What America did he discover? Christopher Columbus: "The Greatest of Losers." Continents discovered by Columbus

Christopher Columbus. Discovery of America.

Biographical information about Christopher Columbus is very scarce. He was born in the fall of 1451 in Genoa, first lived in Italy and, like his father, belonged to a woolen guild. It is unknown where and when he studied, but it has been proven that he read at least four languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin). In 1476 he moved to Portugal and lived here for 9 years. According to him, during this time he took part in Portuguese expeditions several times and visited England, Guinea and the Gold Coast. In 1474, Columbus sought advice regarding the shortest sea route to India to the famous Florentine astrologer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli. Toscanelli replied to Columbus: “I know that the existence of such a path can be proven on the basis that the Earth is a sphere.” Toscanelli drew up a map and sent it to Columbus. Toscanelli's mistake was that he did not know how land and water were distributed on the surface of the Earth, and the distance from Europe to Asia through Atlantic Ocean decreased several times. Columbus made “corrections” to this calculation and came to the conclusion that the distance from Lisbon to Japan is 4500 km. In the words of the famous 18th century French geographer Jean-Baptiste Anville: “It was a great mistake that led to a great discovery.” Columbus made his first proposal to the Portuguese King João II, but was refused. Then Columbus left Portugal and went to Spain. In 1485, Columbus offered his services to Queen Isabella of Spain. In November 1491, a special commission rejected the Genoese project, because considered the navigator’s demands excessive. Columbus headed to France, but was stopped. At this moment, Louis Santall, the head of the largest trading house, came to Isabella and convinced her to accept Columbus’s project. On April 17, 1492, the king and queen agreed to the draft treaty proposed by Columbus. Here are the two most important articles of this document: “Their Majesties, as masters of the seas and oceans, from now on grant Don Christopher Columbus their admiralship of all the islands and continents that he will personally discover and acquire... Their Majesties appoint Columbus as their viceroy and chief ruler on... the islands and the continents that he... will discover or acquire, and to govern each of them a ruler must be elected (from the candidates presented by Columbus).” And further - “from any and all goods, be they precious metals, stones, gold or silver, spices or other things and goods that will be bought, exchanged, found, or acquired within the said admiralty ... may he have, and let him retain 1/10 of everything acquired, presenting 9/10 of the parts to their Majesties.”

Generous in their promises, the kings decided to minimize the costs of the expedition. Columbus was provided with two caravels. Their crew, according to the traditional version, was forcibly recruited from the inhabitants of Palas, sentenced to hard labor for insulting the kings, i.e. filled with criminals. Columbus and the Pinson brothers equipped the third caravel at their own expense. The flotilla consisted of three small ships: "Santa Maria" - the flagship of Columbus, "Pinta", commanded by Martin Pinzon, and "Nina".

On August 3, 1492, Columbus's expedition went to sea, but repairing one of the yachts took a whole month, and only on September 6, 1492, the ships left the island of Homer, and 36 days later, at 2 a.m. on October 12, 1492, land was already visible. It was one of the islands of the Bahamas group. On the island, the Spaniards saw naked people, and Columbus described the first meeting with the people, who 20-30 years later were completely exterminated by the Spanish colonialists: “I gave them red caps and glass rosaries and many other low-value items that gave them great pleasure. They brought us parrots and skeins of cotton yarn and many other things, which they exchanged for other items that we gave them. But it seemed to me that these people were poor. And all the people I saw were still young, their bodies and faces were very beautiful, and their hair was coarse, just like horse hair, only short... And their skin was the same color as the inhabitants of the Canary Islands, who are neither black nor white... They do not carry and do not know weapons, when I showed them swords, they grabbed the blades and, out of ignorance, cut off their fingers. They don’t have any iron.”

On the island, Columbus was presented with “dry leaves” as a gift, which were greatly appreciated local residents, this is the first mention of tobacco. Columbus gave the island the Christian name San Salvador (Savior). The navigator noticed pieces of gold in the noses of some islanders. From that moment on, he never tires of repeating in his diary that he “with the help of our Lord, will find gold where it is born.” The sailors learned about the island of Cuba from the Indians and soon sailed to its shores. On December 5, Columbus approached the land (the island of Haiti), which he called Hispaniola ( Spanish island). The sailors saw thin gold plates and small ingots among the inhabitants of Hispaniola. The gold rush intensified among the sailors, and Columbus himself was in a fever. He writes in his diary the words of an old Indian man about one island “all gold”, and about other islands where “gold is collected and sifted through a sieve, and then melted and made into various things.” On January 4, 1493, Columbus set sail and arrived in Spain on March 15. He brought the happy news about open lands, some gold and several islanders unprecedented in Europe, who began to be called INDIOS (Indians), because until the end of his days Columbus thought that he had discovered the western coast of India.

The disappointment of the first expedition was greatly mitigated by Columbus's assertion that he had discovered India and only needed to deepen his search to find mountains of diamonds and golden roofs. Large funds were allocated to organize Columbus's second expedition (1493): the flotilla consisted of 17 ships with about 1,500 people. On this voyage, Columbus discovered the Lesser Antilles and founded a colony on Hispaniola.

In 1495 he returned to. The results of Columbus's second voyage disappointed the Spanish government, because main task This expedition was the founding of trading colonies and the export of gold. But there was little gold in Hispaniola, and the colony founded there turned out to be an unsuccessful enterprise. The vast majority of the colonists consisted of Spanish hidalgos left idle after the war with the Moors. This lazy and stormy noble youth was good with a sword, but was incapable of any kind of work. Columbus did not reach the American continent on this journey either. This was done two years later - in 1497, the Genoese Giovanni Cabotto (John Cabot), who lived first in Venice, then in England, sailed from England and in June 1497 sailed to the American mainland. Cabot did not understand the meaning and significance of his discovery, and his journey was soon forgotten. The tireless Columbus set off on his third voyage in May 1498. Now he set the goal that is usually attributed to his first voyage - to penetrate Indian Ocean. Therefore, he took a course with a large deviation to the south, only on this journey did he approach the American continent at the mouth of the Orinoco River, and only now, in August 1498, when there were huge masses of fresh water around him, did the thought flash through his mind whether he had discovered a new, unknown continent? However, this idea was not strengthened by Columbus, and the open coast of South America was not explored by him. But another thought took hold in the mind of the aging navigator: he decided that to the south of “India” lies nothing more than Eden - paradise, the top of the world. All great rivers originate from here. Illuminated by this insight, Columbus increasingly falls into mystical rapture. He considered himself the first European destined to find his way to the earthly paradise from which, according to the Bible, Adam and Eve were expelled.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese opened a sea route to India and brought spices, fabrics and other precious goods from there. Comparison of Columbus's expensive and, so far, little profitable enterprises with the expeditions of the Portuguese was, of course, not in his favor. During the third expedition, an uprising broke out among the Spaniards on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti). Civil strife began. Columbus and his enemies complained about each other. Ferdinand and Isabella appointed their own governor to the island. He arrived at the scene, arrested Columbus and sent him in chains to Spain, however, here he was quickly released.

Columbus's fourth voyage in 1502 was a direct response to the expedition of Vasco da Gama. On Columbus's part, this was an attempt to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. But everywhere he came across a solid mass of land. Sailing along the Isthmus of Panama, he received information about a large ocean lying on the other side of the earth, and about some kind of “bottleneck” through which it was possible to reach the ocean. The Indians meant the isthmus. Columbus believed that he was in front of the islands, which, in his opinion, blocked his path to the shores of Asia, and persistently looked for a strait between them. IN last years Throughout his life, Columbus tried in vain to restore his rights and privileges. In 1506 he died, almost forgotten by everyone, in poverty. In his will great navigator asked to put on his coffin the chains in which he was taken from the New World he had discovered. It is still unknown where the grave is located famous sailor. Columbus died in Valladolid, then his ashes were transported to Seville, and later transported across the ocean to Hispaniola and buried in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. Many years later, Columbus's ashes were reburied in Havana, Cuba, but then returned to Seville. It is not known exactly where the true grave of the great navigator is located - Havana and Seville equally lay claim to this honor.

The continent discovered by Columbus was named America after another navigator, Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo Vespucci was also from Genoa, was a sailor, served in Spain and Portugal. Vespucci's world fame is based on two dubious (as Magidovich I.P. believes) letters of 1503 and 1504. The first letter was addressed to the Medici, in which Vespucci spoke about his voyage in 1501-1502. The second letter was addressed to Comrade Vespucci, in which he wrote that back in 1497 (a year before Columbus), at the head of an expedition he explored an unknown continent. In 1507, Vespucci's letters were studied by a geographer, and here for the first time this part of the world was called America. It is unlikely that the geographer wanted to diminish the glory of Columbus with this statement. For him, as for other educated people of the early 16th century, Columbus and Vespucci discovered new lands in different parts of the world:

a) Columbus discovered old light(Asia);

b) Vespucci – New World (America).

It is not for nothing that Columbus’s relatives had nothing against this name and Vespucci himself. Soviet researcher Joseph Petrovich Magidovich in his work “The History of the Discovery and Exploration of Central and South America” claims that Vespucci did not discover America at all and did not participate in any expeditions of 1497-1498. Among modern Western scientists there are currently Colombians and anti-Colombians. The first believe that the main merit of the discovery of America should belong to Christopher Columbus, the second do not agree with this statement, their arguments are different: the Vikings, John Cabot, Vespucci are also discoverers. It seems to us that Columbus’s feat was in sailing in the open ocean; he was the first to go “nowhere.”

Christopher Columbus - medieval navigator who discovered Sargasso and Caribbean Sea, Antilles, Bahamas and the American continent for Europeans, the first of famous travelers, crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

According to various sources, Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, in what is now Corsica. Six Italian and spanish cities claim the right to be called his homeland. Almost nothing is known reliably about the navigator’s childhood and youth, and the origins of the Columbus family are also vague.

Some researchers call Columbus an Italian, others believe that his parents were baptized Jews, Marranos. This assumption explains the incredible level of education for those times that Christopher, who came from the family of an ordinary weaver and housewife, received.

According to some historians and biographers, Columbus studied at home until the age of 14, but had excellent knowledge of mathematics and knew several languages, including Latin. The boy had three younger brothers and a sister, all of whom were taught by visiting teachers. One of the brothers, Giovanni, died in childhood, sister Bianchella grew up and got married, and Bartolomeo and Giacomo accompanied Columbus on his travels.

Most likely, the Columbuses received all possible assistance from their fellow believers, wealthy Genoese financiers from the Marranos. With their help, a young man from a poor family entered the University of Padua.

Being an educated man, Columbus was familiar with the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers and thinkers, who depicted the Earth as a ball, and not a flat pancake, as was believed in the Middle Ages. However, such thoughts, like Jewish origin during the Inquisition, which was raging in Europe, had to be carefully hidden.

At the university, Columbus became friends with students and teachers. One of his close friends was the astronomer Toscanelli. According to his calculations, it turned out that it was much closer to sail to the treasured India, full of untold riches. westward, and not in the east, skirting Africa. Later, Christopher carried out his own calculations, which, although incorrect, confirmed Toscanelli's hypothesis. Thus was born the dream of western journey, and Columbus dedicated his whole life to her.

Even before entering university as a fourteen-year-old teenager, Christopher Columbus experienced the hardships of sea travel. The father arranged for his son to work on one of the trading schooners to learn the art of navigation and trade skills, and from that moment the biography of Columbus the navigator began.

Columbus made his first voyages as a cabin boy. Mediterranean Sea, where trade and economic routes between Europe and Asia intersected. At the same time, European merchants knew about the riches and gold deposits of Asia and India from the words of the Arabs, who resold them wonderful silks and spices from these countries.

The young man listened to extraordinary stories from the lips of eastern merchants and was inflamed with a dream of reaching the shores of India in order to find its treasures and get rich.

Expeditions

In the 70s of the 15th century, Columbus married Felipe Moniz from a wealthy Italian-Portuguese family. The father-in-law of Christopher, who settled in Lisbon and sailed under the Portuguese flag, was also a navigator. After his death he left nautical charts, diaries and other documents inherited by Columbus. Using them, the traveler continued to study geography, while simultaneously studying the works of Piccolomini, Pierre de Ailly,.

Christopher Columbus took part in the so-called northern expedition, as part of which his route passed through the British Isles and Iceland. Presumably, there the navigator heard Scandinavian sagas and stories about the Vikings, Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson, who reached the coast " Mainland", crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

Columbus drew up a route that allowed him to reach India by the western route back in 1475. He presented an ambitious plan to conquer a new land to the court of the Genoese merchants, but did not meet with support.

