Who is the discoverer of the new world? Who discovered America - Columbus or Vespucci
Who first discovered America? Several hundred years after the official discovery, the question became relevant again.
Wikimedia Commons/Lalinlalon1234567890 ()
It turns out that America, like the earth, was “discovered together.”
Official version. Christopher Columbus
According to the classical version, Christopher Columbus was the first to set foot on the lands of the American continent; in the Spanish version, it was Cristobal Colon. He reached America under the flag of the Spanish Crown on the ships "Santa Maria" (flagship), "Nina" and "Pinta" by accident, in search of rich India, or rather, a safe route there.
In August 1492, Columbus's flotilla sailed from the Andalusian town of Palos de la Frontera, and on October 13, Columbus set foot on the island he named San Salvador (today Guanahani, Lucaya archipelago, Bahamas). Then he decided that these were poor provinces of China, and continued his journey, discovering more and more new lands.
A series of tragic events - the temporary loss of the Pinta, the reefs that imprisoned the Santa Maria, the need to replenish supplies, etc. force him to return. In addition, he sailed home as a hero to change the world: the news of the “discovery of Western India” forced Portugal and Spain to literally divide new lands. 
Sebastiano del Piombo “Portrait of a Man (Christopher Columbus)”
Columbus made four expeditions to the "Western Indies". However, he never found what he was looking for - gold and spices. Knowing the dissatisfaction of the Spanish court and the possible deprivation of all exclusive rights, during the second expedition Columbus forces all sailors from the team to take an oath (with an oath and signature) that the discovered land is Asia.
This document, dated June 12, 1494, is one of the few to survive and belongs to Seville, the Spanish city to which Columbus's discoveries brought a golden age, making Seville the main trading port of the Spanish Empire.
The Happy Discoverer of America
He is truly Happy - Leif Eriksson Happy, fearless Viking, hero of the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red, who set foot on earth North America five centuries earlier than the Spaniards.
Ericsson continued and multiplied the achievements of his father, Erik the Red, who turned icy Greenland into an inhabited island. Circumstances prompted him to do this: once upon a time his father (Leif’s grandfather) was expelled from Norway to Iceland for murder. Eric then repeated sad fate: again for murder he was expelled from Iceland, and he swam to the island, which in clear weather he saw from the Icelandic coast. 
Wikimedia Commons/Claire Rowland ()
That island was Greenland - that’s what Eric later called his new harsh homeland, giving the scientists an interesting puzzle that has not been solved to this day. Why is an island, more than 80% of which is occupied by a glacier, “ Green land"? Perhaps the climate was milder then, or perhaps Eric had the sense of humor of a noble troll.
When Leif grew up, the hereditary passion for long roads and conquered it too. And the journey was inspired by the story of Bjarni Herjulfson, who once saw in the west mysterious land…
Leif equips the ship and presumably sets off in the year 1000. Erikson's discoveries included Baffin Island, the coast of Newfoundland and the Labrador Peninsula, however, these are scientists' versions, because Erik himself gave the lands other names. He was the first European to discover America.
Ericsson and his discovery have not been forgotten. Every year October 9th is Ericsson Day in the USA. In 1887, a monument to Ericsson was erected in Boston. In Reykjavik, there is a monument to him with the inscription on the pedestal: “Discoverer of America.” There are sculptures of the discoverer in Seattle and St. Paul. The legendary Viking has become the hero of modern films, games, manga, rock music and literature.
… And others
There are other discoverers whose stories are little substantiated. One is a brave Irishman, Holy Father Brendan of Clonfert the Navigator, so nicknamed for his tireless search for an overseas Eden. 
Wikimedia Commons/Colin Park ()
In 530 (presumably) he Once again equipped an expedition to the west. During it, the team landed on a huge fish, mistaking it for an island, and lit a fire. The fish woke up and rushed into the depths of the sea. The travelers miraculously escaped and still reached some island of the Blessed...
We don’t know what is true or fiction in this story. But Columbus, for example, also looked in that direction for Paradise, which is located on a cone-shaped outgrowth of the Earth. From somewhere in the culture of Europeans did a myth about a paradise land to the west appear?
It is likely that there were other discoverers whose names have not been preserved by history. Or she hid it safely until the time comes.
In 1492, Columbus crossed the Atlantic under sail, and for a long time considered the first European to set foot in New World. Then came evidence of the Vikings, led by Leif Ericson, who preceded Columbus by five centuries. Early archaeological uncertainty gave rise to controversy over the primacy of the discovery of America. Authors appeared who claimed that the Chinese general Zheng He was only a few years ahead of Columbus. Not a European, but since he arrived in the New World by water, and not by bridge over the Bering Strait, we will allow him to take part in the competition. Then, someone discovered petroglyphs in West Virginia, pointing to the sixth century Irish navigator, St. Brendan (St. Brendan). Perhaps St. Did Brendan beat everyone else in discovering America? Eventually, Muslims joined the competition between the Spanish, Vikings, Irish and Chinese when explorers found evidence that Muslims from West Africa discovered the New World even earlier.
Someone else is declaring their primacy in the discovery of America (as, indeed, in other discoveries too). Today we will consider only the five listed above. They can't all be first. Which of them discovered America first? And among those who lost the championship, were all of them there?
Now no one doubts the veracity of Columbus's story. He landed in the Bahamas in 1492 and, although he believed he had reached India, he saw a large continent blocking progress. During his three expeditions over 12 years, Columbus explored the Caribbean, part of South America and the shores of Central America. Following in Columbus' footsteps, colonists and other explorers arrived. It was after the discovery of Columbus that the connection between America and Europe was established. Let us now consider other contenders for the championship in chronological order from the date of Columbus's landing.
Muslims do not claim a specific date for the discovery of America. They express an opinion about the likelihood of Europeans visiting the continent long before Columbus. Piri Reis was an Ottoman navigator and cartographer who died in 1553. His name means Captain Pirie and is best known in connection with a map drawn in 1513. Alternative historians cite the Piri Reis map as an incredibly accurate depiction of the Earth's surface, exceeding the knowledge of Columbus. Consequently, the Turks traveled all over the world, including America, Brazil and even Antarctica. All modern claims about the primacy of Muslim sailors in the discovery of America are based on the Piri Reis map.
There is no doubt about the historical significance of the Piri Reis map, but most of the sensational claims based on it are incorrect. The map doesn't change history, it matches what we know. Piri Reis's notes in the margins of the map say that this is a generalized edition that he completed based on two dozen existing maps compiled by the seafaring nations of Europe and Asia. Including ancient Greek maps of the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, Arabic maps of India, Portuguese maps of Pakistan and China, Columbus maps describing the Caribbean and the eastern coast of America. The Piri Reis map is far from the accuracy and completeness of the content that they are trying to rely on. Significant discrepancies are obvious at first glance. The lack of commentary on the source materials led Piri Reis to make mistakes. Peary annexed Brazil to Antarctica. Perhaps this was an attempt to show “Undiscovered Lands”, or perhaps an attempt to squeeze a detailed South America into one sheet. Portuguese navigators, who followed Henry the Navigator, carefully explored the western shores of Africa and crossed the Atlantic before Columbus. Columbus studied navigation in Portugal. Portuguese sailors followed on the heels of Columbus when he reached the New World. Information about the western shores of the Americas, from Newfoundland to Argentina, was collected quite quickly. In the first decade of the 16th century there were enough resources to compile a map of Piri Reis.
In short, it is not necessary to talk about the Muslim journey to the shores of America to explain the origin of the Peri Reis map. Moreover, there is no documentary or archaeological evidence of such an event. We give the version of the Muslim Discovery of America 0.5 trust points out of a possible 5.
Zheng He was a prominent Chinese Admiral of the 15th century and died 18 years before the birth of Columbus. Many legends are associated with this name and his travels. It is well known and documented that he traveled south and west from China, reaching the coast of Africa. But there is no evidence that Zheng decided to cross the Atlantic and reach the shores of America. New information originated in 2006, when Chinese lawyer Liu Gang discovered a 1763 map copied from an original dated 1418, entitled “Overall Map of the Geography of all Under Heaven.” The map, representing America in all its glory, confirmed that Zheng He's cartographers were ahead of Columbus in discovering the New World, coming from the other direction.
Unfortunately, the card didn't turn out to be very significant. No one takes it seriously because it is a copy of a well-known French map from the 1600s. On the map, California appears as an island and is subject to description errors. The title contains a common modern error. simplified language, but is not an error for a user of traditional Chinese from the Qing Dynasty.
Louis Gang turned out to be his own enemy in this venture. In 2009 he published the book “Code ancient map", to popularize the map itself. In the book, he goes back 400 years, announcing the discovery of another Chinese map world, dated 1093. This “map” is even sadder. Louis presents photographs of Zhang Kuangzheng's tomb from 1093, which show peeling paint and plaster. He changed his interpretation of the map, due to damage to the drawing, to a pathetic version. Opener Zheng He receives one trust point out of five, while Louis has a deficit of 15.
Leif Eriksson was the son of Erik the Red, a Viking who landed in Greenland. Leif followed in the footsteps of his powerful father and founded the colony of Vinland. Most of Leif's deeds are known from two sagas: the Greenlander Saga and the Saga of Erik the Red. Main character saga is a person, not historical facts. The manner of presentation of the sagas is narrative in the style of “I came and I speak.” The main place of action in the sagas is the settlement of Vinland, the narrative time is approximately 1000.
Fortunately, the legend about Leif Eriksson received more significant confirmation. In 1960, archaeologists discovered ruins in the northern tip of Newfoundland. "Jellyfish Grotto" (L'Anse aux Meadows or Jellyfish Cove) and some other Norwegian settlements have been discovered. These are more than excellent historical finds. The method of construction, design, and materials undoubtedly confirm the everyday traditions of the Norwegians. We do not know for sure the connection between Vinland and L'Anse aux Meadows, nor whether Leif Eriksson was here. But there is confidence in the coincidence of the heyday of the Norwegian settlement and the period of the appearance of the saga.
Since we have a Norse settlement on our hands that underpins the long sea crossings of the Vikings and corresponds to a period around the year 1000, Leif Eriksson gets a 4.5 trust point, and the Vikings as a whole 5 out of 5 possible.
St. Brendan the Sailor was a legendary 6th century monk who sailed around the British Isles in leather boats. He is mentioned in only two sources: The Travels of St. Brendan and The Life of Brendan. The story tells about the Island of the Blessed or St. Brendan. Supposedly this is off the coast of Africa, but both Brendan and his island live only in legends.
Unfortunately, this statement comes with a long list of problems. Serious archaeologists do not undertake to decipher rock paintings. They are too far from the texts. The prevailing opinion is that these are scratches from sharpening tools by ancient aborigines. The marks on the stone were discovered by amateurs, filled with ash for contrast, and photographed. Barry Fell marine biologist retired, I saw the lines only in the photo and never examined the original. Ogham transcript experts disagreed with Barry Fell's conclusions and refused to examine the writing. We don't know what discoveries await us, but no one takes West Virginia petroglyphs seriously these days. St. Brendan receives 0 trust points out of a possible 5 and petroglyphs 0.5 points until new information becomes available.
Summing up, we have a winner. The Vikings, under the auspices of Leif Eriksson, or perhaps in his presence, discovered America earlier than other Europeans. The Portuguese, Spaniards, Irish and Turks appeared on these shores much later. Zheng He would not have received primacy even if he arrived earlier than the Vikings. Since the New World is sufficiently populated by immigrants from Asia through the Bering Strait, it would still be several tens of thousands of years late for the holiday.
Translation by Vladimir Maksimenko 2013
Christopher Columbus - medieval navigator who discovered Sargasso and Caribbean Sea, Antilles, Bahamas and the American continent for Europeans, the first of the famous travelers to cross Atlantic Ocean.
According to various sources, Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, in what is now Corsica. Six Italian and Spanish cities claim the right to be called his homeland. Almost nothing is known for certain about the navigator’s childhood and youth, and the origins of the Columbus family are also vague.
Some researchers call Columbus an Italian, others believe that his parents were baptized Jews, Marranos. This assumption explains the incredible level of education for those times that Christopher, who came from the family of an ordinary weaver and housewife, received.
According to some historians and biographers, Columbus studied at home until the age of 14, but had excellent knowledge of mathematics and knew several languages, including Latin. The boy had three younger brother and sister, and they were all taught by visiting teachers. One of the brothers, Giovanni, died in childhood, sister Bianchella grew up and got married, and Bartolomeo and Giacomo accompanied Columbus on his travels.
Most likely, Columbus was given all possible assistance by his fellow believers, wealthy Genoese financiers from the Marranos. With their help, a young man from a poor family entered the University of Padua.
Being an educated man, Columbus was familiar with the teachings ancient Greek philosophers and thinkers who depicted the Earth as a ball, and not a flat pancake, as was believed in the Middle Ages. However, such thoughts as Jewish origin during the time of the Inquisition, which was rampant in Europe, it had to be carefully hidden.
At the university, Columbus became friends with students and teachers. One of his close friends was the astronomer Toscanelli. According to his calculations, it turned out that it was much closer to sail to the treasured India, full of untold riches. westward, and not in the east, skirting Africa. Later, Christopher carried out his own calculations, which, although incorrect, confirmed Toscanelli's hypothesis. Thus was born the dream of a western journey, and Columbus devoted his whole life to it.
Even before entering university as a fourteen-year-old teenager, Christopher Columbus experienced the hardships of sea travel. The father arranged for his son to work on one of the trading schooners to learn the art of navigation and trade skills, and from that moment the biography of Columbus the navigator began.
Columbus made his first voyages as a cabin boy. Mediterranean Sea, where trade and economic routes between Europe and Asia intersected. At the same time, European merchants knew about the riches and gold deposits of Asia and India from the words of the Arabs, who resold them wonderful silks and spices from these countries.
The young man listened to extraordinary stories from the lips of eastern merchants and was inflamed with a dream of reaching the shores of India in order to find its treasures and get rich.
Expeditions
In the 70s of the 15th century, Columbus married Felipe Moniz from a wealthy Italian-Portuguese family. The father-in-law of Christopher, who settled in Lisbon and sailed under the Portuguese flag, was also a navigator. After his death he left nautical charts, diaries and other documents inherited by Columbus. Using them, the traveler continued to study geography, while simultaneously studying the works of Piccolomini, Pierre de Ailly,.
Christopher Columbus took part in the so-called northern expedition, as part of which his route passed through the British Isles and Iceland. Presumably, there the navigator heard Scandinavian sagas and stories about the Vikings, Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson, who reached the coast " Mainland", crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
Columbus drew up a route that allowed him to reach India by the western route back in 1475. He presented an ambitious plan to conquer a new land to the court of the Genoese merchants, but did not meet with support.
A few years later, in 1483, Christopher made a similar proposal to the Portuguese King João II. The king assembled a scientific council, which reviewed the Genoese’s project and found his calculations incorrect. Frustrated, but resilient, Columbus left Portugal and moved to Castile.
In 1485, the navigator requested an audience with the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile. The couple received him favorably, listened to Columbus, who enticed them with the treasures of India, and, just like the Portuguese ruler, called the scientists to a council. The commission did not support the navigator, since the possibility of a western route implied the sphericity of the Earth, which contradicted the teachings of the church. Columbus was almost declared a heretic, but the king and queen relented and decided to postpone the final decision until the end of the war with the Moors.
Columbus, who was driven not so much by a thirst for discovery as by a desire to get rich, carefully concealing the details of his planned journey, sent messages to the English and French monarchs. Karl and Heinrich did not answer the letters, being too busy internal politics, but the Portuguese king sent the navigator an invitation to continue discussing the expedition.
When Christopher announced this in Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to equip a squadron of ships to search for a western route to India, although the poor Spanish treasury did not have the funds for this enterprise. The monarchs promised Columbus noble title, the titles of admiral and viceroy of all the lands that he had to discover, and he had to borrow money from Andalusian bankers and merchants.
Four Expeditions of Columbus
- Christopher Columbus's first expedition took place in 1492-1493. On three ships, the caravels "Pinta" (owned by Martin Alonso Pinzon) and "Nina" and the four-masted sailing ship "Santa Maria", the navigator passed through the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, discovering 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's second expedition took place in 1493-1496. During this campaign, the Lesser Antilles, Dominica, Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica were discovered.
- The third expedition dates from 1498 to 1500. The flotilla of six ships reached the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, marking the beginning of the discovery of South America, and ended in Haiti.
- During the fourth expedition, Christopher Columbus sailed to Martinique, visited the Gulf of Honduras and explored the coast of Central America along the Caribbean Sea.
Discovery of America
The process of discovering the New World lasted for many years. The most amazing thing is that Columbus, being a convinced discoverer and experienced navigator, believed until the end of his days that he had discovered the way to Asia. He considered the Bahamas, discovered in the first expedition, to be part of Japan, followed by the discovery of wonderful China, and behind it the treasured India.
What did Columbus discover and why did the new continent receive the name of another traveler? The list of discoveries made by the great traveler and navigator includes San Salvador, Cuba and Haiti, belonging to the Bahamas archipelago, and the Sargasso Sea.
Seventeen ships headed by the flagship Maria Galante set off on the second expedition. This type of ship with a displacement of two hundred tons and other ships carried not only sailors, but also colonialists, livestock, and supplies. All this time, Columbus was convinced that he had discovered Western India. At the same time, the Antilles, Dominica and Guadeloupe were discovered.
The third expedition brought Columbus's ships to the continent, but the navigator was disappointed: he never found India with its gold deposits. Columbus returned from this trip in shackles, accused of false denunciation. Before entering the port, the shackles were removed from him, but the navigator lost the promised titles and ranks.
The last voyage of Christopher Columbus ended with a shipwreck off the coast of Jamaica and a serious illness of the leader of the expedition. He returned home sick, unhappy and broken by failures. Amerigo Vespucci was a close comrade and follower of Columbus, who undertook four voyages to the New World. An entire continent is named after him, and one country in South America is named after Columbus, who never reached India.
Personal life
If you believe the biographers of Christopher Columbus, the first of whom was his own son, the navigator was married twice. The first marriage with Felipe Moniz was legal. The wife gave birth to a son, Diego. In 1488, Columbus had a second son, Fernando, from a relationship with a woman named Beatriz Enriquez de Arana.
The navigator took equal care of both sons, and even took the younger one with him on an expedition when the boy was thirteen years old. Fernando became the first to write a biography 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 the Indies, and his descendants were titled Marquesses of Jamaica and Dukes of Veragua.
Fernando Columbus, who became a writer and scientist, enjoyed the favor of the Spanish emperor, lived in a marble palace and had an annual income of up to 200,000 francs. These titles and wealth went to the descendants of Columbus as a sign of recognition by the Spanish monarchs of his services to the crown.
Death
After the discovery of America from his last expedition, Columbus returned to Spain as a terminally ill, aged man. In 1506, the discoverer of the New World died in poverty in a small house in Valladolid. Columbus spent his savings to pay off the debts of the participants of the last expedition.
Tomb of Christopher Columbus Soon after the death of Christopher Columbus, the first ships began to arrive from America, loaded with gold, which the navigator so dreamed of. Many historians agree that Columbus knew that he had discovered not Asia or India, but a new, unexplored continent, but did not want to share with anyone the glory and treasures, which were one step away.
The appearance of the enterprising discoverer of America is known from photographs in history textbooks. Several films have been made about Columbus, the latest being a film co-produced by France, England, Spain and the USA, “1492: The Conquest of Paradise.” Monuments to this great man were erected in Barcelona and Granada, and his ashes were transported from Seville to Haiti.
Discovery of America to Europe by Christopher Columbus in 1492 - major milestone history of mankind. The appearance of a new continent on the geographical map changed people’s understanding of planet Earth, forced them to comprehend its enormity, the countless possibilities of understanding the world and themselves in it. , whose brightest page is the discovery of America, gave powerful impulse the development of European science, art, culture, the creation of new productive forces, the establishment of new production relations, which ultimately accelerated the replacement of feudalism with a new, more progressive socio-economic system - capitalismYear of discovery of America - 1492
First discovery of America by the Normans
The sailing of the Normans to the shores of North America was unthinkable without their settlement in Iceland. But the first Europeans to visit Iceland were Irish monks. Their acquaintance with the island occurred approximately in the second half of the 8th century.
“30 years ago (that is, no later than 795), several clerics who were on this island from February 1 to August 1 told me that there not only during summer solstice, but in the preceding and subsequent days the setting sun seems to only hide behind a small hill, so that even at the most a short time it is never dark... and you can do any kind of work... If the clergy lived on the high mountains of this island, then the sun, perhaps, would not be hidden from them at all... While they lived there, days always gave way to nights, except for the period of the summer solstice; however, at a distance of one day's journey further north, they discovered a frozen sea" (Dicuil - Irish medieval monk and geographer who lived in the second half of the 8th century AD)
About 100 years later, a Viking ship was accidentally washed up on the shores of Iceland by a storm.
“They say that people from Norway were going to sail to the Faroe Islands... However, they were carried west, into the sea, and there they found a large land. Entering the eastern fjords, they climbed high mountain and looked around to see if they could see smoke somewhere or any other signs that this land was inhabited, but they didn’t notice anything. In the fall they returned to the Faroe Islands. When they went out to sea, there was already a lot of snow on the mountains. That's why they called this country Snow Land."
Over time, a large number of Norwegian residents moved to Iceland. By 930 there were about 25 thousand people on the island. Iceland became the starting point for further travels of the Normans to the West. In 982-983, Eirik Turvaldson, who became Eric the Red in the Russian tradition, discovered Greenland. In the summer of 986, Bjarni Herulfson, sailing from Iceland to the Greenland Viking village, lost his way and discovered land to the south. In the spring of 1004, the son of Eric the Red, Leiv the Happy, followed in his footsteps, discovering the Cumberland Peninsula (south of Baffin Island), the eastern coast of the Labrador Peninsula and the northern coast of Newfoundland Island. The northeastern shores of North America were then visited more than once by Viking expeditions, but in Norway and Denmark they were not considered important, since their natural conditions were unattractive
Prerequisites for the discovery of America by Columbus
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the fall of Byzantium under the blows of the Ottoman Turks, the birth of the Ottoman Empire in the east of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor led to the cessation of overland trade relations with the Great Silk Road with the countries of the East
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Europe's critical need for spices from India and Indochina, which were used not so much in cooking, but as a hygiene item, for making incense. After all, Europeans washed their faces in the Middle Ages rarely and reluctantly, and a quintal (measure of weight, 100 pounds) of pepper in Calicut or Hormuz cost ten times less than in Alexandria.
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misconception of medieval geographers about the size of the earth. It was believed that the Earth evenly consists of land - the giant continent of Eurasia with an appendage of Africa - and ocean; that is, the sea distance between the extreme western point of Europe and the extreme eastern point of Asia did not exceed several thousand kilometers
Brief biography of Christopher Columbus
Born in Genoa in 1451. Was the firstborn in large family weaver He participated in his father's manufacturing and trading enterprises. In 1476, by chance, he settled in Portugal. He married Felipe Moniz Perestrello, whose father and grandfather were actively involved in the activities of Henry the Navigator. Settled on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago. Was allowed access to family archives, reports on sea voyages, geographic maps and driving directions. Frequently visited the harbor of the island of Porto Santo
“in which nimble fishing boats scurried and anchored ships sailing from Lisbon to Madeira and from Madeira to Lisbon. The helmsmen and sailors of these ships whiled away the long hours of stay in the port tavern, and Columbus had long and useful conversations with them... (He learned from) experienced people about their voyages in the Sea-Ocean. A certain Martin Vicente told Columbus that 450 leagues (2,700 kilometers) west of Cape San Vicente, he picked up a piece of wood in the sea, processed, and very skillfully, with some kind of tool, clearly not iron. Other sailors met boats with huts beyond the Azores Islands, and these boats did not capsize even on a large wave. We saw huge pine trees off the Azores coast; these dead trees were carried by the sea at a time when strong winds blew westerly winds. Sailors came across corpses of broad-faced people of “non-Christian” appearance on the shores of the Azores island of Faial. A certain Antonio Leme, “married to a Madeiran,” told Columbus that, having traveled a hundred leagues to the west, he came across three unknown islands in the sea” (Ya. Svet “Columbus”)
He studied and analyzed contemporary works on geography, navigation, travel notes of travelers, treatises by Arab scientists and ancient authors, and gradually drew up a plan to reach the rich countries of the East by the Western sea route.
The main sources of knowledge on the issue of interest for Columbus were five books
- "Historia Rerum Gestarum" by Aeneas Silvia Piccolomini
- "Imago Mundi" by Pierre d'Ailly
- "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
- "The Book" of Marco Polo
- Parallel Lives of Plutarch
1492, April 30 - the royal couple approved a certificate granting Columbus the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands that would be discovered by him during his voyage along the said Sea-Ocean. Titles were complained forever “from heir to heir,” at the same time Columbus was elevated to the rank of nobility and could “name and title himself Don Christopher Columbus,” had to receive a tenth and an eighth share of the profits from trade with these lands, and had the right to litigate all litigation. The city of Palos was approved as the expedition's preparation center.
“He had heart-to-heart conversations with the Palos residents and said everywhere that the expedition needed brave and experienced sailors and that great benefits would accrue to its participants. “Friends, go there, and we will go on this hike all together; you will leave poor, but if with God's help If we manage to open up the land for us, then, having found it, we will return with gold bars, and we will all get rich, and we will get a big profit.” Soon volunteers flocked to Palos harbor, wanting to take part in the voyage to the shores of an unknown land.”
Columbus's ships
Discovery of America. Briefly
- 1492, September 16 - Diary of Columbus: “We began to notice many tufts green grass, and, as one could judge by its appearance, this grass had only recently been torn from the ground.”
- 1492, September 17 - Diary of Columbus: “I discovered that since sailing from Canary Islands there weren't so few salt water in the sea".
- 1492, September 19 - Diary of Columbus: “At 10 o’clock a dove flew onto the ship. We saw another one in the evening.”
- 1492, September 21 - Diary of Columbus: “We saw a whale. A sign of land, because whales swim close to the shore.”
- 1492, September 23 - Diary of Columbus: “Since the sea was calm and warm, people began to grumble, saying that the sea here was strange, and the winds would never blow to help them return to Spain.”
- 1492, September 25 - Diary of Columbus: “The earth appeared. He ordered us to go in that direction.”
- 1492, September 26 - Diary of Columbus: “What we took for earth turned out to be heaven.”
- 1492, September 29 - Diary of Columbus: “We sailed our way to the West.”
- 1492, September 13 - Columbus noticed that the compass needle did not point to the North Star, but 5-6 degrees to the northwest.
- 1492, October 11 - Diary of Columbus: “We sailed west-southwest. During the entire voyage there had never been such rough seas. We saw “pardelas” and green reeds near the ship. People from the Pinta caravel noticed a reed and a branch and caught a stick hewn, possibly with iron, and a fragment of a reed and other herbs that were born on the ground, and one tablet
1492, October 12 - America is discovered. It was 2 o’clock in the morning when a cry of “Earth, earth!!!” was heard on board the faster “Pinta”, which was walking slightly ahead. and a bombard shot. The outline of the shore appeared in the moonlight. In the morning, boats were lowered from the ships. Columbus with both Pinsons, a notary, a translator, and a royal controller landed on shore. “The island is very large and very flat and there are many green trees and water, and in the middle is located big lake. There are no mountains,” wrote Columbus. The Indians called the island Guanahani. Columbus named it San Salvador, now Watling Island, part of the Bahamas archipelago
- 1492, October 28 - Columbus discovered the island of Cuba
- 1492, December 6 - Columbus approached big island, called Borgio by the Indians. Along its shore “beautiful valleys stretch, very similar to the lands of Castile,” the admiral wrote in his diary. Apparently that’s why he named the island Hispaniola, now Haiti
- 1492, December 25 - "Santa Maria" struck reefs off the coast of Haiti. The Indians helped remove valuable cargo, guns and supplies from the ship, but the ship could not be saved.
- 1493, January 4 - Columbus set off on his return journey. He had to sail back on the smallest ship of the Niñe expedition, leaving part of the crew on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), since even earlier the third ship, Pinta, separated from the expedition, and Santa Maria ran aground. Two days later, both surviving ships met, but on February 14, 1493 they were separated in a storm
- 1493, March 15 - Columbus returned to Palos on the Niña, and the Pinta entered Palos harbor with the same tide.
Columbus made three more voyages to the shores of the New World, discovered islands and archipelagos, bays, bays and straits, founded forts and cities, but he never learned that he had found a way not to India, but to a world completely unknown to Europe
America is a part of the world whose official discovery is attributed to Columbus, but its history is full of dark spots.
The modern United States plays a key role in political disputes, has a serious influence on other countries and world economy. But the way is so high level was long and thorny. It all started with the discovery of America.
Christopher Columbus was a Spanish navigator who discovered two new continents for Europeans. He made 4 expeditions, each sent by kings, hoping to find a short trade route with India.
The first expedition consisted of three ships with a total complement of 91 people. She ended up on the island of San Salvador on October 12, 1492.
The second expedition, consisting of 17 ships and 1,500 people, lasted from 1493 to 1496. During this time, Columbus discovered Dominica, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and about 20 more Lesser Antilles. In June, he already reported to the government about his amazing findings.
The third expedition, which included 6 ships, set off in 1498, and two years later returned to their native shores. Several more lands were discovered, including Trinidad, Margarita, the Araya and Paria peninsulas.
The last expedition, sailing in 1502, included 4 ships. Within two years, the islands of Martinique, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica were discovered. Columbus was wrecked near Jamaica, and help arrived only a year later. The travelers arrived in their native Castile in November 1504.
Date when America was discovered - Vikings in 1000
Erik the Red was known as a great Viking. His son, Leif Erikson, was the first to set foot on American soil. After spending the winter in its vastness, Erickson and his expedition returned to Greenland. This happened around the year 1000.
Two years later, brother Torvald Erikson, the second son of Erik the Red, founded his settlement on the territory discovered by his brother. Less than a month later, his men were attacked by local Indians, killing Thorvald and forcing the others to return home.
Subsequently, Erik the Red's daughter Freydis and his daughter-in-law Gudrid also tried to conquer new spaces. The latter even managed to trade with the Indians, offering various goods. But the Viking settlement was never able to survive in America for more than 10 years, despite constant attempts.
When did Amerigo Vespucci discover America?
Amerigo Vespucci, after whom, according to some historians, the continents are named, first visited the New World as a navigator. The route of Alonso de Ojeda's expedition was chosen using a map created by Christopher Columbus. Along with him, Amerigo Vespucci took about a hundred slaves who were indigenous to America.
Vespucci visited the new territory twice more - in 1501-1502 and from 1503 to 1504. If the Spaniard Christopher wanted to stock up on gold, then the Florentine Amerigo wanted to discover as many new lands as possible in order to gain fame and preserve his name in history.
What does Wikipedia say about the dates of the discovery of America?
The famous Wikipedia talks about the discovery of the American continents in unprecedented detail. In the vastness of the world encyclopedia you can find information about all the expeditions to the New World, about each of the possible discoverers, and the further history of the Indians.
Wikipedia names the date of the discovery of America as October 12, 1492, speaking about Christopher Columbus.
It was he who managed not only to discover new territories, but to capture them on his map. Amerigo Vespucci was able to provide Europeans with a more complete picture of what the continents look like. Although his “complete” map was significantly different from the modern one.
In what year after the discovery did the settlement of America begin?
The settlement of American soil began many thousands of years before its official discovery. It is believed that the ancestors of the Indians were the Eskimos, Inuits, and Aleuts. The Vikings, as you know, also tried to take over the territories of the New World. But they failed - the indigenous people protected it too zealously.
After the discoveries of Columbus and Vespucci, almost 50 years passed before the first European settlements appeared.
In the American city of St. Augustine, the first small settlement of Spaniards was organized in 1565.
In 1585, the first British colony of Roanoke was created, which was destroyed by the Indians. The next attempt by the British was a colony in Virginia, which appeared in 1607.
And finally, the first colony in New England was the settlement located in Plymouth in 1620. This year is recognized as the official date of colonization of the New World.
Possible discoverers before Christopher Columbus
There are many people on the list of possible discoverers. Historians cannot find reliable facts about this, but there are sources indicating that the information is still correct.
Among the hypothetical discoverers it is worth highlighting:
- Phoenicians - 370 BC;
- ancient Egyptians;
- Hui Shen, who was a Buddhist monk who performed the first, as it turned out, trip around the world- V century;
- Irish monk Brendan, who followed in the footsteps of Shen - 6th century;
- Malay Sultan Abubakar II - 1330;
- Chinese explorer Zheng He - 1420;
- Portuguese Joao Corterial - 1471.
These people had pure intentions, did not seek fame and gold, and therefore did not tell the general public about their discovery. They were not trying to bring evidence or enslave Native Americans. Perhaps that is why their names are not familiar to most contemporaries, and the more cruel and greedy Christopher Columbus is indicated as the discoverer of the new land.
The fate of the Native Americans
The history of the discovery of America is presented in modern history How happy event, which laid the foundation for a new nation of “emigrants.” But it also became a nightmare for many Indians, who had to endure unspeakable horrors created by the conquerors.
The Spaniards killed several thousand native Americans and took several hundred into slavery. They made fun of the Indians and killed them with extreme cruelty, not even sparing babies. The “Whites” who arrived on the new lands sprinkled them with blood, reducing the joyful discovery to a bloody massacre.
One of those who observed the fate of the Indians, the priest Bartolome de Las Casas, who arrived with Columbus, tried to protect the Indians, even went to the Spanish court in the hope of their pardon. As a result, the court decided whether it was worth calling the Indians people at all, whether they had a soul.
The negative attitude is explained by the fact that Columbus left his crew to look after the New World and went home. When he returned, he saw all his people dead. As it turned out, the Spaniards became impudent, beating the men and raping the women of the tribe, as well as killing the rebellious. The Indians, who initially considered the “whites” to be gods, quickly realized how things were and began to defend themselves. This is what led to further tragic incidents.
In any case, the discovery of America- a worthy event, which today is considered one of the loudest in the history of civilization.