What Christopher Columbus was looking for when he found America. How Columbus Discovered America

It was midnight October 11, 1492. Just another two hours - and an event will take place that is destined to change the entire course of world history. On the ships, no one was fully aware of this, but literally everyone, from the admiral to the youngest cabin boy, was in suspense. The one who first sees the land was promised a reward of ten thousand maravedis, and now it was clear to everyone that the long voyage was nearing its end ...

1.India

Columbus was quite sure all his life that he had sailed to the east coast of Asia, although in fact he was about 15 thousand kilometers from it. At that time it was already known that the Earth was round, but the ideas about the size of the globe were still very vague.

It was believed that our planet is much smaller, and that if you sail from Europe strictly to the west, you can find a short sea route to China and India - countries that have long attracted travelers with their silks and spices. It was this path that Christopher Columbus dreamed of finding.

In 1483, Christopher Columbus proposes a project to King Juan II, but after a long study, Columbus's "excessive" project is rejected. In 1485, Columbus moved to Castile, where, with the help of merchants and bankers, he sought to organize a government sea expedition under his command.

2. Convince the Queen

It took Columbus 7 years to convince the king and queen of Spain and their scientific advisers to help him organize an expedition across the ocean.
In 1485 Columbus enters Spain. The only way for him to fulfill his dream and set sail is to get the support of the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. At first, no one believed him. The court scholars simply did not understand how it was possible, by sailing to the west, to get to the lands that are far to the east. It seemed like something completely impossible.

Here is what they said: “Even if you could somehow descend into another hemisphere, how would you get back up from there? Even with the most favorable wind, the ship would never climb the huge water mountain that the bulge of the ball forms, even if we assume that the Earth is really spherical.
It wasn't until 1491 that Columbus was able to again visit Ferdinand and Isabella and convince them that he could indeed find a sea route to India.

Columbus at a reception with the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

3. A team of prisoners

The crew of the ships had to be assembled from prisoners serving sentences - no one else agreed to voluntarily participate in the dangerous voyage. Still would! After all, it was impossible to predict in advance how long this journey would last and what dangers might be encountered along the way. Even if scientists did not immediately believe in Columbus's plan, what can we say about ordinary sailors.

Former criminals and dregs of society will have an entire continent under their rule.

4. Three caravels

Columbus was given three caravels: "Santa Maria" (about 40 meters long), "Nina" and "Pinta" (about 20 meters each). Even for that time, these ships were very small.

Riding them across the ocean with 90 crew members seemed like an incredibly bold decision. For example, only Columbus himself, ship captains and a few other crew members had their own beds. The sailors, on the other hand, had to sleep in turns on the floor in a cramped hold, on damp barrels and boxes. And so for many weeks of travel.

Three small wooden ships - "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina" set off from the port of Paloe (Atlantic coast of Spain) on August 3, 1492. About 100 crew members, the bare minimum of food and equipment.

5. Riot on the ship

They have never had to swim so far into the ocean and so far from their native shores. Columbus even deliberately decided not to tell everyone how much distance had already been covered, and called much smaller numbers. With joy, the sailors were ready to believe in any sign of the approaching land: for example, they encountered whales, albatrosses, or algae floating on the surface of the water. Although in fact, all these “signs” have nothing to do with the proximity of land.

6.Magnetic needle

One of the first in the world, Christopher Columbus was able to observe how the magnetic needle deflected.

At that time, it was not yet known that the compass needle did not point exactly to the north, but to the magnetic north pole. Once Columbus discovered that the magnetic needle does not point exactly in the direction of the North Star, but deviates more and more from this direction. Of course he was very scared. Is the compass on the ship inaccurate or maybe broken? Just in case, Columbus also decided not to tell almost anyone about this observation.

Late 15th century compass (like Columbus had)

7.First islands

Before the land appeared on the horizon on October 12, 1492, 70 days of sailing had passed. However, the outlines of the coast seen were not the mainland at all, but a small island, which was later called San Salvador.

In total, Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean (and all four times he thought that he was approaching the shores of India). During this time, he visited many islands of the Caribbean and only during the third voyage saw the shores of the continent. During the fourth voyage, Columbus sailed along the coast for several months, hoping to find a strait leading to the long-awaited India. Of course, no strait could be found. Completely exhausted sailors were forced to return to the already familiar islands with nothing.

All of them, writes Columbus, go naked, in what their mother gave birth, and women too ... And the people I saw were still young, all of them were no more than 30 years old, and they were well built, and their bodies and faces they were very beautiful, and their hair was coarse, just like horse hair, and short ... Their features were regular, their expression friendly ...

