Columbus's expeditions reached... The greatest discoveries of Christopher Columbus. Columbus's other ships

On November 19, 1493, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Puerto Rico. In memory of this event, we remember all four expeditions of the great navigator and the lands that he discovered.

2013-11-19 15:02

November 19, 1493 great traveler Christopher Columbus discovered the island of San Juan Bautista, named after St. John the Baptist. Its capital was named Puerto Rico, which translated means “rich port.” Subsequently, cartographers mixed up the names, thereby changing their places.

Initially, the island was inhabited by Indians who called themselves Tainos and called their island Boriken. In 1508, colonization of the island began, led by Juan Ponce de Leon, who founded the city of Caparra and became the first governor of the island.

Subsequently indigenous people This land became extinct due to diseases brought by the Spaniards and the harsh living conditions in which they found themselves. Puerto Rico became an important fortress and port of the Spanish Empire in the Caribbean.

First expedition

Columbus made his first expedition in 1492. It consisted of three ships: the flagship "Santa Maria", the ship "Pinta" and the ship "Santa Clara" with a total crew of 90 people. During this journey, America was discovered, initially taken by Columbus for East Asia and called the West Indies. It was also the first time Europeans set foot on the islands Caribbean Sea- Juan (Cuba) and Hispaniol (Haiti). The Bahamas were discovered. Previously unknown plants were brought from this journey: corn, potatoes and tobacco.

Second expedition

Puerto Rico, Taino Village at Tribal Ceremonial Center

Columbus's second expedition already included 178 ships. It took place in 1493. According to various sources, from 1,500 to 2,500 people took part in the expedition. In addition to people, the ships carried livestock, equipment, seeds and everything necessary to organize a permanent settlement. During it, the Lesser Antilles were discovered, Virgin Islands, which Columbus first called the "Isles of the Eleven Thousand Virgins", the island of Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Columbus was still convinced that this was the Western Indies.

A more convenient sea route to the West Indies was also established. Upon his arrival in Spain, Columbus proposed exiling prisoners to the lands he had discovered, cutting their sentences in half. This could rid Spain of undesirable elements and the high costs of maintaining criminals.

Third expedition

Trinidad Island

Columbus did not manage to find much money for the third expedition. It took place in 1498. Only six ships and 300 crew members went west. Due to limited funds, it was decided to take even criminals from Spanish prisons as sailors. The main discovery on this voyage was the island of Trinidad.

Meanwhile, the traveler Vasco da Gama opens the real route to India. This proved a big mistake in Columbus's assumptions. He was considered a deceiver. In 1500, Columbus was arrested and sent to Spain. It was only thanks to influential financiers that he was released.

Fourth expedition

shore Central America

Columbus really wanted to find a new route from open lands to South Asia. With great difficulty, he obtained permission for the fourth expedition. In 1502, he went on a journey with his brother Bartolome and son Hernando. They equipped four ships with a crew of 150 people. At this time, the mainland coast of Central America was discovered - the islands of Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica. The first encounters with the Mayans also occurred. The most important thing about this expedition was that Columbus proved that Atlantic Ocean separated from South Sea an insurmountable barrier that would later turn out to be Central America.

Spanish navigator of Italian origin, Christopher Columbus, is an iconic figure in world history and navigation. The discoveries he made changed scientists' ideas about geography and the planet, and contributed to the beginning of the era of the Great geographical discoveries. The consequences of Columbus's voyages were the establishment of trade between Europe and Asia, the discovery of new cultures and peoples, and the beginning of colonial policy European countries, the expansion of Spanish power beyond the Iberian Peninsula.

Origin of Columbus

The navigator was born on October 1, 1451 in Genoa into the family of Dominico Colombo and Susanna Fontanarossa. Christopher's father was the keeper of the city gates, and was also engaged in weaving and cloth making. In Genoa, the house where Columbus was born and where the elder Columbus worked for a long time has been preserved.

Historians believe that the navigator's pedigree is much more extensive than it appears at first glance. Some scholars classify Columbus as a Spaniard or Italian, others as a Portuguese, and still others as a Greek. There is even a version that Columbus's family has Jewish roots. Historians draw similar conclusions based on various sources and memories of contemporaries; there is no exact confirmation of one version or another. It is not yet possible to establish exactly what nationality Columbus was. He wrote and spoke Spanish perfectly, and the dialect that the inhabitants of Portugal has was clearly audible. Christopher knew Latin, Italian, and Greek.

