Spain and the settlers would not use them for their own food needs since they did not think it was proper for them to eat what they grew.
Once again, Columbus sent several ships back laden with gold, spices and other treasures that he believed would make his king happy.
On June 11th 1496 the last ship left La Isabela headed back to Spain. The remaining colonists were left behind at this time to fend for themselves until Columbus returned from his third voyage in 1498
Christopher Columbus Third Voyage
Third voyage (1498-1500)
Columbus had turned over his governorship to Francisco de Bobadilla, who was sent out by Ferdinand and Isabella after the first two voyages.
After the third voyage, they replaced him with Nicolás de Ovando, who arrived in Santo Domingo on June 29, 1502. Ovando accused Columbus of gross mismanagement and immediately took steps to remove Columbus’s family from Hispaniola.
He had Bobadilla arrested on trumped up charges of misrule and had him chained and thrown into a ship’s hold before sending him back to Spain for trial. Bobadilla died before he reached Spain.
Columbus left the island of Hispaniola on April 24, 1502 for his third voyage to the New World. He explored the mouth of the Orinoco River on the northeast coast of South America in present-day Venezuela.
He sailed along the South American coast and visited various islands including Cubagua and Margarita Island off Venezuela, as well as Grenada in the southeast Caribbean.
After exploring Cuba, he returned to Hispaniola, where he found that many of his settlers had been killed in a battle with the Taino natives.
Christopher Columbus Fourth Voyage
On his fourth and final voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz, Spain on May 11, 1502. Also on board was a slave’s son named Diego.
It took several months for Columbus to reach Hispaniola. The island was in chaos; fighting had broken out between the Spanish settlers and the Indians. Many of the Spaniards had died of starvation or disease. Others were planning to leave.
Columbus immediately went to work trying to restore order and calm everyone down. Again in his log book, he complained about being unfairly treated by the Spanish king and queen and how other people had gotten rich at his expense!
After a couple of months, Columbus decided that something had to be done about Diego’s fate because his ship needed repairs badly. He put Diego ashore on an island near Hispaniola where Spanish settlers had established a colony called St. Thomas (now Puerto Rico).
He then sent two men aboard the Nina with a letter for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella telling them about Diego’s plight as well as announcing his plans for returning to Spain soon
Christopher Columbus Made Landfall In Bahamas
Christopher Columbus made landfall in Bahamas on October 12, 1492.
These islands were the first New World land he spotted in the New World.
This was one of the first encounters of the Old and New Worlds, which led to a cultural exchange between them.
Columbus’ first landfall in the Caribbean was at a small, inhabited island he named San Salvador, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas. He claimed all the lands he sighted for Spain, including Cuba and Hispaniola (modern Haiti and Dominican Republic) which he reached later.
Christopher Columbus Discovery Of Americas
Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator and explorer whose voyages to the Americas led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere.
Columbus is widely credited as the first European to discover America, though his initial landing place was the island of San Salvador in The Bahamas, in the Caribbean Sea.
Columbus’ discovery of North America was fortuitous and accidental, not premeditated. Columbus was looking for a route to Asia, but instead found a New World
On his first voyage, he made landfall in the Americas on October 12, 1492, at The Bahamas. On his fourth voyage, he visited Central America and South America on several occasions between 1502 and 1504.
His last voyage started in 1505 from Spain and ended in 1506 after being shipwrecked off the coast of what is now Panama.
Christopher Columbus Achievements
Columbus had several achievements during his lifetime:
Christopher Columbus is one of the most popular explorers in history. He traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in 1942 to find a new trade route to India. Instead, he discovered America and became the first European person who visited the Caribbean islands and South America.
Columbus made four voyages to the New World, discovering different islands of the Caribbean and the American continent. His voyages marked the beginning of European exploration and colonization of the Americas.
Also, Columbus opened a new era in world history by bringing previously unknown continents into cultural connection with Europe.
He was able to convince Queen Isabella I of Spain that he could get funding from her royal court for an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to find a new route to Asian countries like China and Japan.
