Who first discovered America. Discovery of America: Briefly. Who discovered North America
The continents known today as the Americas have been discovered since prehistoric times. Before the arrival of European explorers in America, tens of millions of indigenous peoples lived here. The lands of America have been repeatedly "discovered" by peoples from different parts of the world over many generations, beginning in 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, other theories are widespread about who first discovered America: Irish monks (6th century), Vikings (10th century), sailors from China (15th century), etc.
First settlers in America
Tribal Migration Route from Asia to North America The first people to settle in America came from Asia, probably about 15 thousand years ago. During the Pleistocene epoch, the ice sheets of the Laurentian and Cordillera glaciers, as a result of melting, formed a 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.
Interesting fact: On the site of the Bering Isthmus, the present Bering Strait was formed, separating Asia and North America. The strait was named in honor of the officer of the Russian fleet Vitus Bering, who crossed it in 1728.
Population of America by Indigenous Peoples The ancient settlers of America - the Paleo-Indians - passed through the Bering Isthmus from Asia to America following the movement of large animals. These migrations took place before the Laurentian and Cordillera glaciers closed and closed the corridor. The settlement of America continued in the future by sea or on ice. After the ice plates melted and the ice age ended, the settlers who arrived in America became isolated from other continents. Thus, the American continents were first discovered by the nomadic Asian tribes about 15 thousand years ago, who initially settled in North America, then spread to Central and South America and subsequently became the Native American peoples.
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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 traveled by boat with shelter to the west in the 6th century in search of new lands. Seven years later, the monks returned home and reported that they had discovered a land covered with lush vegetation, which was modern Newfoundland.
There is no exact evidence to support that Irish monks landed on the coast of North America. However, in 1976 the British traveler Tim Severin tried to prove that such a trip was possible. Severin built a replica of a 6th century monk ship and traveled from Ireland to North America along a route described by the traveling monks. The explorer has reached Canada.
X century - Vikings
The Scandinavian navigator Leif Ericsson reached the shores of North America in 1000 BC. Around 984, the Scandinavian navigator Eric Krasus explored ancient seafaring routes and discovered Greenland. Leif Eriksson, son of Erik Kras, in 999 with a crew of 35 people on one ship left Greenland for Norway. Leif Ericsson soon reached North America on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, where around 1000 he founded a Norwegian settlement on the territory of what is now the Canadian island of Newfoundland. The Vikings named the settlement "Vineland" (English Vineland - "Grape land") because of the abundance of grapes growing on this land. However, Erickson and his team did not stay long - just a few years - before returning to Greenland. Relations with native North Americans were hostile.
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L'Ans aux Meadows Archaeological Site 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 the Native American "Skreling". Most of the sagas come from Scandinavian folklore, but in 1960 the Norwegian archaeologist Helge Ingstad found the first European Viking settlement at the end of the 11th century, identical to the settlements in the Scandinavian countries, in the northern tip of Newfoundland (Canada). This historical and archaeological site was named "L'Ans 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 colonized South America. He claimed that the Chinese explorer Zheng He, who commanded an armada of wooden sailing ships in the early 15th century, discovered America in 1421. Zheng He explored Southeast Asia, India and the east coast of Africa using advanced navigation techniques.
Gavin Menzies, in his book “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 his theory on evidence from ancient shipwrecks, Chinese and European maps, and reports compiled by navigators of the time. However, this theory is in doubt.
Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus On 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 ("Niña", "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 acquire precious metals, pearls, silk, spices. October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus's team saw the earth and discovered the New World (America). In his personal notes, Columbus noted that he had found the "New World", unknown to Europeans. The crew disembarked on the coast of the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Columbus assumed that the sailors reached the islands located near India. Hence the name of the islands of the Caribbean Sea - "West Indies". Columbus called the local natives "Indians" - the name of the indigenous population of America that has survived to this day.