Family

Columbus had four brothers with whom he studied, since he was the oldest child in the family. The navigator had no special education. After completing his basic training, he began to travel a lot on merchant ships. In the mid-1470s. I ended up in Portugal, where I decided to start my own business. Columbus and his brother Bartholomew took up cartography, which was actively developing at that time.

In Portugal he married Felipe Moniz de Palestrello, who was the daughter of the governor of that country. The wedding took place in 1479, a year later their son was born, who was named Diego. Columbus moved his wife to Genoa, and he continued to travel. Finally, he “puts down” roots in Spain, finds work in a monastery, and starts an affair with another woman. And at the same time the idea comes to him that he needs to find America. It is not known exactly when Doña Felipa died. Most likely, death came to her after Columbus sailed to America. According to another version, the navigator’s wife died before his first voyage.

Columbus's second wife was Beatriz Enriquez de Arana. This marriage also produced a son, named Fernando. The admiral died in 1506 spanish city Villadolid. His health was undermined by numerous voyages, viruses and unfamiliar diseases that he picked up on open islands. In addition, for a long time he unsuccessfully tried to achieve inheritance rights for himself and his children to some open territories.

Personal qualities

Columbus was quite religious; all his life he believed in events and various omens. At the same time, the navigator was practical, suspicious, loved gold and wealth, and reacted painfully to criticism. A sharp mind, broad knowledge in various fields and the gift of persuasion helped him achieve what he wanted. In particular, H. Columbus was able to eloquently prove to the rulers of Spain that financing his expedition would bring them glory and make Spain a great maritime power.

Expeditions

By the end of the 15th century. people have already accumulated enough knowledge not to believe in the version about the flatness of the Earth. Columbus read a lot of ancient works that said that the planet was spherical. Most likely, the maritime company’s project to open a route to India matured gradually. H. Columbus made calculations based on incorrect calculations made in the 15th century.

The navigator first spoke about an expedition to India in 1485, and with this idea he went to the Portuguese king. But he was refused at court, and he decided to move to Castile. Here merchants and bankers from Andalusia helped organize travel to distant lands.

At the same time, the Spanish rulers Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to finance the voyage to India. The first expedition lasted from 1492 to 1493. In 1492, three caravels left the city of Palos - Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria, with 90 crew members and Columbus's assistants. During the first voyage the following were discovered:

Samana Island.
Sargasso Sea.
Bahamas.
Cuba and its northeastern coast.
Haiti - Columbus sailed along the northern coast.

The head of the Vatican, after the discoveries made by Columbus, drew the so-called demarcation line along the Atlantic Ocean - the papal meridian. This is how different vectors were designated foreign policy Portugal and Spain, which concerned the discovery of new lands. The Spanish rulers awarded the navigator the positions of admiral and viceroy of the open territories, and agreed to allocate funds for a second voyage. It lasted from 1493 to 1496, and differed from the first in quantitative characteristics. Firstly, the admiral had 17 ships under his command. Secondly, the crew size reached 2.5 thousand people.

The expedition explored Haiti, where a military campaign was carried out to search for gold, and also discovered:

Islands - Guadeloupe, Dominican Republic, Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Juventud.
Southern coasts of Cuba and Haiti.

After his second voyage, Columbus reported to the sovereigns of Spain and claimed that he had found a new route to Asia. The new lands were declared the property of the Spanish crown. Their colonization began; criminals were transported to the territories and islands, since free settlers did not want to work in the colonies. The consequences were sad - the ancient empires of the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans were destroyed, plundered, and then destroyed.

The third voyage lasted from 1498 to 1500, on which 6 ships set off. Half of the ships led by Columbus sailed across the Atlantic. As a result of this journey, the navigator reached the shores of South America, exploring Trinidad, the Gulf and Peninsula of Paria, and the Orinoco River. By 1500, the expedition sailed to Haiti, where the admiral was arrested and sent to Castile. Here he was acquitted and released, after which Columbus began to prepare for long journeys again. He was haunted by the fact that for so many years the western route to India had not been found.

Having begged money from the kings, the admiral hired four ships and set off. During 1502-1504. New lands came under the Spanish crown. Among them are the island of Martinique, the Gulf of Honduras, and the long coast of South America, washed by the Caribbean Sea. In 1503, the ships were wrecked off Jamaica. Columbus requested help from the island of Santo Domingo, which arrived only a year later. The repair of ships allowed the admiral to get to Castile, where he reached in November 1504. At this time, Christopher Columba was sick.