A few years later, in 1483, Christopher made a similar proposal to the Portuguese King João II. The king assembled a scientific council, which reviewed the Genoese’s project and found his calculations incorrect. Frustrated, but resilient, Columbus left Portugal and moved to Castile.

In 1485, the navigator requested an audience with the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile. The couple received him favorably, listened to Columbus, who enticed them with the treasures of India, and, just like the Portuguese ruler, called the scientists to a council. The commission did not support the navigator, since the possibility of a western route implied the sphericity of the Earth, which contradicted the teachings of the church. Columbus was almost declared a heretic, but the king and queen relented and decided to postpone the final decision until the end of the war with the Moors.

Columbus, who was driven not so much by a thirst for discovery as by a desire to get rich, carefully concealing the details of his planned journey, sent messages to the English and French monarchs. Charles and Henry did not respond to the letters, being too busy with domestic politics, but the Portuguese king sent the navigator an invitation to continue discussing the expedition.

When Christopher announced this in Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to equip a squadron of ships to search for a western route to India, although the poor Spanish treasury did not have the funds for this enterprise. The monarchs promised Columbus a noble title, the titles of admiral and viceroy of all the lands that he would discover, and he had to borrow money from Andalusian bankers and merchants.

Four Expeditions of Columbus

Christopher Columbus's first expedition took place in 1492-1493. On three ships, the caravels "Pinta" (owned by Martin Alonso Pinzon) and "Nina" and the four-masted sailing ship "Santa Maria", the navigator passed through Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, opening the Sargasso Sea along the way, and reached Bahamas. On October 12, 1492, Columbus set foot on the island of Saman, which he named San Salvador. This date is considered the day of the discovery of America.
Columbus's second expedition took place in 1493-1496. During this campaign, the Lesser Antilles, Dominica, Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica were discovered.
The third expedition dates from 1498 to 1500. The flotilla of six ships reached the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, marking the beginning of the discovery of South America, and ended in Haiti.
During the fourth expedition, Christopher Columbus sailed to Martinique, visited the Gulf of Honduras and explored the coast Central America along the Caribbean Sea.

Discovery of America

The process of discovering the New World lasted for many years. The most amazing thing is that Columbus, being a convinced discoverer and experienced navigator, believed until the end of his days that he had discovered the way to Asia. He considered the Bahamas, discovered in the first expedition, to be part of Japan, followed by the discovery of wonderful China, and behind it the treasured India.

What did Columbus discover and why did the new continent receive the name of another traveler? The list of discoveries made by the great traveler and navigator includes San Salvador, Cuba and Haiti, belonging to the Bahamas archipelago, and the Sargasso Sea.

Seventeen ships headed by the flagship Maria Galante set off on the second expedition. This type of ship with a displacement of two hundred tons and other ships carried not only sailors, but also colonialists, livestock, and supplies. All this time, Columbus was convinced that he had discovered Western India. At the same time, the Antilles, Dominica and Guadeloupe were discovered.

The third expedition brought Columbus's ships to the continent, but the navigator was disappointed: he never found India with its gold deposits. Columbus returned from this trip in shackles, accused of false denunciation. Before entering the port, the shackles were removed from him, but the navigator lost the promised titles and ranks.

The last voyage of Christopher Columbus ended with a shipwreck off the coast of Jamaica and a serious illness of the leader of the expedition. He returned home sick, unhappy and broken by failures. Amerigo Vespucci was a close comrade and follower of Columbus, who undertook four voyages to the New World. An entire continent is named after him, and one country in South America is named after Columbus, who never reached India.

Personal life

If you believe the biographers of Christopher Columbus, the first of whom was his own son, the navigator was married twice. The first marriage with Felipe Moniz was legal. The wife gave birth to a son, Diego. In 1488, Columbus had a second son, Fernando, from a relationship with a woman named Beatriz Enriquez de Arana.

The navigator took equal care of both sons, and even took the younger one with him on an expedition when the boy was thirteen years old. Fernando became the first to write a biography famous traveler.

Christopher Columbus with his wife Felipe Moniz

Subsequently, both sons of Columbus became influential people and took high positions. Diego was the fourth Viceroy of New Spain and Admiral of the Indies, and his descendants were titled Marquesses of Jamaica and Dukes of Veragua.

Fernando Columbus, who became a writer and scientist, enjoyed the favor of the Spanish emperor, lived in marble palace and had an annual income of up to 200,000 francs. These titles and wealth went to the descendants of Columbus as a sign of recognition by the Spanish monarchs of his services to the crown.

Death

After the discovery of America from his last expedition, Columbus returned to Spain as a terminally ill, aged man. In 1506, the discoverer of the New World died in poverty in a small house in Valladolid. Columbus spent his savings to pay off the debts of the participants of the last expedition.

Tomb of Christopher Columbus

Soon after the death of Christopher Columbus, the first ships began to arrive from America, loaded with gold, which the navigator so dreamed of. Many historians agree that Columbus knew that he had discovered not Asia or India, but a new, unexplored continent, but did not want to share with anyone the glory and treasures, which were one step away.

The appearance of the enterprising discoverer of America is known from photographs in history textbooks. Several films have been made about Columbus, the latest being a film co-produced by France, England, Spain and the USA, “1492: The Conquest of Paradise.” Monuments to this great man were erected in Barcelona and Granada, and his ashes were transported from Seville to Haiti.

As everyone probably knows well, such a process as the discovery of the continent of America is a very broad topic, but this article will talk about the discovery of America briefly, laying out the main essence.

The discovery of America is one of the most important events in the world history of mankind, as a result of which, the Old World - that is Western Europe, learned about the existence of a new, huge continent called America.

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus - discovery of a new continent

Great navigator Christopher Columbus in 1492 year went to cruise for that, to find a shorter route to rich country India.

The King and Queen of Castile and Aragon sponsored this expedition, consisting of three ships.

12 October the same year Christopher Columbus reached the present-day Bahamas and this day is considered the date of the discovery of a new continent. After that, they discovered a number of more islands. In March 1493 Columbus returned to Castile. Thus ended his first of four expeditions to America, which he discovered.

The second expedition already included a fairly large number of ships and people. If in the first there were only three ships and a crew of less than a hundred people, then in the second expedition there were seventeen ships or more 1 thousand people on board. The most important achievement of this expedition can be considered conquest of Haiti. After this, Columbus V 1496 year returns to Spain again.

Scope third expedition, which started V 1498 year, was much smaller - only six ships. The discovery of South America began precisely with the third expedition. This expedition was interrupted V 1500 year for the reason that Columbus was arrested and sent to Castile, but upon arriving there, he was completely acquitted.

Already at that moment it appeared great amount those people who wanted to take credit for the brilliant discovery of Christopher Columbus. IN 1502 1 year, Columbus struggles to be sponsored again for another search for a short sea route to India. During this expedition he discovered the shores of modern Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and so on. But in 1503 year, Columbus's ship was wrecked, which forced him to stop his expedition to 1504 year, returning to Castile.

After this, Christopher Columbus never returned to America.

However, as further study of history has shown, it was not Christopher Columbus who first set foot on the lands of the new continent; this was done long before his birth.

And yes, in general, humanity began to populate America only in 30 thousand years BC e.

And they discovered it for the first time, although they did not know that it was an entire continent, by none other than the masters of the seas - Vikings, back in the 10th century.

Leif Eriksson should be considered the discoverer. Leif is the son of Erik the Red, a Viking and navigator who discovered Greenland.
This fact is confirmed by traces of a Viking settlement found in L’Anse aux Meadows (the current territory of Newfoundland and Labrador (in Canada)).

As for Columbus's voyage, he himself believed that he had discovered not a new continent, but the shores of Asia. And only in his last years did he realize that he had discovered a new continent.

The open continent was named after one of the main explorers of the New World - Amerigo Vespucci. This memorable event took place in 1507 year, from that moment on the continent was considered independent.

There are also several hypotheses in history that other sailors could have discovered America. The most popular hypotheses are:
- in the fourth century BC. e. it could have been discovered by the Phoenicians;
- in the sixth century AD e. it could have been the Irish monk Brendan;
– approximately in 1421 year Chinese navigator Zheng He;

However, there is no confirmation of this yet.

The history of the discovery of America is quite amazing. These events took place at the end of the 15th century due to the rapid development of navigation and shipping in Europe. In many ways, we can say that the discovery of the American continent happened completely by accident and the motives were very banal - the search for gold, wealth, large trading cities.

In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, in those days, even then the states were quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence and find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury. At the end of the 15th century, trade and the development of new colonies flourished.

Who discovered America?

In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, even then the states were quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence and find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury.

When you ask any adult or child who discovered America, we will hear about Columbus. It was Christopher Columbus who gave impetus to the active search and development of new lands.

Christopher Columbus is the great Spanish navigator. Information about where he was born and spent his childhood is limited and contradictory. It is known that as a young man, Christopher was interested in cartography. He was married to the daughter of a navigator. In 1470, the geographer and astronomer Toscanelli informed Columbus of his assumptions that the route to India was shorter if one sailed west. Apparently, then Columbus began to hatch his idea of a short route to India, and according to his calculations, it was necessary to sail through the Canary Islands, and Japan would be close there.
Since 1475, Columbus has been trying to implement the idea and make an expedition. The purpose of the expedition is to find a new trade route to India across the Atlantic Ocean. To do this, he turned to the government and merchants of Genoa, but they did not support him. The second attempt to find funding for the expedition was made by the Portuguese King João II, however, even here, after a long study of the project, he was refused.

For the last time, he came to the Spanish king with his project. At the beginning, his project was considered for a long time, there were even several meetings and commissions, this lasted several years. His idea was supported by bishops and Catholic kings. But Columbus received final support for his project after the victory of Spain in the city of Granada, which was liberated from the Arab presence.

The expedition was organized on the condition that Columbus, if successful, would receive not only the gifts and riches of new lands, but also receive, in addition to the status of a nobleman, the title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all the lands that he discovers. For Spain, a successful expedition promised not only the development of new lands, but also the opportunity to trade directly with India, since according to the treaty concluded with Portugal, Spanish ships were prohibited from entering the waters of the western coast of Africa.

When and how did Columbus discover America?

Historians consider 1942 to be the year of the discovery of America, although these are rather approximate data. Discovering new lands and islands, Columbus had no idea that this was another continent, which would later be called the “New World”. The traveler undertook 4 expeditions. He arrived to new and new lands, believing that these were the lands of “Western India”. For quite a long time everyone in Europe thought so. However, another traveler Vasco da Gama declared Columbus a deceiver, since it was Gamma who found a direct route to India and brought gifts and spices from there.

What kind of America did Christopher Columbus discover? It can be said that thanks to his expeditions since 1492, Columbus discovered both the Northern and South America. To be more precise, islands were discovered that are now considered either South or North America.

Who discovered America first?

Although historically it is believed that it was Columbus who discovered America, but in fact this is not entirely true.

There is evidence that " New World"previously visited by the Scandinavians (Leif Eriksson in 1000, Thorfinn Karlsefni in 1008), this journey became known from the manuscripts “The Saga of Eric the Red” and “The Saga of the Greenlanders”. There are other “discoverers of America”, but the scientific community does not takes them seriously, since there is no reliable data. For example, America was previously visited by the African traveler from Mali - Abu Bakr II, the Scottish nobleman Henry Sinclair, and the Chinese traveler Zheng He.

Why was America called America?

The first widely known and recorded fact is the visit of this part of the “New World” by the traveler and navigator Amerigo Vespucci. It is noteworthy that it was he who put forward the assumption that this is not India or China, but a completely new, previously unknown continent. It is believed that this is why the name America was assigned to the new land, and not its discoverer, Columbus.

The continents known today as North and South America were discovered in prehistory. Before European explorers arrived in the Americas, tens of millions of indigenous people lived here. The lands of the Americas have been repeatedly "discovered" by peoples coming from different parts of the world over many generations, dating back to the Stone Age when a group of hunters first visited a land that was truly the unexplored New World.

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

The first settlers in America

Tribal migration route from Asia to North America

The first people to settle in America came there from Asia, probably about 15 thousand years ago. During the Pleistocene era, the melting ice sheets of the Laurentian and Cordilleran glaciers formed a narrow corridor and land bridge between Russia and Alaska. Land bridge between west coast Alaska and Siberia, known as the Bering Isthmus, opened 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 Russian naval officer Vitus Bering, who crossed it in 1728.

The settlement of America by indigenous peoples

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 further by sea or by ice. After the ice plates melted and the Ice Age ended, the settlers who came to the Americas became isolated from other continents. Thus, the American continents were first discovered by nomadic Asian tribes about 15 thousand years ago, who initially settled North America, then spread to Central and South America and subsequently became the Native American peoples.

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