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The flagship of Christopher Columbus "Santa Maria" Christopher Columbus established a colony in America that became the first European settlement in the New World. The Spanish navigator also opened southern trade, which supplied sailing ships carrying goods to the New World. After the first successful voyage (1492-1493), the Spanish monarchs conferred the rank of admiral on Columbus.
Voyages 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 referring to Columbus's discoveries as the "New World."
Christopher Columbus is a medieval navigator who discovered the Sargasso and Caribbean seas, the Antilles, the Bahamas and the American continent for Europeans, the first famous traveler to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
According to various testimonies, Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, in what is now Corsica. Six Italian and Spanish cities claim the right to be called his homeland. About the childhood and youth of the navigator, practically nothing is reliably known, just as the origin of the Columbus family is vague.
Some researchers call Columbus Italian, others believe that his parents were baptized Jews, Marranos. This assumption explains the incredible level of education for those times, which was received by Christopher, who came from the family of an ordinary weaver and housewife.
According to some historians and biographers, Columbus studied at home until the age of 14, while he had brilliant knowledge of mathematics, knew several languages, including Latin. The boy had three younger brothers and a sister, and they were all taught by visiting teachers. One of the brothers, Giovanni, died in childhood, Bianchella's sister grew up and got married, and Bartolomeo and Giacomo accompanied Columbus on his travels.
Most likely, the Columbus were helped by their fellow believers, wealthy Genoese financiers from the Marranos. With their help, a young man from a poor family got to the University of Padua.
As an educated person, Columbus was familiar with the teachings of the ancient Greek philosophers and thinkers, who portrayed the Earth as a ball, not a flat pancake, as was believed in the Middle Ages. However, such thoughts, as well as Jewish origins during the Inquisition, which raged in Europe, had to be carefully hidden.
At Columbus University, he became friends with students and faculty. One of his close friends was the astronomer Toscanelli. According to his calculations, it turned out that to the cherished India, full of untold riches, it is much closer to sail in the west, and not in the east, skirting Africa. Later, Christopher made his own calculations, which, being incorrect, confirmed Toscanelli's hypothesis. So the dream of a western trip was born, and Columbus devoted his whole life to it.
Even before entering the university as a fourteen-year-old teenager, Christopher Columbus experienced the hardships of sea voyages. The father arranged his son on one of the trading schooners to teach the art of navigation, trading skills, and from that moment the biography of Columbus the navigator started.
Columbus made his first voyages in the position of cabin boy in the Mediterranean Sea, where trade and economic routes between Europe and Asia crossed. At the same time, European merchants knew about the riches and gold placers of Asia and India from the words of the Arabs, who resold them wonderful silks and spices from these countries.
The young man listened to extraordinary stories from the mouths of oriental merchants and was inflamed with a dream to reach the shores of India in order to find her treasures and get rich.
Expeditions
In the 70s of the 15th century, Columbus married Felipe Moniz from a wealthy Italian-Portuguese family. The father-in-law of Christopher, who settled in Lisbon and went to sea under the Portuguese flag, was also a navigator. After his death, he left nautical charts, diaries and other documents inherited by Columbus. According to them, the traveler continued to study geography, while studying the works of Piccolomini, Pierre de Aigli,.
Christopher Columbus took part in the so-called northern expedition, in which his path passed through the British Isles and Iceland. Presumably, there the navigator heard the Scandinavian sagas and stories about the Vikings, Erik the Red and Leiva Eriksson, who reached the coast of the "mainland" by crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The route that made it possible to get to India by the western route was compiled by Columbus as early as 1475. He presented an ambitious plan to conquer a new land to the court of Genoese merchants, but did not meet with support.
A few years later, in 1483, Christopher makes a similar proposal to the Portuguese king João II. The king convened an academic council, which reviewed the Genoese's project and found his calculations incorrect. Frustrated but cheerful, Columbus left Portugal and moved to Castile.
In 1485, the navigator asked for an audience with the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile. The couple received him favorably, listened to Columbus, who seduced them with the treasures of India, and, like the Portuguese ruler, summoned the scientists to a council. The commission did not support the navigator, since the possibility of a western route implied the sphericity of the Earth, which was contrary to the teachings of the church. Columbus was almost declared a heretic, but the king and queen took mercy and decided to postpone the final decision until the end of the war with the Moors.
