The history of the discovery of America is brief. Christopher Columbus: "The Greatest of Losers

09.12.2021

The end of the 15th century was the beginning of the era of great geographical discoveries. The world known to Europeans began to rapidly expand, literally every year, the contours of newly discovered lands - archipelagos, individual islands, straits - and even vast new continents were drawn on the maps of sailors. The date of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus is the first on this list.

This discovery was of tremendous importance for the development of not only European, but also planetary civilization, it irreversibly influenced the course of history. Columbus discovered America in 1492. But there is information, although often poorly substantiated, that Europeans - and not only - repeatedly visited this continent long before Columbus. It could be:

ancient Romans;
Japanese;
sailors of ancient Egypt;
Chinese, etc.

The most popular of the unconfirmed reliably hypotheses is the hypothesis of multiple contacts with the South America of Ancient Egypt. The famous traveler of the 20th century, Thor Heyerdahl, who was an adherent of this idea, contributed to its popularization.

To experimentally prove the possibility of sailing in ancient times across the Atlantic Ocean, he was reconstructed according to old Egyptian drawings papyrus boat, on which the traveler repeated the supposed route of the ancient Egyptian sailors.

In addition, the results of some chemical analyzes of Egyptian mummies showed the presence in their composition of elements of coca and tobacco, which grow only in South America. But repeated studies have not yet confirmed this.

Adherents of pre-Columbian contacts with America, China and Africa, also have their own arguments. Their main proof is the stone sculptures "Olmec heads", which have pronounced Negroid features, which may indicate their African origin.

But even if all this turns out to be someday true, such contacts were local and, most likely, did not have the consequences of a civilizational scale, therefore, the memory of them faded away in the mists of time. It is reliably known only about the repeated voyages to the shores of North America by the Vikings at the junction of the 1st and 2nd millennia, as well as, possibly, mutual travels to each other of the aborigines of America and Polynesia.

The real history of the discovery of America began only at the end of the 15th century. Christopher Columbus, a Spanish navigator of Genoese origin, decided to put into practice the idea of reaching India, trade with which was intensively developing, making a voyage to it from east to west, and not, as usual, from west to east around Africa. This would significantly reduce the length of the trade route. The project was based on the idea of the sphericity of the Earth.

But he was able to make the first attempt to lay this trade route only several decades after he first heard of such an opportunity from the geographer and astronomer Toscanelli in 1470. Having no funds of his own to organize an expedition, Columbus was forced to seek help from merchants or rulers. It took a long time to get it.

An attempt to interest in such an expedition in 1775 the merchants and rulers of Genoa ended in failure. It was denied assistance to the plans of Columbus and at the court of the Portuguese king João II.

And only the third attempt was successful: after several years of studying all the pros and cons of the upcoming enterprise, Columbus's project was supported at the Spanish court. Columbus, in addition to financial support for his expedition, in case of success, should have received the title of admiral, as well as the status of a nobleman and viceroy of all the lands opened to him.

Columbus made four voyages to the shores of America:

the first, in 1492−1493;
the second, completed in 1496;
the third, 1498-1500;
the fourth, which lasted from 1502 to 1504.

The flotilla that set off in search of a short route to India on August 3, 1492 from the port of Palos, consisted of three ships: the caravel "Santa Maria", "Pinta", "Niña". Not knowing the true dimensions of the globe, the navigator did not suspect what a long way he would have to sail if a new part of the world did not exist between Europe and Asia - a continent unknown to Europeans.

Therefore, when a few weeks later the sailors, having long passed the Canary Islands, still saw only the boundless ocean ahead of them, a murmur began, demands appeared to return to Spain. But the captain managed to convince the dissatisfied to continue sailing, promising a big reward to the one who first sees the land.

Finally, on October 12, more than two months after leaving Spain, the watchman noticed land on the horizon. It was one of the islands of the Bahamas archipelago, named by Columbus after the landing on it by San Salvador. Then Cuba and Haiti were discovered, after which in March, having lost the crashed on the reef "Santa Maria" The expedition returned home.

The navigator was convinced that he had sailed to India. The return was triumphant. Columbus received the promised titles.

Columbus made his second voyage across the Atlantic with the rank of admiral, commanding a flotilla of seventeen ships. The expedition lasted almost three years. This time the Spaniards discovered the Virgin and Windward Islands, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, and for the first time reached continental America in the area later named after its discoverer - Colombia. During this trip on the island of Jamaica, Columbus first embarked on an expedition deep into the newly discovered territories in search of gold.

The third expedition, which took place in 1498-1500, involved 6 ships. The coast of South America in the region of the Orinoco River and several nearby islands were discovered.

Having survived arrest on denunciation in 1500 and freed himself, Columbus set off in 1502 on his last journey. A flotilla of four ships surveyed the east coast of the Isthmus of Central America. After being wrecked off the coast of Jamaica in 1503, the expedition was able to return to Spain only in November 1504.

The navigator died sick and in poverty in 1506, never knowing that the lands he discovered were part of two previously unknown new continents, later called North and South America. He died believing that he had opened a new path to India.

The news of the previously unknown lands in the west of the Atlantic Ocean, discovered by the Genoese Christopher Columbus, quickly spread throughout Europe, causing the appearance of his followers. The most famous of these is Amerigo Vespucci... Having visited the coast of America in 1501-1502, he was the first to conclude that the Genoese did not find the east coast of India, but discovered a completely unknown continent. After the first trip around the world undertaken by F. Magellan, this idea received irrefutable confirmation. His conclusions later became the basis for creating a new map of the world, on which a new continent appeared, later called America.

Nowadays, the day of the discovery of America by Columbus is celebrated in many countries of the American continent, in the USA it is a day off. Although not all residents of the New World consider this event a blessing, for many indigenous peoples of the mainland it turned into genocide.

Christopher Columbus is the discoverer of South and Central America. Columbus expeditions.

Christopher Columbus biography

1 expedition. Discovery of America by Columbus in 1492

The first expedition Christopher Columbus assembled from three ships - "Santa Maria" (a three-masted flagship 25 m long, with a displacement of 120 tons, the captain of the Columbus ship), the "Pinta" caravel (captain - Martin Alonso Pinson) and "Niña" (captain - Vicente Janes Pinson) with a displacement of 55 tons and 87 people of the expedition.
The flotilla left Palos on August 3, 1492, turned west from the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, opening the Sargasso Sea and reached an island in the Bahamas archipelago (the sailor of the "Pinta" Rodrigo de Triana was the first to see American land October 12, 1492). Columbus landed on the coast, which the locals call Guanahani, hoisted a banner on it, declared the open land the property of the Spanish king and formally took possession of the island. The island was named after him San Salvador.
For a long time (1940 -1982), Watling Island was considered San Salvador. However, our contemporary American geographer George Judge processed all the collected materials on a computer in 1986 and came to the conclusion: the first American land seen by Columbus was the island of Samana (120 km southeast of Watling).
On October 14-24, Columbus approached several more Bahamas, and on October 28 - December 5, he opened part of the northeastern coast of Cuba. December 6 reached the island of Haiti and moved along the northern coast. On the night of December 25, the flagship Santa Maria landed on the reef, but the crew escaped. For the first time in the history of navigation, by order of Columbus, Indian hammocks were adapted for sailor bunks.
Columbus on "Niña" on March 15, 1493 returned to Castile. From America, Columbus brought seven captive American natives, who were called Indians in Europe, as well as a little gold and plants and fruits unseen in the Old World, including an annual plant corn (in Haiti it is called maize), tomatoes, peppers, tobacco (“ dry leaves, which were especially appreciated by the locals "), pineapples, cocoa and potatoes (because of their beautiful pink and white flowers). The political resonance of Columbus's voyage was the "papal meridian": the head of the Catholic Church established a demarcation line in the Atlantic, indicating different directions for the rivals of Spain and Portugal for discovering new lands.
The first landing of Christopher Columbus on the shores of the New World: in San Salvador, Wisconsin, October 12, 1492.
The author of the painting: Spanish artist Tolin Puebla, Theophilus Dioscoro Dioscoro Teofilo Puebla Tolin (1831-1901)
Publisher: American firm Currier and Ives (prints, lithographs, popular prints), published 1892.

2 expedition of Christopher Columbus (1493 - 1496)

The second expedition (1493-96), led by Admiral Columbus, in the position of viceroy of the newly discovered lands, consisted of 17 ships with a crew of 1.5-2.5 thousand people. On November 3-15, 1493, Columbus discovered the islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe and about 20 Lesser Antilles, on November 19, the island of Puerto Rico. In March 1494, in search of gold, he made a military campaign into the interior of the island of Haiti, in the summer he discovered the southeastern and southern coasts of Cuba, the islands of Juventud and Jamaica. For 40 days, Columbus explored the southern coast of Haiti, the conquest of which he continued in 1495. But in the spring of 1496 he sailed home, completing his second voyage on June 11 in Castile. Columbus announced the opening of a new route to Asia. The colonization of new lands by free settlers, which began soon, cost the Spanish crown very dearly, and Columbus proposed that the islands be populated by criminals, halving their sentence. With fire and sword, plundering and destroying the country of ancient culture, military detachments of Cortes marched through the land of the Aztecs - Mexico, the troops of Pizarro - across the land of the Incas - Peru.

3 expedition of Christopher Columbus (1498 - 1499)

The third expedition (1498-99) consisted of six ships, three of which Columbus himself led across the Atlantic. On July 31, 1498, he discovered the island of Trinidad, entered the Gulf of Paria, discovered the mouth of the western branch of the Orinoco Delta and the Paria Peninsula, marking the beginning of the discovery of South America. Out into the Caribbean, he approached the Araya Peninsula, discovered Margarita Island on August 15, and arrived in Haiti on August 31. In 1500, on a denunciation, Christopher Columbus was arrested and, shackled (which he then kept all his life), was sent to Castile, where he was awaited by his release.

4 expedition of Christopher Columbus (1502 - 1504)

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

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

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus

1st expedition

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

2nd expedition

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

3rd expedition

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

4th expedition

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

Pioneer Candidates

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

Hypothetical

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

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

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus

1st expedition

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

2nd expedition

3rd expedition

4th expedition

Facts

Hypotheses

in the 5th century - Hui Shen (Taiwanese monk)
in the VI century - St. Brendan (Irish monk)
there are versions according to which at least from the 13th century America was known to the Knights Templar
OK. - Henry Sinclair (de Saint-Clair), Earl of Orkney (c. 1345 - c. 1400)
in Zheng He (Chinese researcher)
in the city - Juan Corterial (Portuguese)

Notes (edit)

Literature

Magidovich I.P. The history of the discovery and exploration of North America. - M .: Geografgiz, 1962.
Magidovich I.P. The history of the discovery and exploration of Central and South America. - M .: Thought, 1963.
John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. The book of common delusions. - Phantom Press, 2009.

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Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of America, D. Winsor. Illustrated historical and critical research, translated from English by F.I.Bulgakov. The book contains information about the sources, about the ancestors and homeland of Columbus, his life in Portugal and ...