Such an event as the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus is no longer of interest to anyone, but just a few centuries ago America itself did not exist for Europeans at all.
No one could have imagined that outside their narrow world there is a huge world where large peoples live, there is a developed culture and a lot of monuments of ancient history.
Today America is the center of development of our world, where people from all over the planet flock, the best scientists, programmers, just active people who want to realize the American dream in their lives. And this is one of the most important reasons why it is worth knowing more about the discovery of this continent.
North America is interesting to study from the point of view of history, not only because it is unique and exciting in its own way, but also in order to better understand its people, prevailing values and culture.
It was the colonial status of this powerful power that at one time became the incentive that made it actively develop and turn into what we see now. And it fell to the great traveler Columbus to discover this continent full of beauty and secrets.
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Who discovered America first
We all know the stories of the travels of the great man Columbus, who, together with his team, fearlessly roamed the vast oceans in search of new places to spread the power of his country. This person acted both from the will of his leadership and the country, and was driven by personal interests, a desire to move and discover new things.
Amerigo Vespucci (1454 - 1512)
But not everyone knows that Columbus was not the first to discover America, since another no less legendary traveler managed to do this before him.
America got its name in honor of the most famous traveler of his time - Amerigo Vespucci. This resident of Florence, born in 1454, departed under the leadership of Admiral Alonso de Ojeda as a navigator to conquer unprecedented lands.
It was he who gave Venezuela its present name, which means "little Venice", and also discovered many dozen other places, which later largely retained the names given to them. Interestingly, Vespucci most likely was personally acquainted with the Spanish traveler Columbus, their acquaintance probably happened in the trading house of Danoto Berardi.
The discoverer of Vespucci did not go unnoticed, and it was in honor of his discoveries that later the lands of the New Overseas World were named America.
What then did Columbus discover
If it was Vespucci who discovered the continents of America, which is reflected even in its name, then what are the merits of the famous Columbus, why is he considered the discoverer of this region of the world?
Many travelers reached the shores of the New World before Columbus, but the problem with their travels was that they did not leave behind any intelligible and structured information. The property of the travels of Christopher's predecessors remained in the shadows, few people knew about them, and that part of the world was still far and mysterious.
Columbus himself, starting from 1499 and later, in his further voyages not only reached the shores of the Western Hemisphere, but collected a lot of information about the countries and islands located there.
It was he who opened these places to a wide range of Europeans and launched mass travel and resettlement to this region, beginning an age of great changes and transformation of the whole world.
When and how America was discovered by Christopher Columbus
The discovery of America is a collective concept that includes many events, not just some found the largest island or country on the continent.
It is believed that the discoverer discovered the New World in 1492, during his first expedition there. At this time, Spanish ships reached Haiti, the Caribbean, visited the Bahamas archipelago, and also Cuba.
The first island that travelers met in America was San Salvador, where they landed in the memorable year 1492.
This expedition, like the three subsequent ones, was organized by the Spanish king in order to find shorter routes to India, with which at that time increasingly close trade relations were established. But fate turned out differently, and the path of the sailors went to the shores of completely new lands.
Columbus's Four Expeditions - A Brief History of the Discovery of America
In total, Columbus, together with other brave sailors, made 4 expeditions to the shores of New Land. Thanks to these visits, a mass of new islands, countries and regions appeared on the map, many of which still have the names that were assigned to them by the sailors of the past.
The first trip took place in 1492-1493, there were 91 people on 3 ships, the places visited at that time have already been mentioned above. The sailors returned home on March 15, 1943.
The next, the second trip in a row, took place in the years 1493-1496. The navigator was already in the rank of admiral and, in addition to this, also the viceroy of the open lands. Now the team of fifteen hundred people and 17 ships was faced with the task of fortifying the new lands and thoroughly investigating them. This time it was possible to find the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Pinos, and to go deeply into the study of Haiti.
For the third time, the trip lasted 2 years (1498-1500) and this voyage made it possible to explore the New World even better. The islands of Trinidad, the Paria peninsula were discovered, and the development of not only the lands of the present USA, but also South America began. The peninsulas of Margarita and Araya were also found, and many studies were carried out.
The last, 4th voyage of Columbus, took place in 1502-1504. This time the brave discoverer of new lands reached the Caribbean shores, visited Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama. In 1503, trouble happened - a sailor's ship was wrecked near Jamaica.
Columbus travel routes on the map
To clearly see what path the brave traveler from Europe made with his team, just look at the routes of all 4 expeditions shown on the map. In general terms, the features of the route of each new voyage are clear from the list of new discovered lands, but for greater clarity, you can use the following image:
America's official discovery date
As mentioned above, the official date of the discovery of America is 1492, when the very first expedition of the great European sailor took place.
There are a lot of stories that indirectly indicate that the coast of America was first discovered for the first time not by Columbus or Vespucci, but by many other researchers and even representatives of the Viking people.
But the official date of the opening is precisely 1492, because it was not just a discovery on the map, but also the discovery of the New World countries as a cultural phenomenon, the beginning of an endless flow of emigrants and the establishment of trade and economic ties.
The fact that it was Christopher Columbus who took upon himself the great glory of being considered a pioneer is in some way the luck of fate, but not just falling on his head, but given as a reward for courage, activity and lack of fear of trials and distant wanderings.
The Significance of the Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
It is obvious that the opening of the New World for Europe in the form of North and South America became a grandiose event of its time and set the vector for the development of an entire world civilization for hundreds of years to come.
Thanks to these events, the United States appeared, at first frail and mired in internal conflicts, populated by incomprehensible personalities and adventurers, and later rapidly turning into an advanced country that fought slavery, created the most powerful dollar currency, and pushed progress in science and technology to new horizons.
The event under consideration has become extremely important both for Europe and America, and for the whole world as a whole. It is difficult to imagine what the present civilization would look like, the economic and political maps of the world, if not for the presence of a Spanish daredevil in his time, who, for the sake of honor and a gambling desire to meet adventures, would not have gone to conquer the Atlantic Ocean.
The question of who discovered America usually does not raise many questions. But bad luck - when? Earlier I, for example, simply assumed that somewhere in the middle of the last millennium. It's a shame ... Such things, of course, you need to know. In this story I will discuss this. :)
When America was discovered
The discovery of America by Europeans can be considered literally the most significant event in history. After all, after that, a huge number of Europeans rushed to the new continent, as a result of which success in trade was ensured for many years. After all, there were many useful natural resources on this continent.
And now a few numbers - 1492. This year is the official year of the discovery of America. And this great event happened quite by accident, because Christopher Columbus was going to get to India in this way. He studied geography almost all his life and was going to find a western route to India, he believed that it could be much shorter than the eastern one.
Few know, but the travels and discoveries of Columbus did not end there. From 1493, he led several more expeditions, during which many nearby islands were discovered, for example.
However, at that time it was not yet clear where the sailors ended up. There were versions that this is the eastern coast of India. Some have argued that it is. And only Amerigo Vespucci, having explored the coast of Brazil, came to an unambiguous conclusion - this is a new continent. It was in honor of him that this continent was named, although it was not he who discovered it at all.
I have prepared a small selection of interesting facts about the discovery of America:
- Few know that Columbus barely managed to get permission to travel across the ocean. He decided to arrange an expedition back in 1485.
- On the ships of the Columbus expedition were not sailors, but all kinds of rabble. Ordinary sailors and residents of Spain did not want to go on a voyage across the ocean, no one knew how it would turn out. Columbus had to recruit a team of criminals in prison.
- Columbus had three small ships on which to travel across the ocean was a real suicide. But Columbus apparently drank champagne, as they say. :)
America's Discovery - 1492
The first discovery of America by the Normans
The sailing of the Normans to the shores of North America was unthinkable without their justification in Iceland. But the first Europeans to visit Iceland were Irish monks. Their acquaintance with the island took place around the second half of the 8th century.
“30 years ago (that is, no later than 795), several clerics who were on this island from February 1 to August 1, informed me that there, not only during the summer solstice, but also in the preceding and subsequent days, the setting sun seemed to be only hides behind a small hill, so that it is not dark there even for the shortest time ... and you can do any kind of work ... If the clerics lived on the high mountains of this island, the sun might not be hidden from them at all ... While they are there lived, days always gave way to nights, except for the summer solstice; however, at a distance of one day's journey further north, they found a frozen sea. "
About 100 years later, a Viking ship accidentally hit the shores of Iceland
“They say that people from Norway were going to sail to the Faroes…. However, they were carried west into the sea, and there they found more land. Entering the eastern fjords, they climbed a high mountain and looked around to see if they could see smoke anywhere or any other signs that this land was inhabited, but they did not notice anything. In the fall, they returned to the Faroe Islands. When they left for the sea, there was already a lot of snow on the mountains. Therefore, they called this country the Snow Land "
Over the years, a large number of Norwegians moved to Iceland. By 930, there were about 25 thousand people on the island. Iceland became the starting point for further travels of the Normans to the West. In 982-983, Eirik Turvaldson, who became Eric the Red in the Russian tradition, discovered Greenland. In the summer of 986, Bjarni Herulfson, sailing from Iceland to the Greenland Viking settlement, went astray and found land to the south. In the spring of 1004, the son of Eric the Red Leave Happy, who discovered the Cumberland Peninsula (south of Baffin Island), the eastern coast of the Labrador Peninsula and the northern coast of Newfoundland, followed in his footsteps. The northeastern shores of North America were then more than once visited by Viking expeditions, but in Norway and Denmark they were not considered important, since they were not very attractive by natural conditions.
Prerequisites for the discovery of America by Columbus
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the fall of Byzantium under the blows of the Ottoman Turks, the birth of the Ottoman Empire in the east of the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor led to the termination of overland trade relations along the Great Silk Road with the countries of the East
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the critical need of Europe for the spices of India and Indochina, which were used not so much in cooking as as a hygiene item, for the manufacture of incense. After all, Europeans washed themselves in the Middle Ages rarely and reluctantly, and quintal (a measure of weight, 100 pounds) of pepper in Calicut or Hormuz cost ten times less than in Alexandria.
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misconception of medieval geographers about the size of the earth. It was believed that the Earth evenly consists of land - the giant continent of Eurasia with an appendage of Africa - and the ocean; that is, the sea distance between the extreme western point of Europe and the extreme eastern point of Asia did not exceed several thousand kilometers
Short biography of Christopher Columbus
Born in Genoa in 1451. He was the firstborn in a large family of a weaver. Participated in the production and trade enterprises of his father. In 1476 he settled in Portugal by chance. He married Felipe Moniz Perestrello, whose father and grandfather were actively involved in the activities of Heinrich the Navigator. He settled on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago. He was admitted to the family archives, reports of sea voyages, geographical maps and directions. Frequently visited the harbor of the island of Porto Santo
“In which nimble fishing boats scurried and ships anchored from Lisbon to Madeira and from Madeira to Lisbon. The helmsmen and sailors of these ships whiled away long hours of stay in the port tavern, and Columbus had long and useful conversations with them ... (I learned from) experienced people about their voyages in the Sea-Ocean. A certain Martin Visente told Columbus that 450 leagues (2,700 kilometers) west of Cape San Vicente, he picked up a piece of wood in the sea, processed, and at the same time very skillfully, with some tool, clearly not iron. Other sailors met boats with huts beyond the Azores, and these boats did not capsize even on a large wave. We saw huge pines near the Azores coast, these dead trees were brought by the sea at a time when strong westerly winds blew. Sailors came across the corpses of broad-faced people of "non-Christian" appearance on the shores of the Azores island of Fayal. Someone Antonio Leme, “married to a woman from Madeira,” told Columbus that, having traveled a hundred leagues to the west, he came across three unknown islands at sea ”(J. Light“ Columbus ”)
He studied, analyzed contemporary works on geography, navigation, travel notes of travelers, treatises of Arab scholars and ancient authors, and gradually drew up a plan to reach the rich countries of the East by the western sea route.
The main sources of knowledge on the issue of interest were five books for Columbus
- Historia Rerum Gestarum by Aeneas Silvia Piccolomini
- "Imago Mundi" by Pierre d'Ailly
- "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
- "The Book" by Marco Polo
- "Parallel Lives" of Plutarch
1492, April 30 - the royal couple approved the certificate of granting Columbus the titles of Admiral of the Ocean-Sea and Viceroy of all lands, which will be opened to them in the voyage of the named Ocean-Sea. Titles complained forever "from heir to heir", at the same time Columbus was elevated to the rank of nobility and could "call and title himself Don Christopher Columbus", had to receive a tenth and an eighth share of the profits from trade with these lands, had the right to sort out all litigations. The city of Palos was approved as the center for the preparation of the expedition
“He talked heart to heart with the inhabitants of Palos and said everywhere that the expedition needed brave and experienced sailors and that its participants would receive great benefits. “Friends, go there, and we will go on this trip all together; you will leave the poor, but if with God's help we will be able to open the land to us, then, having acquired it, we will return with gold bars, and we will all get rich, and we will get a big profit. " Soon volunteers were drawn to the harbor of Palos, wishing to take part in a voyage to the shores of an unknown land "
Columbus ships
Discovery of America. Briefly
- 1492, September 16 - Columbus's Diary: "They began to notice many tufts of green grass, and, as could be judged by its appearance, this grass was only recently torn off the ground."
- 1492, September 17 - Diary of Columbus: "I discovered that since the departure from the Canary Islands there was not so little salt water in the sea."
- 1492, September 19 - Columbus's Diary: “At 10 o'clock a dove flew into the ship. In the evening we saw another one. "
- 1492, September 21 - Columbus's Diary: “We saw a whale. A sign of land because whales swim close to the shore. "
- 1492, September 23 - Columbus's Diary: "Since the sea was calm and warm, people began to grumble, saying that the sea is strange here, and the winds that would help them return to Spain would never blow."
- 1492, September 25 - Columbus's Diary: “The earth appeared. He ordered to go in that direction. "
- 1492, September 26 - Columbus's Diary: "What we took for earth turned out to be heaven."
- 1492, September 29 - Diary of Columbus: "Sailed our way to the West."
- 1492, September 13 - Columbus noticed that the compass needle points not to the North Star, but 5-6 degrees northwest.
- 1492, October 11 - Columbus's Diary: “We sailed to the west-south-west. During the whole time of the voyage, there has never been such excitement at sea. We saw "pardelas" and green reeds near the ship. People from the "Pinta" caravel noticed a reed and a branch and fished out a hewn, possibly iron, stick and a fragment of a reed and other herbs that would be born on earth, and one tablet
1492, October 12 - America is discovered. It was 2 o'clock in the morning when the shout "Earth, earth !!!" and a bombard shot. In the moonlight, the outline of the coast appeared. In the morning the boats were lowered from the ships. Columbus with both Pinsons, a notary, a translator, and a royal comptroller, landed ashore. “The island is very large and very flat, and there are many green trees and water, and there is a large lake in the middle. There are no mountains, "wrote Columbus. The Indians called the island Guanahani. Columbus designated it San Salvador, now Watling Island, part of the Bahamas archipelago
- 1492, October 28 - Columbus discovered the island of Cuba
- 1492, December 6 - Columbus approached a large island called the Borgio Indians. Along its coast "the most beautiful valleys stretch, very similar to the lands of Castilla" - the admiral wrote in his diary. apparently that is why he named the island of Hispaniola, now - Haiti
- 1492, 25 December - "Santa Maria" crashed into reefs off the coast of Haiti. The Indians helped to remove valuable cargo, guns and supplies from the ship, but the ship could not be saved
- 1493, January 4 - Columbus set off on the return journey. He had to sail back on the smallest ship of the expedition "Niñe", leaving part of the crew on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), since even earlier the third ship "Pinta" separated from the expedition, and "Santa Maria" ran aground. Two days later, both surviving ships met, but on February 14, 1493 they parted in a storm.
- 1493, March 15 - Columbus returned to Palos on the "Ninya", with the same tide the "Pinta" entered the harbor of Palos
Columbus made three more voyages to the shores of the New World, discovered islands and archipelagos, bays, bays and straits, founded forts and cities, but he never knew that he had found a way not to India, but to a completely unknown world for Europe.
Christopher Columbus, who did not discover America
The name of Christopher Columbus gained worldwide fame after the discovery of America. Today, researchers are questioning the fame of the discoverer, offering alternative versions of the events that accompanied the acquaintance of Europeans with the New World.
Based on the officially recognized biography of Columbus, it becomes clear that not so much is known about his life. Christopher Columbus (Spanish Cristobal Colon; Italian Cristoforo Colombo), the famous Spanish navigator, was born in 1451 in Genoa. He became a sailor early, sailed in the Mediterranean Sea up to the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea. Perhaps he was a merchant and commander of a ship. In the mid-1470s, Columbus settled in Lisbon. Flew under the Portuguese flag to the north, to England and Ireland, and possibly to Iceland. He visited Madeira and the Canary Islands, walked along the west coast of Africa to the Portuguese trading post of São Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana). Columbus tried to interest Portugal and Britain with his plan for an expedition to Asia, but failed twice.
In 1485, Columbus left Portugal to try to find support in Spain. In early 1486 he was presented to the royal court. Queen Isabella of Castile and her consort, King Ferdinand of Aragon, took an interest in the Columbus project. The commission under the leadership of Talavera made an unfavorable conclusion about the expediency of traveling to the west, but the king and queen agreed to support the expedition and promised to confer on Columbus the rank of nobility and titles of admiral, viceroy and governor general of all the islands and continents that he would discover. There is a legend that Isabella of Castile sold her jewelry to equip an expedition to India.
The first expedition of Columbus took place in 1492-1493. The city of Palos de la Fontera provided two ships for her: the Pinta and Niña caravels. In addition, the sailor chartered the four-masted sailing ship Santa Maria. With the help of renowned sailor Martin Alonso Pinson, Columbus recruited a crew of 90 people. During the expedition, he discovered the Sargasso Sea and reached the island of Samana. The caravels were approached on October 12, 1492, and this day is considered the official date of the discovery of America. Getting off the ship, the navigator kissed the ground, and all the sailors followed his example. In their presence, Columbus declared the open land to belong to the Spanish crown.
During subsequent expeditions (1493-1496, 1498-1500, 1502-1504), he discovered the Greater Antilles, part of the Lesser Antilles and the coast of South and Central America, the Caribbean Sea. In 1500, Columbus was arrested on a denunciation and sent to Castile, where his release awaited. The navigator then kept the shackles in which he was chained all his life. But he managed to prove his case, and the expeditions continued. During the last of them, a crash occurred, and Christopher waited for help for a whole year. Columbus returned to Castile on November 7, 1504, already seriously ill. The last years of Columbus were spent in illness and lack of money. He died on May 20, 1506.
Columbus's personality, I must say, is rather contradictory. He was distinguished by faith in Divine Providence and omens. In negotiations with monarchs, he repeatedly demonstrated a sharp mind and a gift of persuasion. But Columbus was not an abstract dreamer or altruist. Rather, a practical person. His painful pride and suspicion, his passion for gold, is usually not mentioned in the official biography. But it was Columbus who proposed to reduce the cost of colonizing new lands by populating the islands with criminals. The term of punishment for them was cut in half, so there were enough people willing. And the expeditions themselves were organized for practical reasons (in addition to the nobility and the post of vice-governor, the Spanish monarchs promised the navigator 10% of the value of goods imported into Spain). Spain's investment has paid off with interest. The discovery of America made possible the colonization of the richest lands. It is safe to say that Columbus's visit to the New World was the beginning of a new era in the development of the world.
Today it is considered proven that Columbus had predecessors. Spaniards, Chinese, Icelanders, Swedes, Portuguese claim the championship ... According to a number of historians, Columbus not only was not a pioneer, he also appropriated the glory of those whose knowledge he used. Many versions owe their origin to clever falsifications. In particular, the map of Muhiddin Piri Reis was considered one of the most valuable documents on the basis of which the assumption of the "pre-Columbian" discovery of America appeared. In 1520 Piri Reis, admiral of the Turkish fleet, published the navigation atlas "Bahriye". (This atlas is still kept in the Istanbul National Museum.) Some of the maps in it depict with amazing accuracy the Americas, Greenland and even Antarctica, which at that time could not have been known to mariners. A number of details (Greenland and Antarctica are not yet covered with ice; the ridges of these islands are clearly outlined, only recently discovered with the help of modern equipment) indicate that the parchment reflects the geographical picture of the planet five thousand years ago. The examination was never able to establish whether the map is original or a fake, but it is quite obvious: such an accurate designation of the coastline and detailing of the interior regions of the continents can be achieved only through satellite imagery. Along with the cards, the origin of which cannot be established, there were others made at a much lower level. As a rule, they show in detail the line of the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (the most studied at that time), and more distant lands are indicated very approximately. But it is incorrect to draw conclusions from this fact, since it is quite natural that the demand was found for the maps of those seas along which the main routes of merchants ran.
There is no doubt that before the start of the expedition, Columbus studied all the materials available at that time, among which were documents mentioning the journey of the Madeiran Antonio Lemme. He saw islands or continents in the west around 1484. Columbus apparently also had at his disposal the records of anonymous pilots, who, after 1460, were also seen in the west of the island. Thus, the navigator based his calculations on real facts. Although he is credited with a rather strange statement for an experienced sailor. In one of the petitions, Christopher Columbus allegedly wrote that the distance from the Canary Islands to Sipangu (modern Japan, which was considered part of India) is equal to 2,400 miles (in fact - 10,600), and he proved his calculations with a quote from the Bible. It says, "And you dried six parts." Consequently, Columbus said, six-sevenths of the globe is land, and the ocean cannot be too wide.
It is difficult to imagine that a person who spent most of his life at sea relied only on Providence. It is likely that the Bible reference was included in the report specifically for the church, but other sources provided guidance for the drafting. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how Columbus twice chose the optimal route for his voyage. A very strong Canary Current follows from the shores of the Iberian Peninsula to the Canary Islands. Immediately south of these islands, the current turns abruptly and merges with the North Passat Current. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern trade winds and reaches the coasts of Cuba and Florida. This is the path followed by Columbus's expedition. Columbus set off on the return journey in 1493, using the Gulf Stream, which carried ships to the Azores. Here it is already difficult to talk about a coincidence, Columbus should have had accurate data.
Who paved the way to the New World? There is no unambiguous answer to this question, because the existing hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. According to one of them, belonging to Thor Heyerdahl, on the eve of the official discovery of America, Columbus took part in the Portuguese-Danish expedition led by John Skolp. The day before the lookout on the Pint shouted "Earth!" Columbus, according to Thor Heyerdahl, said, "We'll be there tomorrow." So in 1492 he saw the American coast for the second time. And John Skolp, in turn, was guided by the experience of the Vikings.
The version that the Vikings repeatedly sailed to the shores of North America and even founded settlements there is far from groundless. Along with the cycle of the Scandinavian sagas about Vinland - an overseas Viking colony - scientists have archaeological data. Runic inscriptions are found on the east coast of Canada, Labrador, New Foundland. The remains of settlements were also found, quite correlated in time and type with those mentioned in the sagas. According to the theory of researcher Jacques de Mayo, the Inca civilization maintained ties with the Vikings.
However, the Vikings were the first, but not the only visitors to the American continent. The fact that the Antilles are marked on the Zuane Pizzigano map of 1424 gives the right to assert that the Portuguese knew about the existence of the Antilles and the coast of the American continent as early as the first quarter of the 15th century. Probably, the discovery of the New World was started in 1452 by the expedition of Diogo de Teivi and continued by the journey to the shores of America by João Vaz Corti-Real in 1472. If this is so, then the refusal of the Portuguese king to Columbus is quite understandable: he knew too well what kind of lands lay in the west, so there was no need for a new expedition. Confirmation of the hypothesis is provided by a large number of royal charters, which (starting from 1460-1462) give awards to captains and pilots for some undefined islands for the purpose of their discovery and settlement. The most curious and important of them are the letters of the Madeira Rui Gonsalves da Camara (1473) and Fernand Telish (1474).
Another contender for the palm is China. While studying the ancient manuscripts of Venice, the commander of the submarine, Gavin Menzies, came across a map dated 1459, on which there was the Cape of Good Hope, discovered by Bartolomeu Dias only in 1488. Other documents were soon discovered. It turned out that many European travelers used maps of lands that Europeans had not yet visited. After devoting fourteen years to studying the riddle, Menzies came to the conclusion that the real discoverer of America was the Chinese naval commander Zheng He. Chinese chronicles suggest that Zheng He was known to the world under the name of Sinbad the Sailor. At least some details of his biography served as a basis for the emergence of the famous legend. Zheng He, according to Menzies, visited Australia with his fleet and almost reached the South Pole. China had the technical ability to make a discovery: the Celestial Empire had a fantastic fleet of more than 300 ships. However, Chinese scholars disagree with Menzies' opinion. The fact is that Zheng He's life is described in the most detailed way in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" and there is not a word about the discovery of America ...
We may never know who really discovered America. The primacy of Columbus is confirmed only by his own words, more precisely - by the magazine that he allegedly kept during his voyage. And this document is deliberately written in a very vague and full of contradictions. According to J. Cortezan, "if it is impossible to prove with indisputable documents in hand that the American land was reached by unknown or well-known navigators before Columbus sailed for the first time to the Antilles in 1492, it is even more difficult to refute this thesis with logical arguments."
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From the book A History of Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice the author Kanevsky Lev DmitrievichChapter 1 Christopher Columbus - Discoverer of Cannibals Early on Friday morning, August 3, 1492, at eight o'clock in the morning at the Sates Bank, which lies at the confluence of two rivers, the Odiel and the Rio Tinto, three sailboats, illuminated by a blood-red sunrise, gently swayed on shallow waves. -
From the book Great Historical Personalities. 100 stories of reformer rulers, inventors and rebels the author Mudrova Anna YurievnaColumbus Christopher 1451–1506Spanish navigator, in 1492 discovered America for Europeans. Among the great figures of world civilization, few can compare with Columbus in the number of publications devoted to his life, and at the same time in the abundance of "blank spots" in his biography. By
From the book of 50 great dates of world history author Sharp JulesChristopher Columbus discovers America on October 12, 1492 After many weeks of sailing, when the crew was already threatening a mutiny, the lookout of one of Christopher Columbus's ships exclaimed: "Earth!" and
From the book Personalities in History the author Team of authorsChristopher Columbus: a stone's throw from paradise Eugene Rile He was named in honor of Saint Christopher, who carried the baby Christ across the stream. Therefore, all his life he was convinced that the Lord himself had called him to carry the light of Christianity across the ocean and ensure its final
From the book World History in Sayings and Quotes the author Dushenko Konstantin VasilievichIt was midnight on October 11, 1492. Just another two hours - and an event will come true, which 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. Those who first saw the land were promised a reward of ten thousand maravedis, and now it was already clear to everyone that the long voyage was drawing to a close ...
1.India
Columbus was quite sure all his life that he 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 is round, but there were still very vague ideas about the size of the globe.
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 silk and spices. It was this path that Christopher Columbus dreamed of finding.
In 1483, Christopher Columbus proposed a project to King João II, but after a long 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 advisers to help him organize an expedition across the ocean.
In 1485 Columbus came to 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 scientists of the court simply did not understand how it was possible to sail to the west to reach the lands that are far to the east. It seemed like something completely impossible.
Here is what they said: “Even if it were possible to somehow descend to another hemisphere, how to get up from there back? Even with the most favorable wind, the ship will never climb the huge water mountain, which is formed by the bulge of the ball, even if we assume that the Earth is really spherical ”.
Only in 1491 was Columbus able to get an appointment with Ferdinand and Isabella again and convince them that he could really find a sea route to India.
Columbus at a reception at 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 on 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 receive an entire continent under their rule.
4 three caravels
Columbus was provided with three caravels: “Santa Maria” (about 40 meters long), “Niña” and “Pinta” (about 20 meters each). Even for that time, these ships were very small.
Taking them across the ocean, accommodating 90 crew members, seemed like an incredibly daring decision. For example, only Columbus himself, the captains of the ships and several other crew members had their own beds. The sailors had to take turns sleeping on the floor in the cramped hold, on damp barrels and boxes. And so on for many weeks on the way.
Three small wooden ships - "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Niña" set off from the port of Paloje (Atlantic coast of Spain) on August 3, 1492. About 100 crew members, the very minimum of food and equipment.
5 ship riot
They have never had to swim so far into the ocean and so far from their native shores. Columbus even deliberately decided not to inform everyone about how much distance had already been covered, and called much smaller numbers. With joy, the sailors were ready to believe in any sign of approaching land: for example, 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 arrow
One of the first in the world, Christopher Columbus was able to observe how the deflection of the magnetic needle occurs.
At that time, it was not yet known that the compass needle points not 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. He was, of course, very frightened. Is the ship's compass inaccurate or broken? Just in case, Columbus also decided not to report this observation to almost anyone.
Compass of the late 15th century (similar to that of Columbus)
7 the first islands
Before the land appeared on the horizon on October 12, 1492, 70 days of sailing had passed. However, the seen outlines of the coast were not at all a mainland, but a small island, which was later named San Salvador.
In total, Columbus made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean (and all four times thought that he was approaching the shores of India). During this time, he visited many islands of the Caribbean Sea and only during the third voyage saw the shores of the continent. On his fourth voyage, Columbus spent several months navigating ships along the coast, hoping to find a strait leading to long-awaited India. Of course, no strait was found. The completely exhausted sailors were forced to return to the already familiar islands with nothing.
All of them, - writes Columbus, - walk naked, in which 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 the bodies and faces they were very beautiful, and their hair was coarse, just like a horse's, and short ... Their facial features were correct, their expression was friendly ...
8 Indians
Columbus called the aborigines found on the islands Indians - because he sincerely considered the lands found as part of India. It is surprising that this "erroneous" name of the native inhabitants of America has survived to this day.
Moreover, we were 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, 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”).
Everything here seemed unusual and new: nature, plants, birds, animals and even people.
9 Columbian exchange
Columbus brought from his voyages many products not yet known to Europeans: for example, corn, tomatoes and potatoes. And thanks to Columbus, grapes appeared in America, as well as horses and cows.
This movement of food, plants and animals between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (America) continued for several hundred years and was called the "Columbian Exchange".
10 astronomy
At the most dangerous moment, Columbus was miraculously saved ... knowledge of astronomy!
During the last voyage, the team found itself in a very difficult situation. The ships were wrecked, food supplies were running low, and the people were exhausted and sick. All that remained was to wait for help and hope for the hospitality of the Indians, who were not too peacefully disposed towards foreigners.
And then Columbus came up with a trick. From astronomical tables, he knew that a lunar eclipse would occur on February 29, 1504. Columbus called the local leaders to his place 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.
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 agreed to feed the strangers the best food and fulfill all their wishes.
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