8. Indians

Columbus called the natives met on the islands Indians - because he sincerely considered the lands found to be part of India. It is surprising that this “erroneous” name of the native inhabitants of America has survived to this day.

Moreover, we were still lucky with the Russian language - we call the inhabitants of India Indians, distinguishing them from the Indians by at least one letter. And, for example, in English language both words are spelled exactly the same: "indians". Therefore, when it comes to American Indians, they are called immediately with a clarification: “American Indians” or simply “Native Americans” (“Native Americans”).

Here everything seemed unusual and new: nature, plants, birds, animals and even people.

9. Columbus exchange

Columbus brought from his voyages many products not yet known to Europeans: for example, corn, tomatoes and potatoes. And in America, thanks to Columbus, grapes appeared, as well as horses and cows.

This movement of products, plants and animals between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (America) lasted several hundred years and was called the “Columbus Exchange”.

10. Astronomy

At the most dangerous moment, Columbus miraculously saved ... knowledge of astronomy!

During the last voyage, the team got into a very difficult situation. Ships were wrecked, provisions were running out, people were exhausted and sick. It only remained to wait for help and hope for the hospitality of the Indians, who were not too peacefully disposed towards strangers.

And then Columbus came up with a trick. From astronomical tables, he knew that on February 29, 1504, a lunar eclipse would occur. Columbus called the local leaders to him and announced that in punishment for their hostility, the god of the white people decided to take the moon from the inhabitants of the island.

And indeed, the prediction came true - exactly at the indicated time, the moon began to be covered with a black shadow. Then the Indians began to beg Columbus to return the moon to them, and in return they agreed to feed the strangers with the best food and fulfill all their wishes.

The continents known today as North and South America were discovered in the prehistoric period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the Americas, tens of millions of indigenous peoples lived here. The lands of the Americas have been repeatedly "discovered" by peoples coming from different parts of the world over many generations, beginning with the Stone Age, when a group of hunters first visited a land that was really an unexplored New World.

It becomes curious why then it is believed that America was discovered by Christopher Columbus. In addition, there are other theories about who first discovered America: Irish monks (6th century), Vikings (10th century), sailors from China (15th century), etc.

The first settlers in America

The first people who settled in America came there from Asia, probably about 15,000 years ago. During the Pleistocene epoch, the ice sheets of the Laurentian and Cordillera glaciers, as a result of melting, formed a narrow corridor and a land bridge between Russia and Alaska. Land bridge between west coast Alaska and Siberia, known as the Bering Isthmus, opened up due to falling ocean levels and connected the continents of Asia and North America.

Interesting fact: In place of the Bering Isthmus, the current Bering Strait was formed, separating Asia and North America. The strait was named after the officer of the Russian fleet Vitus Bering, who crossed it in 1728.

The ancient settlers of America - the Paleo-Indians - passed through the Bering Isthmus from Asia to America following the movement of large animals. These migrations occurred before the Laurentian and Cordilleran glaciers closed and closed the corridor. The settlement of America continued in the future by sea or on ice. After the ice plates melted and the ice age ended, the settlers who arrived in the Americas became isolated from other continents. Thus, the American continents first discovered nomadic Asian tribes about 15,000 years ago, who initially settled North America, then spread to Central and South America and became the Native American peoples.

Dioscoro Pueblo. "The Landing of Columbus in America" ​​(1862 painting)

Discovery of America- an event as a result of which a new part of the world became known to the inhabitants of the Old World - America, consisting of two continents.

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus

1st expedition

The first expedition of Christopher Columbus (1492-1493), consisting of 91 people on the ships Santa Maria, Pinta, Nina, left Pálos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492, turned from the Canary Islands to West (September 9), crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the subtropical zone and reached the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas, where Christopher Columbus landed on October 12, 1492 (the official date of the discovery of America). October 14-24, Christopher Columbus visited a number of other Bahamas, and on October 28-December 5 discovered and examined a section of the northeastern coast of Cuba. On December 6, Columbus reached Fr. Haiti and moved along the north coast. On the night of December 25, the flagship Santa Maria landed on a reef, but people escaped. Columbus on the ship "Nina" on January 4-16, 1493 completed the survey of the northern coast of Haiti and on March 15 returned to Castile.

2nd expedition

The 2nd expedition (1493-1496), which Christopher Columbus led already in the rank of admiral and in the position of viceroy of the newly discovered lands, consisted of 17 ships with a crew of over 1.5 thousand people. On November 3, 1493, Columbus discovered the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe, turning to the North-West - about 20 more Lesser Antilles, including Antigua and the Virgin Islands, and on November 19 - the island of Puerto Rico and approached the northern coast of Haiti. On March 12-29, 1494, Columbus, in search of gold, made an aggressive campaign into Haiti, and crossed the Cordillera Central ridge. On April 29-May 3, Columbus with 3 ships passed along the southeastern coast of Cuba, turned from Cape Cruz to the South, and on May 5 discovered about. Jamaica. Returning on May 15 to Cape Cruz, Columbus walked along the southern coast of Cuba to 84 ° west longitude, discovered the Jardines de la Reina archipelago, the Zapata Peninsula and the island of Pinos. June 24, Christopher Columbus turned east and explored August 19-September 15 the entire South coast Haiti. In 1495 Christopher Columbus continued the conquest of Haiti; March 10, 1496 left the island and June 11 returned to Castile.

3rd expedition

The 3rd expedition (1498-1500) consisted of 6 vessels, 3 of which Christopher Columbus himself led across the Atlantic Ocean near 10 ° north latitude. On July 31, 1498, he discovered the island of Trinidad, entered the Gulf of Paria from the south, discovered the mouth of the western arm of the Orinoco River Delta and the Paria Peninsula, marking the beginning of the discovery of South America. Then leaving for the Caribbean Sea, Christopher Columbus approached the Araya Peninsula, discovered the island of Margarita on August 15, and on August 31 arrived in the city of Santo Domingo (on the island of Haiti). In 1500, Christopher Columbus was arrested on a denunciation and sent to Castile, where he was released.

4th expedition

4th expedition (1502-1504). Having obtained permission to continue searching for a western route to India, Columbus with 4 ships reached the island of Martinique on June 15, 1502, and the Gulf of Honduras on July 30, and discovered from August 1, 1502 to May 1, 1503 the Caribbean coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to Uraba Bay. Turning then to the North, June 25, 1503 was wrecked off the island of Jamaica; help from Santo Domingo came only a year later. Christopher Columbus returned to Castile on November 7, 1504.

Candidates for pioneers

• The first people who settled in America are the native Indians, who crossed there about 30 thousand years ago from Asia along the Bering Isthmus.
• In the 10th century, around 1000, the Vikings led by Leif Eriksson. L'Anse aux Meadows has the remains of a Viking settlement on the continent. This historical and archaeological site (L'Anse-au-Meadows) is recognized by scientists as evidence of transoceanic contacts that took place before the discovery made by Columbus.
• In 1492 - Christopher Columbus (Genoese in the service of Spain); Columbus himself believed that he opened the way to Asia (hence the name West Indies, Indians).
• In 1507, the cartographer M. Waldseemüller proposed that the discovered lands be named America in honor of the explorer of the New World Amerigo Vespucci - this is considered the moment from which America was recognized as an independent continent.
• There are good reasons to believe that the continent was named after the English patron Richard America from Bristol, who financed the second transatlantic expedition of John Cabot in 1497, and Vespucci took his nickname in honor of the already named continent [ ] . In May 1497, Cabot reached the shores of Labrador, becoming the first officially recorded European to set foot on the North American continent. Cabot mapped the coast of North America from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. In the Bristol calendar for that year we read: “... on St. John the Baptist was found in the land of America by merchants from Bristol, who arrived on a ship from Bristol with the name "Matthew" ("metik").

Hypothetical

In addition, hypotheses were put forward about visiting America and contact with its civilization by seafarers before Columbus, representing various civilizations of the Old World (for more details, see Contacts with America before Columbus). Here are just a few of these hypothetical contacts:

• in 371 BC. e. - Phoenicians
• in the 5th century - Hui Shen (a Taiwanese Buddhist monk who traveled to the country in the 5th century

The lands were the most common: the founding of cities, the discovery of deposits of gold and wealth. In the 15th century, navigation was actively developing, and expeditions were equipped in search of an unknown continent. What was on the mainland before the arrival of Europeans, when Columbus discovered America, and under what circumstances did this happen?

History of the great discovery

By the 15th century European states had a high level of development. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, looking for additional sources of profit to replenish the treasury. New colonies formed.

Before the discovery, tribes lived on the continent. The natives were distinguished by a friendly character, which favored the rapid development of the territory.

Christopher Columbus, while still a teenager, discovered such a hobby as cartography. The Spanish navigator once learned from the astronomer and geographer Toscanelli that if you sail westward, you can reach India much faster. It was 1470. And the idea came just in time, as Columbus was looking for another route that would allow him to get to India in short time. He suggested that a route should be laid through the Canary Islands.

In 1475, the Spaniard organizes an expedition, the purpose of which is to find a fast way by sea to India across the Atlantic Ocean. He reported this to the government with a request to support his idea, but received no help. The second time Columbus wrote to King Joao II of Portugal, however, he was also refused. Then he again turned to the government of Spain. On this occasion, several meetings of the commission were held, lasting a year. The final positive decision on financing was made after the victory of the Spanish troops in the city of Granada, liberated from the occupation of the Arabs.

In the event that a new path to India was discovered, Columbus was promised not only wealth, but also a noble title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of the lands that he would discover. Since Spanish ships were forbidden to enter the waters on the west coast of Africa, such a move was beneficial for the government in order to conclude a direct trade agreement with India.

In what year did Columbus discover America?

1942 is officially recognized as the year of the discovery of America in history. Having discovered undeveloped lands, Columbus did not imagine that he had discovered the continent, which would be called the "New World". In what year the Spaniards discovered America, one can say conditionally, since a total of four campaigns were undertaken. Each time the navigator found more and more new lands, believing that this was the territory of Western India.

Columbus thought that he was following the wrong route after the expedition of Vasco de Gama. The traveler arrived in India and returned in a short time with rich goods, accusing Christopher of deceit.

Later it turned out that Columbus discovered the islands and the continental part of North and South America.

Which travelers discovered America earlier?

To say that Columbus became the discoverer of America is not entirely true. Before that, the Scandinavians landed on the lands: in 1000 - Leif Eriksson and in 1008 - Thorfinn Karlsefni. This is evidenced by the historical records "The Saga of the Greenlanders" and "The Saga of Eric the Red". There is other information about travel to the "New World". Traveler Abu Bakr II, a resident of the Celestial Empire Zheng He and a nobleman from Scotland, Henry Sinclair, arrived from Mali to America.

There is historical evidence showing that in the 10th century New World visited by the Normans after the discovery of Greenland. However, they failed to develop the territories due to severe weather conditions unsuitable for agriculture. In addition, the way from Europe was very long.

Visits to the mainland by the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.

The discovery of America is one of the greatest events in human history. The history of the discovery of a huge continent is fraught with many interesting and amazing facts. To this day, there is debate about who really discovered America. Everyone knows that the name of the discoverer is Christopher Columbus, why the land is named after Amerigo Vespucci, and who else visited the continent before Columbus ... About this and much more - later in the article.

At the end of the fifteenth century, the Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus reached the shores of North America with his expedition, mistakenly believing that he had arrived in India. It is from this moment that the era of the discovery of America begins and the beginning of its development and research. However, there are researchers who consider this date to be inaccurate, insisting that the new continent was discovered much earlier.

The first information about the existence of a new continent, later called America, appeared in the prehistoric period. These events happened by accident. The motives for discoveries were, as a rule, the search for habitable lands (the desire for survival), the search for gold and large trading cities.

The Paleo-Indians were the first

The first people who settled in America about 15 thousand years ago were people from Asia. In the Pleistocene era, as a result of the melting of the ice sheets (Laurentian and Cordillera), a narrow corridor formed between Russia and Alaska. The so-called land bridge between the western coast of Alaska and Siberia, or the Bering Isthmus, connected the continents of Asia and North America as a result of falling ocean levels.

The Paleo-Indians, the ancient settlers of America, arrived from Asia to America through the Bering Isthmus following the movement of prey - large animals. Migrations occurred before the closure of the corridor, that is, the closing of the Laurentian and Cordillera glaciers. In the future, the settlement of America already took place by sea or on ice. When the ice age ended and the ice plates melted, the settlers who arrived in America found themselves isolated from other continents.

It turns out that for the first time the American continents were discovered by nomadic Asian tribes, who initially settled in North America, then occupied Central and South America. They later became the native American peoples.

Legend of the Irish Monks

According to a popular Irish legend, in the 6th century, a group of Irish monks, led by Saint Brendan, went west by boat in search of new lands. Seven years later, the monks returned home and reported that they had found a land covered with lush vegetation, which was the current Newfoundland.

However, there is no exact evidence confirming the fact that the Irish monks not only saw, but also visited the coast of North America. In 1976, British traveler Tim Severin set out to prove that such a journey was possible. He made an exact replica of the monastic vessel and set out from Ireland to North America, following the route once described by traveling monks. As a result, the researcher reached Canada.

Vikings and Vinland

In 984, as a result of exploring ancient seafaring routes, the Scandinavian navigator Erik Kras discovered Greenland. In 999, his son, Leif Eriksson, having gathered a crew of 35 people, went on one ship from Greenland to Norway. Around the year 1000, Leif Eriksson traveled across the Atlantic to North America. There, on the territory of the modern Canadian island of Newfoundland, he founded a Norwegian settlement.

Because of the abundance of vineyards on this land, the Vikings called the settlement "Vinland", which means "Grape Land" in English. But Erickson and his team did not stay there for long. Due to hostile relations with the native North Americans, they stayed only a few years before returning to Greenland.

In the sagas of the Vikings who settled in America, they are referred to as Native Americans - "Skrelings". The source of most of the sagas is Scandinavian folklore, but in 1960 Helge Ingstad, a Norwegian archaeologist, found in the northern tip of Newfoundland (Canada) the first European Viking settlement of the late 11th century, which is identical to the settlements in the Scandinavian countries. This historical and archaeological site, called "L" Anse-o-Meadows, is recognized by scientists as evidence of transoceanic contacts that took place before the discovery made by Columbus.

Sailors from China

In the debate “who discovered America”, even facts about the visit of the Chinese to America emerge. Gavin Menzies, a British naval officer, put forward the theory of the colonization of South America by the Chinese. According to him, a Chinese explorer named Zheng He, who commanded an armada of wooden sailing ships in the early 15th century, discovered the continent in 1421. According to the officer, Zheng He explored areas such as Southeast Asia, India and the east coast of Africa.

In his book 1421 - The Year China Discovered the World, Gavin Menzies wrote that Zheng He was on his way to the East Coast of the United States and supposedly established settlements in South America. Menzies' theory is based on evidence from ancient shipwrecks, Chinese and European maps and reports compiled by navigators of those times. However, the theory is being questioned.

Accidental discovery of Columbus

1942 is considered the year of the discovery of America, although some historians consider this data to be rather approximate. Columbus discovered America by accident. Discovering new lands and islands over the course of four expeditions, Columbus did not even imagine that this was a completely different continent, which would later be called the "New World". Each time, arriving in new and new lands, the traveler believed that these were the lands of "Western India".

All of Europe thought so for quite a long time, until another navigator Vasco da Gama declared Columbus a deceiver, since it was Gamma who found a direct route to India, visited there and brought local gifts and spices. There are suggestions that Columbus died being convinced that he had discovered a new way to India, and not at all a new side of the world, unfamiliar until that time.

The mysterious name of the continent

Why was the new continent named not after Columbus, who discovered it, but after the navigator Amerigo Vespucci? The visit of this part of the "New World" by the traveler Vespucci is the first widely known and recorded fact. In 1503, he sent a letter to his friend the Medici with the following text: “These countries should be called the New World ... Most of the ancient authors say that south of the equator there is no mainland, but only the sea, and if some of them recognized the existence of the mainland there, then they did not consider it inhabited. But my last journey proved that this opinion of theirs is erroneous and completely contrary to the facts, since in the southern regions I found a continent more densely populated by people and animals than our Europe, Asia or Africa, and, in addition, the climate is more temperate and pleasant. than in any of the countries known to us ... "

It was he who first put forward the assumption that the discovered lands are not India or China, but a new unknown mainland. And a quote from his letter, which spread around the world, became a good reason for the decision to name the new continent in honor of an unknown trade representative at that time, and not in honor of the famous discoverer. The name America first appeared in 1507 in Martin Waldseemüller's Introduction to Cosmography. Under the same name, a new continent is also presented on the first globe of Johann Schoener (1511).

An interesting fact is that not a single mention was found of Vespucci's initiative to assign his name to open overseas lands.

For the curious

There is good reason to believe that the continent was named after an English patron from Bristol, Richard America, who financed John Cabot's second transatlantic expedition in 1497. Vespucci, on the other hand, took a nickname for himself in honor of the already named continent. Cabot became the first officially recorded European to set foot on the North American continent, reaching the shores of Labrador in May 1497. It was he who mapped the coast of North America - from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. That year, Bristol entered the following entries in its calendar: “... on St. John the Baptist was found in the land of America by merchants from Bristol, who arrived on a ship from Bristol with the name "Matthew".