The importance of expeditions

The lands that Columbus and the scientists who sailed with him mapped during his voyages from 1492 to 1504 contributed to the active development of geographical science, navigation, and seafaring. This gave impetus to a revision of views on the continents and waters of the Earth. Scientific discoveries kept pace with the development of technology and shipbuilding. Columbus was not the first to discover the North American continent for Europeans. Earlier in the 8th-9th centuries. the Vikings did it. Only Magellan proved that H. Columbus found America, which was located in a new part of the world, unknown until the 15th century. residents of Europe. Columbus's expeditions contributed to changes in European trade, in which new directions appeared. Spain became a monopolist of many goods and services, controlling the Atlantic trade routes. Thanks to constant discoveries, new ones were built settlements in the established colonies.

But not only positive results were brought by the admiral’s discoveries. There were many negative consequences, among which it is worth noting:

Spanish colonization of lands and the creation of new settlements there.
Cruel treatment of the Indians of South, Central and North America, as well as the native tribes of the open islands. Many states were completely destroyed and the population exterminated.
Destruction of material and spiritual culture.
Plunder of the Mayan, Inca and Aztec empires.
The foundations of the slave trade and the transformation of natives into slaves were laid.
The traditional ties of peoples on the islands and in North and Central America have been destroyed.

Who remembers Columbus?

In various countries of the world the memory of the admiral and navigator is honored. In particular, in South America The country named after him is Colombia. There is a province of the same name in the Channel, River and County in the United States. Capital island state Sri Lanka is called Colombo.

Natural sites are also named after Columbus, as are administrative units. In particular, streets, cities, parks, squares and bridges in many countries of the world.

The monument to the discoverer of India stands in Barcelona, which appeared in the city in the late 1880s.

Films and TV series have been made about Columbus’s voyages, and he is talked about in documentaries. In addition, scientists are constantly studying his life and work, finding new documents in the archives about sea expeditions, actions in the colonies, and family.

Interesting biography facts of the navigator

Until the end of his life he believed that he had sailed to east coast Asia. In fact, Columbus landed 15 thousand km from him, reaching India.
The navigator spent seven long years persuading Ferdinand and Isabella, proving to them that the ocean expedition would bring laurels to Spain. The rulers did not trust a stranger, a cartographer and trader who was unfamiliar to Spanish society. Scientists of that time said that finding a western route to India was a gamble. They simply did not understand how they could sail west to discover new lands. Having been in Spain since 1485, Columbus received an appointment with Ferdinand and Isabella only 6 years later.
The first crew for the ships that were supposed to set off in 1492 was formed from criminals. No one else wanted to embark on an unfamiliar voyage with a man in whose idea scientists did not believe and whom monarchs barely trusted.
During the first expedition, the sailors did not know exactly where they were sailing or how far they had to go. The crew perceived whales, albatross or seaweed as signs of approaching land. Columbus did not tell the sailors how far the ships traveled per day. People did not see the earth for a long time, so every day they were seized with panic.
Columbus was the first in the world to see that the magnetic needle on the compass began to deviate from its value. At that time, sailors and scientists believed that the magnetic needle should point strictly to the North Star, but it deviated more and more from the desired direction. No one knew about this sighting because Columbus was afraid it would cause panic among the crew.
The navigator called the inhabitants of open lands and islands Indians; the name stuck and is used today.
Columbus brought new types of food, spices, horses and cows to Europe. Neither animals nor products were known on the continent. This is how potatoes, tomatoes, corn and grapes were delivered to Spain. Europeans quickly appreciated the benefits of animals and new crops, which contributed to the establishment of a new trade exchange between Europe and America. This process came to be called the Columbus exchange.
The right to be called the navigator’s homeland is being disputed by 6 cities in Italy and Spain.
In the Bahamas, the sailors and the admiral met new culture, which was popular among the natives. The new herb that Columbus took with him to Spain was called tobacco.
Columbus had problems with the monarchs due to the fact that he did not bring wealth, herbs, spices and precious metals from his voyage. Instead, they were delivered from the shores of Cuba, Tortuga and Haiti Exotic fruits, plants, bird feathers and natives.
The path to India was found during the life of Columbus, when in 1498 Vasco da Gama reached the shores of this country.

The fate of the remains of Columbus, which were transported from Spain to Haiti, is interesting. When the Spaniards left the island, the ashes of the great navigator were transported to Havana, and from there to Santa Domingo, and then to Seville. For a long time it was believed that the remains were buried in cathedral, but genetic research has proven otherwise. It was determined that the bones belonged to a friend aged 45 years. Columbus was about 60 years old at the time of his death. No historian knows where the remains of the navigator are now.

Christopher Columbus was looking for India and found America. The inhabitants of the New World greeted him friendly, but the brave sailor soon turned into a cruel tyrant.

In the early morning of October 12, 1492, ships under the command of Christopher Columbus dropped anchor off the coast of the Bahamian island of Gwanagani (now San Salvador). And now the Spanish flag flutters over an unknown land. Naked, without weapons, the inhabitants of the island warmly and with interest watch the arriving strangers.

If the natives had guessed what grief this man would bring them, they would hardly have greeted him so carefree. Only two years will pass, and some of them will be killed, others will become slaves or die from infectious diseases brought by strangers - scarlet fever, typhoid, smallpox.

Columbus became the discoverer of the New World by accident. He grew up the son of an ordinary weaver from Italian city Genoa. And he earned his bread by trading sugar and painting. geographical maps. But he dreamed of something else: to circle the earth across the Atlantic Ocean and find a short sea route from Europe to India.

Already in those distant times, scientists understood that this plan was complete nonsense. Columbus greatly underestimated the size of the Earth. Columbus's plan to reach India by the western route caused a smile among the royal advisers. They called the navigator crazy. But he believed that the journey to India would take several days. Queen Isabella of Spain and her husband became interested in the project and were seduced by the promised fabulous riches. In addition, they hoped to convert the “savage peoples” of India to Christianity. The royal family granted Columbus the title of “Admiral of the Ocean Seas” and provided him with three small ships.

On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail for the Atlantic. Many sailors were afraid of the journey because they believed that the earth was flat and were afraid of falling off its edge. After 10 weeks of sailing across the endless ocean, the sailor saw land from the mast. But this was not India, as Columbus thought, but the Bahamas off the coast of the new continent - America.

Having landed on land, Columbus studied new world with delight and curiosity. He marveled at the lush vegetation and mild climate. About the natives, mistakenly called “Indians,” he writes in the ship’s log: “There are no better and more kind people in the world.” The Europeans were amazed when they saw the natives smoking tobacco. Soon all of Europe was smoking. However, neither gold nor any other wealth was obtained. The holds of the Spanish ships were empty. And then Columbus turned into a cruel tyrant. A year later, he again sailed to America on 17 ships along with 1,200 peasants, artisans and armed soldiers, but with the goal of robbing and taking prisoners.

The island of Hispaniola (now Haiti) was the first to experience the ruthlessness of the conquerors. The Spaniards killed children and brutally dealt with the natives who could not bring much gold. Then Columbus ordered the immersion of 550 natives to make money from the slave trade.

During the third expedition to the shores of America, Columbus was arrested following a denunciation from his enemies. Columbus returned from his third voyage in chains. He was soon acquitted and made another journey to a new continent. But his fame faded. Six years later, Columbus died alone. Even the new continent was not named after Columbus. And in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, who guessed that this was not India at all, but an unknown land.

Columbus's voyages changed world history. But it was a time of suffering for the American Indians. Columbus was replaced by even more cruel invaders. In America, they sought the wealth of the Aztecs and Incas, spreading death and destruction around them. And it all began for the Indians with the joyful meeting of Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492...

On August 3, 1492, the first expedition of the navigator Christopher Columbus began, discovering new lands for Europeans.

Born in Genoa, Columbus became a sailor at an early age, sailing Mediterranean Sea on merchant ships. Then he settled in Portugal. Under the Portuguese flag he sailed north to England and Ireland, walked along west coast Africa to the Portuguese trading post of São Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana). He was engaged in trade, mapping and self-education. During this period, Columbus had the idea of reaching India by a western route through the Atlantic Ocean.

At that time, many Western European countries were looking for sea routes to the countries of South and East Asia, which were then united under the common name “India”. From these countries, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and expensive silk fabrics came to Europe. Traders from Europe could not penetrate Asian countries by land, since Turkish conquests cut off traditional merchant connections with the East through the Mediterranean Sea. They were forced to purchase Asian goods from Arab merchants. Therefore, the Europeans were interested in finding a sea route to Asia, which would allow them to purchase Asian goods without intermediaries. In the 1480s, the Portuguese tried to circumnavigate Africa to penetrate Indian Ocean to India.

Columbus suggested that Asia could be reached by moving west across the Atlantic Ocean. His theory was based on the ancient doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth and incorrect calculations by 15th-century scientists who considered the globe to be much smaller in size and also underestimated the real extent of the Atlantic Ocean from west to east.

Between 1483 and 1484, Columbus tried to interest the Portuguese King João II with his plan for an expedition to Asia by the western route. The monarch handed over his project for examination to the scientists of the "Mathematical Junta" (Lisbon Academy of Astronomy and Mathematics). Experts recognized Columbus's calculations as "fantastic", and the king refused Columbus.

Having received no support, Columbus set off for Spain in 1485. There, at the beginning of 1486, he was presented to the royal court and received an audience with the king and queen of Spain - Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. The royal couple became interested in the project of the Western route to Asia. A special commission was created to consider it, which in the summer of 1487 issued an unfavorable conclusion, but the Spanish monarchs postponed the decision to organize the expedition until the end of the war they waged with the Emirate of Granada (the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula).

In the fall of 1488, Columbus visited Portugal, where he again proposed his project to John II, but was again refused and returned to Spain.

In 1489, he tried unsuccessfully to interest the regent of France, Anne de Beaujeu, and two Spanish dukes in the idea of sailing to the west.

In January 1492, unable to withstand a long siege by Spanish troops, Granada fell. After lengthy negotiations, the Spanish monarchs, overriding the objections of their advisers, agreed to subsidize Columbus's expedition.

On April 17, 1492, the royal couple entered into a treaty (“capitulation”) with him in Santa Fe, granting him the title of nobility, the titles of admiral of the Sea-Ocean, viceroy and governor-general of all the islands and continents that he would discover. The title of admiral gave Columbus the right to rule in disputes arising in matters of trade, the position of viceroy made him the personal representative of the monarch, and the position of governor general provided the highest civil and military authority. Columbus was given the right to receive a tenth of everything found in the new lands and an eighth of the profits from trading operations with foreign goods.

The Spanish crown pledged to finance most of the expedition's expenses. Italian merchants and financiers gave part of the funds for it to the navigator.

He named the island San Salvador (St. Savior), and its inhabitants - Indians, believing that he was off the coast of India.

However, there is still ongoing debate about Columbus's first landing site. For a long time (1940-1982), Watling Island was considered San Salvador. In 1986, American geographer George Judge processed all the collected materials on a computer and came to the conclusion: the first American land Columbus saw was the island of Samana (120 km southeast of Watling).

On October 14-24, Columbus approached several more Bahamas. Having learned from the natives about the existence of a rich island in the south, the ships left the Bahamian archipelago on October 24 and sailed further to the southwest. On October 28, Columbus landed on the northeastern coast of Cuba, which he named “Juana.” After this, the Spaniards, inspired by the stories of the natives, spent a month searching for the golden island of Baneque (modern Great Inagua).

On November 21, the captain of the Pinta, Martin Pinson, took his ship away, deciding to search for this island on his own. Having lost hope of finding Baneke, Columbus with the two remaining ships turned east and on December 5 reached the northwestern tip of the island of Bohio (modern Haiti), to which he gave the name Hispaniola ("Spanish"). Moving along the northern coast of Hispaniola, on December 25 the expedition approached the Holy Cape (modern Cap-Haïtien), where the Santa Maria ran aground and sank, but the crew escaped. By using local residents They managed to remove guns, supplies and valuable cargo from the ship. From the wreckage of the ship they built a fort - the first European settlement in America, named "Navidad" ("Christmas town") on the occasion of the Christmas holiday.

The loss of the ship forced Columbus to leave part of the crew (39 people) in the established settlement and set off on the Niña on the return journey. For the first time in the history of navigation, on his orders, Indian hammocks were adapted for sailor berths. To prove that he had reached a part of the world previously unknown to Europeans, Columbus took with him seven captive islanders, strange bird feathers and the fruits of plants unknown in Europe. Having visited the open islands, the Spaniards saw corn, tobacco, and potatoes for the first time.

On January 4, 1493, Columbus set out to sea on the Niña and sailed east along the northern coast of Hispaniola. Two days later he met "Pinta". On January 16, both ships headed northeast, taking advantage of a passing current - the Gulf Stream. On February 12, a storm arose, and on the night of February 14, the ships lost sight of each other. At dawn on February 15, the sailors saw land, and Columbus determined that he was near the Azores. On February 18, "Nina" managed to land on the shore of one of the islands - Santa Maria.

On February 24, Niña left the Azores. Two days later she was again caught in a storm, which washed her ashore on the coast of Portugal on March 4. On March 9, the Niña dropped anchor in the port of Lisbon. The team needed a break, and the ship needed repairs. King John II gave Columbus an audience, at which the navigator informed him of his discovery of the western route to India. On March 13, "Nina" was able to sail to Spain. On March 15, 1493, on the 225th day of the voyage, the ship returned to the Spanish port of Palos. On the same day, “Pinta” arrived there.

King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile gave Columbus a ceremonial welcome and, in addition to previously promised privileges, gave him permission for a new expedition.

During his first voyage, Columbus discovered America, which he mistook for East Asia and called the West Indies. Europeans first set foot on the Caribbean islands of Juana (Cuba) and Hispaniola (Haiti). As a result of the expedition, the width of the Atlantic Ocean became reliably known, the Sargasso Sea was discovered, the flow of ocean water from west to east was established, and the incomprehensible behavior of the magnetic compass needle was noted for the first time. The political resonance of Columbus's voyage was the "papal meridian": the head of the Catholic Church established a demarcation line in the Atlantic, which showed rival Spain and Portugal in different directions for the discovery of new lands.

In 1493-1504, Columbus made three more voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of which he discovered part of the Lesser Antilles, coast of South and Central America. The navigator died in 1506, fully confident that the lands he discovered were part of the Asian continent, and not a new continent.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

It was midnight on October 11, 1492. Just two more hours - and an event will take place that is destined to change the entire course of world history. No one on the ships was fully aware of this, but literally everyone, from the admiral to the youngest cabin boy, was in tense anticipation. The one who sees the land first is 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 absolutely sure all his life that he had sailed to east coast Asia, although in fact it was about 15 thousand kilometers away. At that time it was already known that the Earth was round, but about the size globe the ideas were still very vague.

It was believed that our planet is much smaller, and that if you sail from Europe due 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 proposed a project to King John II, but after much study, Columbus's "excessive" project was rejected. In 1485, Columbus moved to Castile, where, with the help of merchants and bankers, he sought to organize a government naval expedition under his command.

2. Convince the queen

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

This is what they said: “Even if we could somehow descend to the other hemisphere, how would we get back up from there? Even with the most favorable wind, a ship would never be able to climb the huge mountain of water that the bulge of the ball forms, even if we assume that the Earth is really spherical.”
It was only in 1491 that Columbus was able to again meet with 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.Team of prisoners

The crew of the ships had to be assembled from prisoners serving their 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, let alone ordinary sailors.

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

4.Three caravels

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

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

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

5. Mutiny on the ship

They had never had to swim so far into the ocean and so far from their native shores. Columbus even specifically decided not to tell everyone how much distance had already been traveled, and gave much smaller numbers. With joy, the sailors were ready to believe in any sign of approaching land: for example, 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

Christopher Columbus was one of the first in the world to observe how the magnetic needle deflects.

At that time it was not yet known that the compass needle does not point exactly to the north, but to the magnetic North Pole. One day, Columbus discovered that the magnetic needle was not pointing exactly towards the North Star, but was deviating more and more from this direction. He was, of course, very scared. Is the compass on the ship inaccurate or perhaps broken? Just in case, Columbus also decided not to tell anyone about this observation.

Late 15th century compass (similar to what Columbus had)

7.First Islands

Before 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 small island, which later received the name 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 Sea and only during his third voyage he saw the shores of the continent. During his fourth voyage, Columbus sailed ships along the coast for several months, hoping to find a strait leading to the long-awaited India. Of course, no strait could be found. The completely exhausted sailors were forced to return to the already familiar islands with nothing.

All of them, - writes Columbus, - walk 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 facial features were regular, their expression was friendly...

8.Indians

Columbus called the aborigines he found on the islands Indians because he sincerely considered the lands he found to be part of India. It is surprising that this “mistaken” name for the natives of America has survived to this day.

Moreover, we are lucky with the Russian language - we call the inhabitants of India Indians, distinguishing them from the Indians with 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”.

Everything here seemed unusual and new: nature, plants, birds, animals and even people.

9.Columbus exchange

Columbus brought from his voyages many not yet known to Europeans foods: 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 was miraculously saved... by knowledge of astronomy!

During the last voyage, the team found itself in a very difficult situation. The ships were broken, provisions were running out, people were exhausted and sick. All that remained was to wait for help and hope for the hospitality of the Indians, who were not very peaceful towards strangers.

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

And indeed, the prediction came true - exactly at the specified 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 the best food and fulfill all their wishes.

It might be useful to read: