Discovery of America on the map. Christopher Columbus - what he discovered, map and travel route of Christopher Columbus

What Christopher Columbus did, you will learn from this article.

What did Christopher Columbus discover? Discoveries of Christopher Columbus

The navigator is the most mysterious person of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries and travels. His life is full of mysteries dark spots, inexplicable coincidences and actions. And all because mankind became interested in the navigator 150 years after his death - important documents have already been lost, and Columbus's life remained fanned with speculation and gossip. Plus, Columbus himself hid his origin (according to unknown reasons), the motives of their actions and thoughts. The only thing that is known is 1451 - the year of his birth and the place of birth - the Republic of Genoa.

He made 4 expeditions, which were supplied by the Spanish king:

• The first expedition - 1492-1493.
• The second expedition - 1493-1496.
• The third expedition - 1498 - 1500.
• The fourth expedition - 1502 - 1504.

During four expeditions, the navigator discovered many new territories and two seas - Sargasso and Caribbean.

Lands discovered by Christopher Columbus

It is interesting that all the time the navigator thought that he had discovered India, and behind it he would find rich Japan and China. But it wasn't. He owns the discovery and exploration of the New World. The islands discovered by Christopher Columbus are the Bahamas and Antilles, Saman, Haiti and Dominica, the Lesser Antilles, Cuba and Trinidad, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe and Margarita. He is the discoverer of the lands of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, as well as the northern coast of South America and the Caribbean part of Central America.

Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus

But the most important thing is that during his expedition Christopher Columbus discovered America. It happened on October 12, 1492, when he landed on the island of San Salvador.

And it all started like this: on August 3, 1492, the expedition of the European navigator, consisting of the ships Santa Maria, Nina and Pinta, went to long haul. In September, the Sargasso Sea was discovered. They walked along German for three weeks. On October 7, 1492, the Columbus team changes its course to the southwest, believing that they missed Japan, which they so wanted to discover. After 5 days, the expedition stumbled upon an island named by Christopher Columbus in honor of the savior of Christ San Salvador. This date - October 12, 1492 is considered the official day of the discovery of America.

A day later, Columbus landed and hoisted the Castilian banner. Thus, he formally became the owner of the island. Having explored the nearby islands, the navigator sincerely believed that these were the vicinity of Japan, India and China. At first, the open lands were called the West Indies. Christopher Columbus returned to Spain on March 15, 1493 on the ship Nina. As a gift to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, he brought gold, natives, plants unprecedented to Europeans - potatoes, corn, tobacco, as well as bird feathers and fruits.

We hope that from this article you have learned what discoveries of Christopher Columbus became famous all over the world.

Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus

The continents known today as North and South America were discovered in the prehistoric period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the Americas, tens of millions of indigenous peoples lived here. The lands of America were repeatedly "discovered" by peoples coming from different corners world for many generations, beginning with the Stone Age, when a group of hunters first visited a land that was truly an unexplored New World.

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

The first settlers in America

Migration route from Asia to North America

The first people who settled in America came there from Asia, probably about 15,000 years ago. During the Pleistocene epoch, the ice sheets of the Laurentian and Cordillera glaciers, as a result of melting, formed narrow corridor and a land bridge between Russia and Alaska. The land bridge between the west coast of Alaska and Siberia, known as the Bering Isthmus, opened due to falling ocean levels and connected the continents of Asia and North America.

: In place of the Bering Isthmus, the current Bering Strait was formed, separating Asia and North America. The strait was named after the officer of the Russian fleet Vitus Bering, who crossed it in 1728.

Settlement of the Americas 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 in the future by sea or on ice.

After the ice sheets melted and ice Age ended, the settlers who arrived in America became isolated from other continents.

Thus, the American continents first discovered nomadic Asian tribes about 15,000 years ago, who initially settled North America, then spread to Central and South America and became the Native American peoples.

VI century - Irish monks

According to legend, Irish monks reached North America in the 6th century.

According to popular Irish legend, a group of Irish monks, led by Saint Brendan, took a boat to the west in the 6th century in search of new lands. Seven years later, the monks returned home and reported that they had found a land covered with lush vegetation, which was modern Newfoundland.

There is no exact evidence confirming that Irish monks landed on the coast of North America. However, in 1976, British traveler Tim Severin tried to prove that such a journey was possible. Severinus built an exact replica of the 6th-century monks' ship and sailed from Ireland to North America along the route described by the traveling monks. The explorer reached Canada.

10th century - Vikings

The Scandinavian navigator Leif Eriksson reached the shores of North America in 1000 BC.

Around 984, the Scandinavian navigator Erik Kras explored ancient shipping routes and discovered Greenland. Leif Eriksson, the son of Eric Kras, in 999, with a crew of 35 people on one ship, set off from Greenland to Norway. Soon Leif Eriksson on his journey through Atlantic Ocean reached North America, where around 1000 he founded a Norwegian settlement on the territory of the modern Canadian island of Newfoundland. The Vikings named the settlement "Vineland" (eng. Vineland - "Grape land") because of the abundance of grapes growing on this land. However, Erickson and his team did not stay long - only a few years - before returning to Greenland. Relations with native North Americans were hostile.

Archaeological site "L'Ans-o-Meadows" in Newfoundland (Canada): Viking settlement at the end of the 11th century

In the sagas, the Vikings who settled in America are referred to as "skrelings" by the Native Americans. Most of the sagas come from Scandinavian folklore, but in 1960 the Norwegian archaeologist Helge Ingstad found the first European Viking settlement of the end of the 11th century, identical to the settlements in Scandinavian countries. This historical and archaeological site has been named "L'Anse aux Meadows" and is recognized by scientists as evidence of pre-Columbian transoceanic contacts.

XV century - sailors from China

Chinese explorer Zheng He's fleet included no less than 250 ships.

British naval officer Gavin Menzies theorized that the Chinese had colonized South America. He claimed that Chinese explorer Zheng He, who commanded an armada of wooden sailing ships in the early 15th century, discovered America in 1421. Zheng He explored South East Asia, India and the east coast of Africa using advanced navigation techniques.
Gavin Menzies, in 1421 - The Year China Discovered the World, wrote that Zheng He sailed to the east coast of the United States and may have established settlements in South America. Menzies based the theory on evidence from ancient shipwrecks, Chinese and European maps, and reports compiled by navigators of the time. However, this theory is questionable.

Christopher Columbus

Discovery of Christopher Columbus

August 3, 1492 the Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus, originally from the Italian city of Genoa.

With the support of the Spanish rulers - King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella - with a fleet of 3 caravels ("Nina", "Pinta", "Santa Maria") and 90 crew members, sailed from the port of Palos (Spain).

Sailors set off in search of a western route to Asia in order to gain precious metals, pearls, silk, spices.

Flagship of Christopher Columbus "Santa Maria"

October 12, 1492 the team of Christopher Columbus saw the earth and discovered New World(America). In his personal notes, Columbus noted that he had found a "New World" unknown to Europeans. The crew went ashore on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Columbus assumed that sailors reached the islands located near India. Hence the name of the islands of the Caribbean - "West Indies". Columbus called the local natives "Indians" - the name of the indigenous population of America, which has survived to this day.

Christopher Columbus created a colony in America, which became the first European settlement in the New World. The Spanish navigator also opened the southern trade, which supplied the sailing ships carrying goods to the New World. After the first successful voyage (1492-1493), the Spanish monarchs awarded Columbus the rank of admiral.

Swimming of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus made four expeditions to America during 1492-1504 Columbus died on May 20, 1506, still believing that he had found a new route to Asia and that the islands he was exploring were part of the Asian continent. By that time, other explorers were following the sea route first found by the admiral, and Europeans were already talking about Columbus' discoveries as the "New World".

Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom America was named

: The first geographical map showing open overseas lands appeared in 1507. The German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller named the New World "America" ​​in honor of the Florentine navigator and merchant Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the coast of South America and found that it was a separate continent and not part of Asia.

Thus, America was first discovered by nomadic Asian tribes about 15,000 years ago. Many peoples probably visited the lands of America before the famous voyage of Christopher Columbus: Irish monks, Vikings, Chinese sailors.

Christopher Columbus discovered America in the sense that he introduced it to Western Europe during four expeditions to the region between 1492 and 1504.

Thanks to Christopher Columbus, the inhabitants of the Old World became aware of the New World - America, which includes two continents. Columbus opened the way from the Old World to the New, paving the way for European colonization America, which led to the formation of new countries, including the United States, Canada and Mexico. Travels of Columbus significant events in history, which are considered the beginning of the colonial period.

Christopher Columbus did not discover America

The name of Christopher Columbus gained worldwide fame after the discovery of America. Today, researchers question the glory of the discoverer, offering alternative versions 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. Early became a sailor, sailed in the Mediterranean until the island of Chios in the Aegean. Perhaps he was a merchant and commanded a ship. In the mid-1470s, Columbus settled in Lisbon. Under the Portuguese flag, he sailed north to England and Ireland, and possibly Iceland. He visited Madeira and the Canary Islands, walked along the west coast of Africa to the Portuguese trading post of San Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana). With his plan for an expedition to Asia, Columbus tried to interest Portugal and Britain, but failed twice.

