![]() On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. However, after the Spanish conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Granada in January 1492, the Spanish monarchs, flush with victory, agreed to support his voyage. He was rebuffed and went to Spain, where he was also rejected at least twice by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. With only the Atlantic Ocean, he thought, lying between Europe and the riches of the East Indies, Columbus met with King John II of Portugal and tried to persuade him to back his “Enterprise of the Indies,” as he called his plan. However, Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world’s size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed). Contrary to popular legend, educated Europeans of Columbus’ day did believe that the world was round, as argued by St. At the time, Europeans knew no direct sea route to southern Asia, and the route via Egypt and the Red Sea was closed to Europeans by the Ottoman Empire, as were many land routes. He became obsessed with the possibility of pioneering a western sea route to Cathay (China), India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. Little is known of his early life, but he worked as a seaman and then a sailing entrepreneur. He explored the West Indies, South America and Central America, but died a disappointed man, feeling he had been mistreated by his patron, King Ferdinand of Spain.Ĭolumbus was likely born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. Columbus was the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century. They still hold Italian Christopher Columbus in high esteem.On May 20, 1506, the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus dies in Valladolid, Spain. Italian Americans are one exception to the rule. On Columbus Day, mock trials of Columbus are held in Peru. This has given rise to Indigenous People Day.ĭid You Know? Anti-Columbus sentiment has grown in both North and South America. Also, Columbus and many other Europe discoverers were seen as cruel conquerors and looters. Second, Leif Erikson and Native Americans preceded him. ![]() First, in 1492, Columbus did not land on the mainland of the American continent. In recent years, Columbus has fallen out of favor with many people for several reasons. ![]() And, the focus of this day is now more on the discovery of the “New World”, and less on Columbus himself. ![]() Not believing the world was flat, his real goal was to find a way to the Orient. Columbus did discover the existence of the New World for Europeans who until then, believed the world was flat and ended somewhere in the Atlantic. Today, we celebrate Columbus Day for what it accurately is. It also gave little mention, to the fact that Nordic explorers beginning with Leif Erikson had traveled down the eastern coast of Canada hundreds of years before Columbus arrived. Native Americans truly discovered America. What those books and teachings did not give credit, to is the fact that Native Americans were already here. That year, New York City held the first Columbus Day celebration commemorating the 500th anniversary of Columbus landing in 1492. For decades and decades, American history books and school teaching told us Christopher Columbus discovered America. Americans have been celebrating Columbus Day since 1792. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |