Christopher+Columbus

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(c. 1451 – 20 May 1506)
Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator, colonizer, and explorer who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He is most well known for his discovery of the Western Hemisphere by crossing the //Ocean Sea// as the Atlantic Ocean was called during his lifetime. Prior to his discovery many in Europe felt the world was flat.

During his lifetime, Europe had enjoyed the fruits of China and India. These goods included silk, spices, and opiates. The route was long and fraught with danger. Columbus believed their was a shorter way to get to China and India. He appealed to John II of Portugal twice but was denied funding due to the discovery of a sea based route around Africa. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain approved Columbus' request for ships and money to make his voyage.

Columbus took three ships on his first voyage. They were called the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. They set sail on Aug. 3, 1492 from Palos, Spain, and on October 11, 1492, spotted the Caribbean islands off southeastern North America. They landed on an island they called Guanahani, but Columbus later renamed it San Salvador. While exploring the islands in the area and looking for gold to loot, Columbus' men traveled to the islands of Hispaniola (now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, and many other smaller islands. On the return trip, the Santa Maria was wrecked and the captain of the Pinta sailed off on his own to try to beat Columbus back. Columbus returned to Spain in the Nina, arriving on March 15, 1493.

The Second Trip:On a second, larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493-June 11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in the Indies. Columbus established a base in Hispaniola and sailed around Hispaniola and along the length of southern Cuba. He spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493. The Third Trip:On a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500), Columbus sailed farther south, to Trinidad and Venezuela (including the mouth of the Orinoco River). Columbus was the first European since the Viking Leif Ericsson to set foot on the mainland of America. The Fourth Trip:

On his fourth and last expedition (May 9, 1502-Nov. 7, 1504), Columbus sailed to Mexico, Honduras and Panama (in Central America) and Santiago (Jamaica). Columbus is buried in eastern Hispaniola (now called the Dominican Republic).