In 1485, Columbus left Portugal to try to find support in Spain. At the beginning of 1486 he was presented to the royal court. Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon, showed interest in the Columbus project. The commission, led by Talavera, issued an unfavorable opinion on the advisability of traveling west, but the king and queen agreed to support the expedition and promised to give Columbus the noble rank 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 jewels 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 Nina caravels. In addition, the navigator chartered a four-masted sailboat (nao) "Santa Maria". With the help of famous sailor Martin Alonso Pinzón, Columbus recruited a crew of 90 men. During the expedition, he discovered the Sargasso Sea and reached the island of Samana. The caravel reached the shore on October 12, 1492, and this day is considered the official date of the discovery of America. Leaving the ship, the navigator kissed the earth, 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 coasts of South and Central America, the Caribbean Sea. In 1500, Columbus was arrested on a denunciation and sent to Castile, where he was expected to be released. The shackles in which he was shackled, the navigator then kept all his life. But he managed to prove his case, and the expeditions were continued. During the last of them, a crash occurred, and Christopher waited a whole year for help. Columbus returned to Castile on November 7, 1504, already seriously ill. Last years Columbus passed in illness and lack of money. He died on May 20, 1506.

The personality of Columbus, it must be said, is rather contradictory. He was distinguished by faith in Divine Providence and omens. In negotiations with the monarchs, he repeatedly demonstrated a sharp mind and the gift of persuasion. But Columbus was not an abstract dreamer or altruist. Rather, a practical person. His morbid pride and suspicion, his passion for gold is usually not mentioned in 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 halved, so there were enough people who wanted to. And the expeditions themselves were organized for practical reasons (in addition to the nobility and the position of vice-governor, the Spanish monarchs promised the navigator 10% of the value of goods imported into Spain). Spain's investment paid off with a vengeance. The discovery of America made possible the colonization of the richest lands. It is safe to say that Columbus' visit to the New World was the beginning new era in mastering 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 was not only not a discoverer, he also appropriated the glory of those whose knowledge he used. Many versions owe their appearance to clever falsifications. In particular, one of the most valuable documents, on the basis of which the assumption of the "pre-Columbian" discovery of America appeared, was considered the map of Mukhiddin Piri Reis. In 1520, Piri Reis, admiral of the Turkish fleet, published the Bahriye navigational atlas. (This atlas is still kept in National Museum Istanbul.) Some of the maps contained in it depict with surprising accuracy North and South America, Greenland and even Antarctica, which at that time could not be known to navigators. A number of details (Greenland and Antarctica are not yet covered with ice; the ridges of these islands, only recently discovered with the help of modern equipment, are clearly outlined) 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 an original or a fake, but it is quite obvious: such an accurate designation of the coastline and detailing the interior of the continents can only be achieved through satellite imagery. Along with maps whose origin cannot be established, there were others made at a much lower level. As a rule, the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea (the most studied at that time) is drawn in detail on them, and more remote lands are indicated very approximately. But it is incorrect to draw conclusions from this fact, since it is quite natural that maps of those seas along which the main routes of merchants ran were in demand.

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 António Lemme. He saw islands or a continent to the west around 1484. Columbus apparently also had 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 canary islands to Sipangu (modern Japan, considered part of India) is 2,400 miles (actually 10,600), and he proved his calculations with a quote from the Bible. It says, "And you dried up the six parts." Therefore, said Columbus, six-sevenths of the globe is land, and the ocean cannot be too wide.

It is hard to imagine that a person who has spent most of his life at sea relied only on Providence. It is likely that the reference to the Bible was included in the report specifically for the church, but other sources served as guidance for drafting the project. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain how Columbus chose the optimal route for his voyage twice. From the shores Iberian Peninsula a very strong Canary Current follows the Canary Islands. Immediately south of these islands, the current turns sharply and joins the current of the North Trade Wind. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean in the east trade winds and reaches the shores of Cuba and Florida. This is the route followed by the Columbus expedition. Columbus set off on his return journey in 1493, using the Gulf Stream, which carried the ships to Azores. It is already difficult to talk about a coincidence here, Columbus must have had accurate data.

Who paved the way to the New World? There is no single answer to this question, because the existing hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. According to one of them, owned by Thor Heyerdahl, on the eve of the official discovery of America, Columbus took part in the Portuguese-Danish expedition led by John Scolp. The day before the lookout on the Pinta called out, "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 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 comparable in time and type with those mentioned in the sagas. According to the theory of the 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 Americas 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 Teivy 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 land lay in the west, so there was no need for a new expedition. Confirmation of the hypothesis gives big number royal charters, which (beginning from 1460-1462) give captains and pilots grants to some undefined islands with the aim of discovering and settling them. The most curious and important of them are the letters to the Madeiran Rui Gonçalves da Camara (1473) and Fernand Telish (1474).

Another contender for the palm is China. Studying the old manuscripts of Venice, submarine commander Gavin Menzies came across a map dated 1459, which showed the Cape of Good Hope, discovered by Bartolomeu Dias only in 1488. Other documents soon came to light. It turned out that many European travelers used maps of lands that Europeans had not yet visited. After devoting fourteen years to studying the mystery, Menzies came to the conclusion that the real discoverer of America is the Chinese naval commander Zheng He. Chinese chronicles suggest that Zheng He was known to the world under the name of Sinbad the Sailor. By at least, individual parts his biographies served as a canvas for the emergence of the famous legend. Zheng He, according to Menzies, went with his fleet to Australia and almost reached 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 do not agree with Menzies' opinion. The fact is that the life of Zheng He is described in detail 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 journal that he allegedly kept during his voyage. And this document is deliberately written very vaguely and full of contradictions. According to J. Cortezan, “if it is impossible to prove with indisputable documents in hand that American soil was reached by unknown or 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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Christopher Columbus or Cristobal Colon(Italian Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish Cristobal Colon; between August 25 and October 31, 1451 - May 10, 1506) - the famous navigator and cartographer of Italian origin, who wrote his name in history as the man who discovered America for Europeans.

Columbus was the first reliably known navigator to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the subtropical zone of the northern hemisphere, the first European to sail to, discover Central and South America, initiating the study of the continents and their nearby archipelagos:

• Greater Antilles (Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico);
• Lesser Antilles (from Dominica to the Virgin Islands and the island of Trinidad);
• Bahamas.

Although calling him the "Discoverer of America" ​​is not entirely historically correct, since even in the Middle Ages the coast of continental America and the nearby islands were visited by the Icelandic Vikings. Since the data on those voyages did not go beyond Scandinavia, it was the expeditions of Columbus that first made information about the western lands known to the world. What has been opened new part light, the expedition finally proved. Discoveries of Columbus marked the beginning of the colonization of the territories of America by Europeans, the foundation of Spanish settlements, the enslavement and mass extermination of the indigenous population, erroneously called "Indians".

Bio pages

The legendary Christopher Columbus - the greatest of medieval navigators - can quite reasonably be called one of the biggest losers of the Age of Discovery. To understand this, it is enough to familiarize yourself with his biography, which, unfortunately, is replete with "white" spots.

It is believed that Christopher Columbus was born in the maritime Italian Republic of Genoa (Italian: Genova), on the island of Corsica in August-October 1451, although exact date his birth is still in question to this day. In general, not much is known about childhood and adolescence.

So, Christoforo was the firstborn in a poor Genoese family. The father of the future navigator, Domenico Colombo, worked in pastures, vineyards, worked as a wool weaver, traded in wine and cheese. Christopher's mother, Susanna Fontanarossa, was the daughter of a weaver. Christopher had 3 younger brother- Bartolome (circa 1460), Giacomo (circa 1468), Giovanni Pellegrino, who died very early - and sister Bianchinetta.

Documentary evidence from that time shows that the financial situation of the family was deplorable. Especially large financial problems arose because of the house to which the family moved when Christopher was 4 years old. Much later, on the foundations of the house in Santo Domingo, where Christoforo spent his childhood, a building called "Casa di Colombo" (Spanish: Casa di Colombo - "House of Columbus") was erected, on the facade of which in 1887 an inscription appeared : " No parental home can be honored more than this.».

Since Colombo Sr. was a respected artisan in the city, in 1470 he was sent to important mission to Savona (Italian: Savona) to discuss with weavers the introduction of uniform prices for textile products. Apparently, therefore, Dominico moved with his family to Savona, where, after the death of his wife and youngest son, as well as after the departure of his eldest sons and the marriage of Bianchi, he increasingly began to seek solace in a glass of wine.

Since the future discoverer of America grew up near the sea, from childhood he was attracted by the sea. From his youth, Christopher was distinguished by faith in omens and divine providence, morbid pride and a passion for gold. He possessed a remarkable mind, versatile knowledge, a talent for eloquence and the gift of persuasion. It is known that after studying a little at the University of Pavia, around 1465 the young man entered the service of the Genoese fleet and quite early age began to sail as a sailor in the Mediterranean Sea on merchant ships. After some time, he was seriously wounded and temporarily left the service.

He may have become a merchant and in the mid-1470s settled in Portugal, joined the community of Italian merchants in Lisbon and sailed north under the Portuguese flag to England, Ireland and Iceland. He visited Madeira, the Canary Islands, walked along the western coast of Africa to modern Ghana.

In Portugal, around 1478, Christopher Columbus married the daughter of a prominent navigator of the time, Doña Felipe Moniz de Palestrello, becoming a member of a wealthy Italo-Portuguese family in Lisbon. Soon the young couple had a son, Diego. Until 1485, Columbus "walked" on Portuguese ships, was engaged in trade and self-education, and became interested in mapping. In 1483 he already had ready new project sea ​​trade route to India and Japan, which the navigator presented to the king of Portugal. But, apparently, his time has not yet come, or he failed to reasonably convince the monarch of the need to equip the expedition, but after 2 years of reflection, the king rejected this enterprise, and the impudent sailor fell into disgrace. Then Columbus moved to the Spanish service, where a few years later he still managed to persuade the king to finance a sea expedition.

Already in 1486 H.K. managed to intrigue with his project the influential Duke of Medina Seli, who introduced the poor but obsessed navigator into the circle of the royal entourage, bankers and merchants.

In 1488, he received an invitation from the Portuguese king to return to Portugal, the Spaniards also wanted to organize an expedition, but the country was in a state of protracted war and was unable to allocate funds for sailing.

First Expedition of Columbus

In January 1492, the war ended, and soon Christopher Columbus obtained permission to organize an expedition, but once again his bad temper let him down! The requirements of the navigator were excessive: the appointment of viceroy of all new lands, the title of "chief admiral of the ocean" and a large number of of money. The king refused him, however, Queen Isabella promised her help and assistance. As a result, on April 30, 1492, the king officially made Columbus a nobleman, conferring on him the title of “don” and approving all the demands put forward.

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus

In total, Columbus made 4 voyages to the coast of America:

• August 2, 1492 – March 15, 1493

aim first Spanish expedition, led by Christopher Columbus, was the search for the shortest sea route to India. This small expedition, consisting of 90 people "Santa Maria" (Spanish Santa María), "Pinta" (Spanish Pinta) and "Nina" (Spanish La Niña). "Santa Maria" - August 3, 1492 set off from Palos (Spanish: Cabo de Palos) on 3 caravels. Having reached the Canary Islands and turning west, she crossed the Atlantic and discovered the Sargasso Sea (eng. Sargasso Sea). The first land seen among the waves was one of the islands of the Bahamas, called San Salvador Island, on which Columbus landed on October 12, 1492 - this day is considered the official date of the discovery of America. Further, a number of Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti were discovered.

In March 1493, the ships returned to Castile, carrying in their holds some gold, strange plants, bright bird feathers, and several natives. Christopher Columbus announced that he had discovered western India.

• September 25, 1493 – June 11, 1496

In 1493 she set off and second expedition who was already in the rank
admiral. 17 ships and more than 2 thousand people participated in this grandiose enterprise. In November 1493
islands were discovered: Dominica (English Dominica), Guadeloupe (English Guadeloupe) and the Antilles (Spanish Antilias). In 1494, the expedition explored the islands of Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica and Huventud.

This expedition, which ended on June 11, 1496, opened the way for colonization. Priests, settlers and criminals began to be sent to open lands to populate new colonies.

• May 30, 1498 – November 25, 1500

Third exploratory expedition, consisting of only 6 ships, started in 1498. On July 31, the islands of Trinidad (Spanish: Trinidad), then the Gulf of Paria (Spanish: Golfo de Paria), the peninsula of Paria and the mouth (Spanish: Río Orinoco) were discovered. On August 15, the crew discovered (Spanish Isla Margarita). In 1500, Columbus, arrested on a denunciation, was sent to Castile. In prison, he did not stay long, but, having received freedom, he lost many privileges and most of his wealth - this was the biggest disappointment in the life of a navigator.

• 9 May 1502 – November 1504

Fourth expedition launched in 1502. Having obtained permission to continue searching for a western route to India, on 4 ships Columbus reached the island of Martinique (Fr. Martinique) on June 15, and on July 30 entered the Gulf of Honduras (Spanish: Golfo de Honduras), where he first had contact with representatives of the Maya civilization.

In 1502-1503. Columbus, who dreamed of getting to the fabulous treasures of India, thoroughly explored the coast of Central America and discovered more than 2 thousand km of Caribbean coasts. On June 25, 1503, off the coast of Jamaica, Columbus was wrecked and was rescued only a year later. On November 7, 1504, he returned to Castile seriously ill and broken by the failures that had befallen him.

The tragic end of life

This is where the epic of the famous navigator ended. Not finding the desired passage to India, finding himself ill, without money and privileges, after painful, undermined last strength negotiations with the king to restore his rights, Christopher Columbus died in the Spanish city of Valladolid (Spanish: Valladolid) on May 21, 1506. His remains in 1513 were transported to a monastery near Seville. Then, at the behest of his son Diego, who was then the governor of Hispaniola (Spanish La Espaсola, Haiti), the remains of Columbus were reburied in Santo Domingo (Spanish Santo Domingo de Guzman) in 1542, in 1795 they were transported to Cuba, and in 1898 was again returned to Spanish Seville (to the Cathedral of Santa Maria). DNA studies of the remains have shown that with a high degree of probability they belong to Columbus.

If you think about it, Columbus was dying an unfortunate man: he failed to reach the shores of fabulously rich India, and this was precisely the navigator's secret dream. He did not even understand what he had discovered, and the continents that he saw for the first time received the name of another person - (Italian: Amerigo Vespucci), who simply extended the paths blazed by the great Genoese. In fact, Columbus achieved a lot, and at the same time achieved nothing - this is his life tragedy.

Curious facts

• Almost ³⁄4 of Christopher Columbus' life was spent on voyages;
• The last words spoken by the navigator before his death were the following: In your hands, Lord, I entrust my spirit ...;
• After all these discoveries, the world entered the Age of Discovery. Poor, hungry, constantly fighting for resources in Europe, the discoveries of the famous discoverer gave an influx of a huge amount of gold and silver - the center of civilization moved there from the East and Europe began to develop rapidly;
• How difficult it was for Columbus to organize the first expedition, so easily subsequently all countries rushed to send their ships on long voyages - this is the main historical merit of the great navigator, who gave a powerful impetus to studying and changing the world!
• The name of Christopher Columbus has forever remained inscribed in the history and geography of all continents and most countries of the world. In addition to cities, streets, squares, numerous monuments and even an asteroid, it is named after the famous navigator, highest mountain in , federal district and a river in the USA, provinces in Canada and Panama, one of the departments in Honduras, countless mountains, rivers, waterfalls, parks and many other geographical objects.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

origin mystery

The world-famous navigator Christopher Columbus was born into a poor Genoese family in Italy on October 29, 1451 on the island of Corsica - the then possession of the Republic of Genoa. According to another version, the discoverer was born on May 20, 1506 in the Spanish town of Valladolid. In fairness, it should be noted that today 6 cities of both countries dispute the honor of being the birthplace of Columbus.

In his youth, Christopher studied at the University of Pavia, and in 1470 marries the daughter of the famous navigator Don Felipe Moniz de Palestrello. Bartolome de Las Casas, a contemporary of Christopher Columbus, described his portrait as follows: “He was tall, above average, his face was long and respectful, his nose was aquiline, his eyes were bluish-gray, his skin was white, with redness, his beard and mustache were reddish in his youth. , but in the works they turned gray.

But let us return once again to the question of the origin of Columbus. One Spanish legend says that the navigator was the illegitimate son of the Spanish prince De Vian, and pretended to be a commoner so as not to discredit his father's honor. According to this or another version, Columbus was born in Mallorca and hid the secret of his origin, because. in his youth, in the person of the captain of a corsair ship, he fought against the king of Aragon, the father of the founder of the Spanish state, Ferdinand.

The Italian Encyclopedia claims Jewish origin Christopher Columbus as a well-known fact. This version can be disputed by assuming that the so-called "crypto-Jews" (Jews who outwardly observed Christianity) lived in medieval Mallorca, and this explains the presence of "Jewish motives" in the notes of Columbus. By the way, an analysis of the notes of Columbus established: Italian language the navigator never used in his letters, and the stylistic character and handwriting indicate that he was widely educated and cultured person, and not a self-taught commoner who accidentally discovered the New World.

And, finally, confirmation in favor of the "Jewish" version is the data of Spanish and Portuguese historians, who report that Columbus was a baptized Jew and had nothing to do with Italy, and therefore was engaged in cartography and calligraphy - Jewish professions characteristic of that era.

The development of the world and the youth of Columbus

In the second half of the 15th century, throughout Western Europe, big cities, trade developed, money became a universal medium of exchange, which sharply increased the demand for gold. The latter, as the Spaniards believed, can be found in large quantities in India. The development of trade forced many countries to think about new ways of marketing - for example, Portugal was looking for southern sea and western routes. At the same time, in the era of the European Renaissance, theories about the sphericity of the Earth began to appear.

In 1474, the astronomer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli wrote to Columbus about his assumption that India could be reached through the West. Christopher Columbus, who moved to Savona in 1472, already then began to make plans for his sea expeditions, in particular, he was interested in traveling to India. Taking into account the opinion of Toscanelli, Christopher decided to sail to India through the Canary Islands, from which, according to his calculations, about 5 thousand km remained to Japan.

In 1476, Columbus settled in Portugal to be closer to information sources about planned sea routes. For 10 years of his residence in Portugal, the discoverer managed to visit England, Guinea, Ireland and Iceland - also in order to collect more data on lands in the West.

Illuminated by the thirst for new discoveries, Columbus hastened to communicate his decision to sail to India to the government of his native Genoa, but they ignored his initiative. In 1483, Columbus tried to get approval for his project through Juan II, but the Portuguese king also refused the young navigator. Then Columbus, together with his son Diego, moved to Spain, where in the winter of 1485-1486. settled in the monastery of Santa Maria da Rabida in the status of a beggar.

Many historians believe that Columbus was hiding from his pursuers, and in Spain he received, so to speak, political asylum. Father Abbot of the monastery Juan Perez de Marchena not only saved Columbus from starvation, but also, having familiarized himself with Christopher's bright ideas regarding the transformation of the world, wrote a letter to his friend Fernando de Talavera, the confessor of the Queen of Spain. At that time, the king of Spain was extremely busy - he was preparing for war with Granada in the city of Cordoba. Whole next year Columbus spent in futile attempts to establish connections with royal financial advisers, merchants and bankers. Finally, in the winter of 1486, the navigator was introduced to the Archbishop of Toledo and the Grand Cardinal of Spain, Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza. The cardinal facilitated an audience with the Spanish king, after which the project was studied by theologians, lawyers, cosmographers, monks and even courtiers for about a year, who eventually rejected the ideas of Columbus, considering his requests to be overly arrogant, and his ideas unrealistic.

In 1488, Columbus received a letter from the Portuguese king, in which he urged him to return to the country and solemnly promised to stop all persecution of his person. In the same year, Columbus received another good letter from King Henry VII of England, who approved of Christopher's ideas regarding a trip to India, but did not promise or offer anything specific.

All Western Europe was busy preparing for the coming war, and no government dared to sponsor a pilot project. The latest confirmation of this was the comments of the kings of Castile, Isabella and Ferdinand: "In view of the enormous costs and efforts required to wage war, the start of a new enterprise is not possible."

In January 1492, happy event- Capture of the Alhambra fortress. Granada fell and the war ended successfully in victory for Spain. Columbus was waiting for this moment, inspired, he came to the king of Spain and offered to appoint himself viceroy of the new lands, award the title of Chief Admiral of the Sea-Ocean, and all this under the banner of discovery and ownership of new lands. His Majesty opposed such insolence, calling Christopher's demands "excessive and unacceptable", and disrupted the negotiations on an unfriendly note.

In 1492, Columbus made a statement about migration to France - apparently for reasons try to negotiate with the French king. And then Queen Isabella of Castile unexpectedly takes a step forward: impressed by the idea of ​​liberating the Holy Sepulcher, she offers to pawn her jewelry in order to give money to Columbus for his journey. On April 30, 1492, the royal couple appoints Columbus as their nobleman and announces that if his expedition succeeds, Christopher will officially become Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all the lands that he discovers. He also has the right to pass on his titles by inheritance. However, royal jewels were not enough for a full-fledged overseas equipment. The queen did not receive taxes from her people, and Columbus himself, who did not have a penny, had to pay 13% of the expenses for the expedition.

Columbus was helped to scrape together the amount to pay off his share by his friend Martin Alonso Pinson, who gave him his own fully equipped ship, the Pinta, as well as money for a second and third ship. As you know, the funds for the 3rd ship were issued under the guarantee of Martin by local marranos - at the expense of their budgetary payments.

The beginning of discoveries

Over the next 12 years, Christopher Columbus undertook as many as 4 expeditions by decree of the King of Spain. Columbus recorded his impressions and new information about the world obtained from his travels in a logbook, part of which was copied by Bartolome de Las Casas. Thanks to these surviving copies, many details of the expeditions have survived to this day.

So, on the first expedition, traveling with his three ships - Pinta, Santa Maria and Nina,
and a team of 90 people, Columbus discovered America. New lands, the islands of the Caribbean (Bahamas, Haiti and Cuba), Christopher at first considered East Asia. For a long time, Europeans seriously called them "Western India", because the islands had to sail to the West, as opposed to India and Indonesia proper, which in Europe were called "East India". Despite the confusion, after the first significant journey of Columbus began the expansion of Spain into the New World.

The second flotilla of Christopher consisted of 17 ships and a crew of about 2000 people - sailors, priests, officials, service nobles, courtiers. Several ships housed animals - cattle, donkeys, horses, pigs. Also, people brought with them the seeds of agricultural crops for the settlement of future lands. This time Haiti was completely subjugated: as soon as they landed on the shore, the Europeans began to mercilessly exterminate local population. During the second expedition, almost the entire coast of Cuba was explored - the Lesser Antilles, the Virgin Islands, the islands of Puerto Rico, Jamaica. At the same time, Columbus continued to believe that he was in Western India.

Little money was found for the third voyage, so Columbus' flotilla consisted of only of 6 ships and 300 crew members, which also included Spanish criminals. Believing that gold could be found closer to the equator, on May 30, 1498, Columbus left the mouth of the Guadalquivir River with his flotilla and decided to stay closer to the South. Three ships went from the Canary Islands towards Haiti, and three more Columbus led to the South-West, to the Cape Verde Islands. Two months after the start of the third expedition, Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad and, without stopping there, went around it from the South, ending up in the Orinoco Delta and the Gulf of Paria. Not having time to complete the exploration of nearby lands, the navigator fell seriously ill and was forced to turn north, to Santo Domingo.

Having sailed to Haiti, Christopher Columbus discovered that the colonists had raised an armed rebellion against Bartolome during his absence. As a result, Columbus had to go for the introduction of a system of enslavement of the Indians for the rebellious colonists, each of whom was given a solid piece of land.

While Columbus dealt with the colonists, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama opened the sea route to the real India. Returning from India with a cargo of spices, Vasco began to denounce Columbus that he was a deceiver, and the lands he had discovered were not India at all. The Spanish royal treasury did not receive income from its new colony for a long time and in 1499 abolished Columbus' monopoly on the discovery of lands. A year later, the royal couple, suspecting Columbus of a conspiracy against the country and an exceptional desire to seize new lands themselves, sent their representative Francisco Bovadilla to Haiti. He took all the power on the island into his own hands, arrested Christopher Columbus along with his brothers, put them in shackles and delivered them to Spain. However, rather quickly, local financiers managed to convince the king to drop the charges against the navigator.

Columbus did not tend to give up even in a very difficult situation. He obtained permission from the king for a new expedition, justifying this with a desire to find a way from the lands he discovered to South Asia. Once, observing a strong sea current off the coast of Cuba, going west through the Caribbean Sea, Columbus realized that such a path exists.

On the fourth expedition, he took with him his 13-year-old son Hernando and his brother Bartolome. During the last expedition, Christopher discovered Central America - the mainland south of Cuba, proving that the Atlantic Ocean separates from South Sea, as the Indians called it, "an insurmountable barrier." Columbus also became the first to tell about the Indian peoples who inhabited the shores of the South Sea.

Death and eternal memory

Upon returning to Seville, Columbus was very seriously ill. He did not have the strength and former energy to seek the restoration of his rights and privileges from the kings, and he spent all the money on travel comrades. On May 20, 1506, the last words of the great navigator were: “Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my spirit,” and in the same year he was buried in Seville. Interestingly, after the death of Columbus, Emperor Charles V took the initiative to fulfill the dying wish of the navigator and bury him in Western India. The ashes of Columbus in 1540 were first delivered to Haiti in Santo Domingo, then, at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, part of the islands passed from the Spaniards to the French, and the ashes were transported to Cuba in the Cathedral of Havana. After the Spaniards were expelled from Havana in 1889, the ashes of the navigator were again returned to Santo Domingo, and then to Seville.

Like most geniuses, Columbus was recognized only after his death, when in mid-sixteenth centuries after the conquest of Mexico, Peru and the states in the north of the Andes, ships with a huge amount of silver and gold went to Europe.

El Salvador's currency was named after Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish) - Salvadoran colon. On all issued denominations of all years and all denominations, a portrait of a young or elderly Columbus was placed on the reverse side. Also named in honor of the navigator are: a state in South America, Colombia, Mount Cristobal Colon in Colombia, the federal district of Columbia in the USA, a province British Columbia in Canada, the Columbia River in the USA and Canada, the Columbia Pictures film studio, the cities in the USA Columbus and Colombia, the shuttle Columbia, the ISS module Columbus, the city in the Panama Canal Zone Colon, the province in Panama Colon, the Department in Honduras Colon, Argentinian football club from Santa Fe Colon, the main opera house of Argentina, the Colon Theater, the Columbus Theater in the book by Ilf and Petrov "12 Chairs".