Columbus, motivated not so much by the thirst for discovery as by the desire to get rich, diligently hiding the details of the planned journey, sent messages to the English and French monarchs. Karl and Heinrich did not respond to the letters, being too busy with domestic politics, but the Portuguese king sent an invitation to the navigator to continue discussing the expedition.
When Christopher announced this in Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to equip a squadron of ships to find a western route to India, although the impoverished Spanish treasury did not have the funds for this enterprise. The monarchs promised Columbus a title of nobility, the rank of admiral and viceroy of all the lands that he was to discover, and he had to borrow money from Andalusian bankers and merchants.
Columbus's four expeditions
- The first expedition of Christopher Columbus took place in the years 1492-1493. On three ships, the Pinta caravels (property of Martin Alonso Pinson) and Niña and the four-masted sailing ship Santa Maria, the navigator sailed through the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, opening the Sargasso Sea along the way, and reached the Bahamas. On October 12, 1492, Columbus set foot on the island of Saman, which he named San Salvador. This date is considered the day of the discovery of America.
- Columbus' second expedition took place in the years 1493-1496. In this campaign, the Lesser Antilles, Dominica, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica were discovered.
- The third expedition dates back to the period from 1498 to 1500. A flotilla of six ships reached the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, initiating the discovery of South America, and culminating in Haiti.
- During the fourth expedition, Christopher Columbus sailed to Martinique, visited the Gulf of Honduras and surveyed the Central American coast along the Caribbean Sea.
Discovery of America
The process of discovering the New World stretched out for many years. The most amazing thing is that Columbus, being a convinced pioneer and experienced navigator, until the end of his days believed that he had opened the way to Asia. He considered the Bahamas, discovered in the first expedition, to be a part of Japan, after which wonderful China was to be discovered, and after it - the cherished India.
What did Columbus discover and why did the new continent receive the name of another traveler? The list of discoveries made by the great traveler and navigator includes San Salvador, Cuba and Haiti, belonging to the Bahamas archipelago, the Sargasso Sea.
Seventeen ships set off on the second expedition, led by the flagship Maria Galante. This type of vessel with a displacement of two hundred tons and other ships carried not only sailors, but also colonialists, livestock, and supplies. All this time, Columbus was convinced that he had discovered Western India. At the same time, the Antilles, Dominica and Guadeloupe were discovered.
The third expedition brought Columbus' ships to the continent, but the navigator was disappointed: he never found India with its gold placers. Columbus returned from this trip in shackles, accused of false denunciation. Before entering the port, the shackles were removed from him, but the navigator lost the promised titles and titles.
The last journey of Christopher Columbus ended with a wreck off the coast of Jamaica and a serious illness of the leader of the campaign. He returned home sick, unhappy and broken by setbacks. Amerigo Vespucci was a close associate and follower of Columbus, who made four voyages to the New World. An entire continent is named after him, and a country in South America is named after Columbus, who never reached India.
Personal life
According to the biographers of Christopher Columbus, the first of whom was his own son, the navigator was married twice. The first marriage with Felipe Moniz was legal. The wife gave birth to a son Diego. In 1488, Columbus had a second son, Fernando, from a relationship with a woman named Beatriz Henriquez de Arana.
The navigator took equal care of both sons, and even took the youngest with him on the expedition when the boy was thirteen years old. Fernando was the first to write a biography of the famous traveler.
Christopher Columbus with his wife Felipe Moniz Subsequently, both sons of Columbus became influential people and took high positions. Diego was the fourth Viceroy of New Spain and Admiral of India, and his descendants were titled Marquises of Jamaica and Dukes of Veragua.
Fernando Columbus, who became a writer and scientist, enjoyed the favor of the Spanish emperor, lived in a marble palace, and had an annual income of up to 200,000 francs. These titles and riches went to the descendants of Columbus in recognition of his services to the crown by the Spanish monarchs.
Death
After the discovery of America from the last expedition, Columbus returned to Spain as a terminally ill, aged man. In 1506, the discoverer of the New World died in poverty in a small house in Valladolid. Columbus spent his savings on paying debts to the members of the last expedition.
Tomb of Christopher Columbus Soon after the death of Christopher Columbus, the first ships began to arrive from America, loaded with gold, which the navigator had dreamed of so much. Many historians agree that Columbus knew that he had discovered not Asia and not India, but a new, unexplored continent, but did not want to share with anyone the glory and treasures, which were only one step away.
The appearance of the enterprising discoverer of America is known from photos in history books. Several films were shot about Columbus, the last one was a film of co-production of France, England, Spain and the USA "1492: The Conquest of Paradise". Monuments to this great man were erected in Barcelona and Granada, and his ashes were transported from Seville to Haiti.
23.03.2016
The name of the American continent is strongly associated with the name of Christopher Columbus, the famous discoverer of the New World. There is evidence that even before the 15th century, Europeans were able to reach the shores of America. These were the Vikings who sailed to the coast of the Labrador Peninsula in the 10th century. However, their travels were not of great practical importance for Europe, they were generally unknown to their contemporaries. Therefore, the honor of being the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach a new continent began to belong to Columbus. Although the question is still sometimes asked: "Who was the first to discover America - Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci?" So, first things first ...
In 1492, Christopher Columbus, trying to get to India by a short route from the eastern side, discovered the islands of Central America. The project of the expedition to the west of Columbus was hatched for ten years, and it took about eight more to find organizers and sponsors. He proposed the idea to Genoese merchants, Portuguese, French, English rulers, and, more than once, to the Spanish royal couple.
Ultimately, it was the Catholic monarchs - Isabella and Ferdinand, who agreed to patronize Columbus, gave him a title of nobility and promised a monopoly on income from the territories that he could find. On his first voyage in 1492-1494, this Spanish citizen (although he was an Italian by origin) discovered the islands: Haiti (Hispaniola), Cuba, San Salvador (one of the Bahamas).
Columbus returned to his homeland fully confident that he had reached East Asia, mistaking Cuba for the peninsula of China. In the next sea voyage to the shores of the still unexplored islands, several thousand people went on 17 ships. In search of gold and other treasures, Europeans began to seize islands and subjugate the natives, who were called Indians.
Dominica, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Montserrat, Antigua, Puerto Rico and other names were marked on the maps. But the mainland of "India" was still not discovered, as well as the gold promised to the king. Learning about the dissatisfaction of his patrons, Columbus was forced to return to Spain in order to somehow justify himself. He managed to regain the favor of the rulers and obtain the right to solely explore the lands of the West Indies.
The third expedition in 1498 turned out to be more modest, it was possible to raise funds to send only six ships. But it was this time that Columbus was able to explore about 300 km of the mainland of Central America. Once at the mouth of the Orinoco River, he realized that such a large river must flow from a large land mass. But he could not continue the expedition due to illness.
In 1499, Vasco da Gama triumphantly returned to Portugal, opening the sea route to real India. Columbus, after such news, completely lost the confidence of the Spanish monarchs and was even imprisoned. He was soon released under the patronage of influential friends who financed the expedition. However, the monopoly on land development was taken away from Columbus. And the supply of settlers in the West Indies (as this region was still called) was entrusted to the new financial manager of the Florentine trading house - Amerigo Vespucci.
Vespucci was an employee of the merchant house who sponsored Columbus's second and third expeditions. The navigator's successes aroused curiosity in the Florentine, and when the opportunity arose, he set out on a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean. In the voyage of 1499, he received the position of navigator on the ship of Admiral Alonso de Ojeda. Using maps compiled by Columbus, Ojeda easily led his crew to the coast of the mainland.
They went on land on the territory of modern Suriname. Moving along the coast, the travelers reached the Maracaibo Bay, where Vespucci saw houses on stilts in the water. He called this country "Little Venice" - Venezuela. In 1500, a map of the West Indies was published, which, among others, included all the names given to Amerigo Vespucci during the expedition of Alonso de Ojeda. The author of the map was the pilot Juan de la Cosa.
Vespucci, returning from his first trip, moved from Spanish Cadiz to Lisbon, from where, already under the auspices of the Portuguese king, twice visited the shores of the new continent. Information about Vespucci's travels was preserved in letters to his patron Lorenzo Medici and the Gonfalonier (guardian of justice) of the Florentine Republic and longtime friend Pietro Soderini. These texts aroused keen interest in Europe and were translated into French, German, Italian and Spanish (the originals were written in Latin).
The German cartographer and publisher Martin Waldseemüller published the book "Introduction to Cosmography", where he also published Vespucci's letters, in which he called the open lands the New World. The publisher himself was so delighted with the travels described that he suggested that the mainland be named after Amerigo. The public supported this idea. This is how America acquired its modern name.
Columbus's achievements quickly faded into the background among his contemporaries, because after him much larger discoveries began to occur in the continental regions of the New World. However, when looking at events more than five hundred years ago, the primacy of Christopher Columbus in the study of America is no longer in doubt.
Everyone from school knows the story of how in 1492 the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus reached the shores of America, mistaking it for India. Many believe that this historical moment is the discovery of America, however, everything was much more confusing.
First Europeans in North America
Modern archaeological evidence suggests that the Scandinavian Vikings were the real discoverers of America. Written sources describing these travels were:
- The Saga of the Greenlanders;
- The Saga of Eric the Red.
Both works described the events of the late 10th - early 11th centuries. They told about the sea expeditions of the Icelanders and Norwegians to the west. The first person who decided on a long journey among the polar ice was the adventurer and navigator Eric the Red. Eric committed several murders for which he was expelled first from Norway, then from Iceland. After the second exile, Eric gathered a whole flotilla of 30 ships and headed west. There he discovered a huge island, which he called Greenland. The first Viking settlements appeared here, gradually turning into full-fledged colonies that existed for several centuries.
However, the Vikings did not stop there and continued their advance westward. According to medieval evidence, at the end of the 10th century, the Vikings knew about the existence of a certain land called Vinland. The inhabitants of Vinland, according to the Scandinavians, were short, dark, with wide cheekbones and dressed in animal skins.
Similar legends existed among the indigenous people of North America. Among the Indians who lived in Canada, there was a legend about the mythical kingdom of tall white-skinned and fair-haired people who have a lot of gold and furs.
For a long time, the fact that the Vikings were in North America remained unconfirmed. But in the 1960s, a real Scandinavian settlement was discovered on the island of Newfoundland. Presumably, it was founded by Eric the Red, and then led by his followers, including the sailor's daughter and daughter-in-law. However, this Scandinavian colony did not last long. Due to conflicts with the Indians, the Vikings had to leave Vinland.
Another indisputable fact in favor of the presence of the Vikings in North America was put forward by genetics. Scientists who have studied the origins of the modern inhabitants of Iceland have discovered the presence of Indian blood in their genes. And in 2010, anthropologists were able to study the remains of an Americanoid woman, who influenced the genetic makeup of the Icelanders. Apparently, she was taken as a slave from North America to Iceland at the beginning of the 11th century.
Thus, the Vikings were undoubtedly the first people who discovered America for Europeans.
Activities of Amerigo Vespucci
Due to the fact that the Vinland colony existed for only a few years, specific information about it was gradually erased from human memory. Once opened, America again ceased to exist for Europeans. When Christopher Columbus set off on his journey, only two continents were depicted on the maps of the world - Eurasia and Africa. In 1498, the Portuguese Vasco da Gamma crossed the Pacific Ocean to India. His journey ended successfully, and then it became known in Europe that the lands that Columbus had reached were not India at all. All this negatively affected the authority of the Italian navigator. Columbus was denounced as a fraud and stripped of all his pioneering privileges.
The man who made the maps of the new lands and, as a result, gave them his name, was the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci. Vespucci was originally a financier. In 1493, he was approached by Christopher Columbus, who had recently returned from his first expedition and wanted to continue exploring the open lands. Columbus decided that the land he discovered was some kind of island in Asia that required closer study. Vespucci agreed to fund Columbus's subsequent travels. And in 1499 Vespucci decided to leave the banker's chair for the sake of sea adventures and he himself went on an expedition to unknown lands.
The path of Vespucci lay to the shores of South America, while the traveler used the maps that Columbus gave him. Vespucci carefully studied the coast and came to the conclusion that these are not separate Asian islands, but a whole continent. These lands Vespucci decided to call the New World.
The expeditions of the former banker became known to many European monarchs. In the early 16th century, Vespucci served as a cartographer, cosmographer and navigator to the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs.
In total, Vespucci participated in three voyages. In their course, he:
- explored the coasts of Brazil and Venezuela;
- explored the mouth of the Amazon;
- managed to climb the Brazilian Highlands.
From his travels Vespucci brought slaves, sandalwood and travel notes to Europe, which were later published and sold in large numbers. In addition to his geographical discoveries, Vespucci described in his diaries the customs of local residents, the flora and fauna of the new lands.
Already in 1507, the first maps appeared, on which the new continent was plotted. According to the tradition that developed during this period, the lands of the New World began to be called America - in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.
In what century Columbus discovered America, you will learn from this article.
In what century was America discovered?
The year marked by the discovery of America is rightfully considered a turning point in the life of all of Europe. The appearance on the world map of a new continent inspired people on sea expeditions in order to explore and develop new territories. The most significant was the navigation of Columbus, who, looking for a way to India, stumbled upon previously unknown lands. But in what century he discovered America to the whole world, we will tell you right now.
America was discovered in the 15th century.
Who Discovered North America?
The discovery of North America belongs to the Norwegian with Icelandic roots - Leif Erikson. Presumably he was born in Iceland. But Erickson really wanted to go to the service of the Christian king of Norway Olav Triggvason and moved to a new country. Engaged in sea expeditions, he reached Greenland. Here he met Bjarni Herjolfson, a navigator who discovered unknown lands west of Greenland, but he did not land on them. Leif Erickson bought a ship from a navigator and decided to go to new lands in order to explore them. According to the current saga of the Greenlanders, Leiv and 15 of his sailors made it to the rocky ground. This is the island now referred to as Baffin's Land. It is located between Greenland and Canada. The next stop was dry land with forests and sandy beaches. It is believed to have been a Labrador. Not stopping there, the Norwegians continued their voyage and stopped in modern Newfoundland, building a village here for the winter.
There is no exact date when North America was discovered. Researchers agree that it was discovered at the beginning of the 11th century, based on the date of the chronology of Erickson's life - 970-1020.
Who Discovered South America?
Until the end of the 15th century, Europeans knew about the existence of only three continents - Europe, Africa and Asia. They did not even suspect about America, despite the fact that the mainland was inhabited by peoples and tribes.
The first who tried to discover India by the southern route (and we all know that he discovered America), was the navigator Christopher Columbus. The discoverer was born in the family of a weaver in Italy. He knew how to draw up geographical maps, studied the works of scientists and the notes of sailors. He was sure that our planet has a spherical shape and wanted to make a voyage to prove it.
Having moved to Spain, Christopher Columbus spent 8 years seeking the king's consent to an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean in order to find sea routes to India. The Spanish king agreed and appointed the persistent navigator as the master of the lands discovered by him.
In 1492, 3 caravels on board with a team of 90 people set out on a journey. The long voyage led to the fact that the sailors began to demand the commander to turn the ships home. But Columbus's faith was strong. After 70 days, the land was finally visible in the distance. These were the Greater Antilles. Then there was the island of Trinidad, off the coast of South America. Continuing south to the mainland, Columbus discovered the islands of Haiti and Cuba. Thus, in 1492, South America was opened to the world.