Wake up anyone in the middle of the night with the question: "Who discovered America first?", And you, without hesitation, will immediately be given the correct answer, calling the name of Christopher Columbus. This is for everyone known fact , which, it would seem, no one disputes. But was Columbus the first European to set foot on a new earth? Not at all. The question is one: "So who is it?" But Columbus was nicknamed for a reason pioneer.

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How Columbus became a pioneer

In what century did such a significant change for the world take place? The official date for the discovery of a new continent called the Americas is 1499, 15th century... At that time, the inhabitants of Europe began to speculate that the earth was round. They began to believe about the possibility of sailing in the Atlantic Ocean and the opening of the western route straight to the shores of Asia.

The story of how Columbus discovered America is very funny. It so happened that he randomly stumbled upon the New World on his way to distant India.

Christopher was an avid navigator, who managed to visit all known at that time from a young age. Carefully studying a huge number of geographical maps, Columbus planned to sail to India across the Atlantic, without bypassing Africa.

He, like many scientists of that time, naively believed that, having gone straight from Western Europe to the east, he will reach the shores of such Asian countries like China and India. No one even thought that suddenly on his way new lands will appear.

It was the day when Columbus reached the shores of the new mainland and is considered the beginning of American history.

The continents discovered by Columbus

Christopher is considered to be the one who discovered North America. But in parallel with it, after the news of the New World spread throughout all countries, in the struggle for the development of the northern territories the British entered.

In total, the navigator made four expeditions... The continents that Columbus discovered: the island of Haiti or, as the traveler himself called it, Little Spain, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua and many other territories of North America. From 1498 to 1504, during his last expeditions, the navigator had already mastered lands of South America where he reached the shores of not only Venezuela, but also Brazil. A little later, the expedition reached Central America, where the coastlines of Nicaragua and Honduras were developed, right up to Panama itself.

Who else was exploring America

Many sailors formally discovered America to the world in different ways. History counts many names associated with the development of the lands of the New World. The Columbus case continued:

• Alexander Mackenzie;
• William Baffin;
• Henry Hudson;
• John Davis.

Thanks to these sailors, the entire continent was studied and mastered, including Pacific coast.

Also, another discoverer of America is considered an equally famous person - Amerigo Vespucci... The Portuguese navigator went on expeditions and surveyed the coast of Brazil.

It was he who first suggested that Christopher Columbus swam far not to China and India, but to previously unknown... His speculation was confirmed by Fernand Magellan, after the first round the world.

It is believed that the mainland was named precisely in honor of Vespucci, contrary to all the logic of what is happening. And today the New World is known to everyone under the name America, and not otherwise. So who really discovered America?

Pre-Columbian expeditions to America

In the legends and beliefs of the Scandinavian peoples, you can often stumble upon the mention of distant lands called Vinland located near Greenland... Historians believe that it was the Vikings who discovered America and became the first Europeans to set foot on the lands of the New World, and in their legends Vinland is nothing more than Newfoundland.

How Columbus discovered America, everyone knows, but in fact, Christopher was far away not the first navigator visiting this continent. Leif Erikson, who called one of the parts of the new continent, cannot be called the discoverer.

Who should be considered first? Historians dare to believe that he was a merchant from distant Scandinavia - Bjarni Herjulfsson, which is mentioned in The Greenlandic Saga. For this literary work, in 985 g... he moved towards Greenland, to meet with his father, but lost his way due to a violent storm.

Before the discovery of America, the merchant had to sail at random, since he had never seen the lands of Greenland and did not know the specific course. Soon he got to the even shores of an unknown island covered with forests. This description did not fit Greenland at all, which surprised him greatly. Bjarni decided not to land, and turn back.

Soon he sailed to Greenland, where he told this story to Leif Erikson, the son of the discoverer of Greenland. Exactly he became the first of the Vikings who tried their luck to enter to the lands of America to Columbus, whom he nicknamed Vinland.

Forced search for new lands

Important! Greenland is not the most pleasant country to live in. It is poor in resources, with a harsh climate. The possibility of relocation at that time seemed like a pipe dream for the Vikings.

The stories about fertile lands covered with dense forests only spurred them to move. Erickson gathered himself a small team and went on a journey in search of new territories. Leif became the one who discovered North America.

The first uncharted places they stumbled upon were rocky and mountainous. In their description, historians today see nothing more than Baffin land... Subsequent coasts were low-lying, with green forests and long sandy beaches. This reminded historians very much of the description coast of the Labrador Peninsula in Canada.

The new lands were used to extract wood, which is so hard to find in Greenland. Subsequently, the Vikings founded the first two settlements in the New World, and all these territories were called Vinland.

The scientist who was nicknamed "the second Columbus"

The famous German geographer, naturalist and traveler are all one great person whose name is Alexander Humboldt.

This greatest scientist opened America to others from the scientific side, having spent many years researching, and he was not alone. About what kind of partner he needed, Humbaldt did not hesitate for a long time and immediately made his choice in favor of Bonpland.

Humboldt and the French botanist in 1799... went scientific expedition to South America and Mexico, which lasted five whole years. This journey brought scientists worldwide fame, and Humboldt himself began to be called "the second Columbus."

It's believed that in 1796 the scientist set himself the following tasks:

• explore little-explored areas of the globe;
• systematize all the information received;
• taking into account the results of research by other scientists, comprehensively describe the structure of the universe.

All tasks, of course, were successfully completed. After the discovery of America as a continent, no one dared to Humbaldt conduct similar research... Therefore, he decides to go to the least explored region - the West Indies, which allows him to achieve colossal results. Humboldt created the first geographical maps discovered America almost simultaneously, but in world history the name of Christopher Columbus will always be the first in the list of those who mastered the territories of the New World.

The history of the discovery of America is quite amazing. These events took place at the end of the 15th century due to the rapid development of navigation and shipping in Europe. In many ways, we can say that the discovery of the American continent happened quite by accident and the motives were very commonplace - the search for gold, wealth, large trading cities.

In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America, who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, in those days, the states were already quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, to find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury. At the end of the 15th century, trade flourished, the development of new colonies.

Who discovered America?

In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America, who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, even then, the states were quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, to find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury.

When you ask any adult and child who discovered America, we will hear about Columbus. It was Christopher Columbus who gave impetus to the active search and development of new lands.

Christopher Columbus is the great Spanish navigator. There is little information about where he was born and spent his childhood and they are contradictory. It is known that being young, Christopher was fond of cartography. He was married to the daughter of a navigator. In 1470, the geographer and astronomer Toscanelli informed Columbus of his suggestions that the journey to India was shorter if you sail west. Apparently then Columbus began to nurture his idea of ​​a short route to India, while according to his calculations, it was necessary to sail through the Canary Islands, and there already Japan would be close.
Since 1475, Columbus has been trying to implement the idea and make an expedition. The goal of the expedition is to find a new trade route to India across the Atlantic Ocean. To do this, he turned to the government and merchants of Genoa, but he was not supported. The second attempt to find funding for the expedition was the Portuguese king João II, but even here, after a long study of the project, he was refused.

The last time with his project, he came to the Spanish king. At the beginning, his project was considered for a long time, even several meetings, commissions were held, this lasted for several years. His idea was supported by bishops and Catholic kings. But Columbus received the final support for his project after the victory of Spain in the city of Granada, which was freed from the Arab presence.

The expedition was organized on the condition that Columbus, if successful, will receive not only the gifts and riches of the new lands, but will also receive, in addition to the status of a nobleman, the title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands, which he will discover. For Spain, a successful expedition promised not only the development of new lands, but also the opportunity to trade with India directly, since according to the agreement concluded with Portugal, Spanish ships were prohibited from entering the waters of the west coast of Africa.

When and how did Columbus discover America?

Historians consider the year 1942 to be the year of America's discovery, although this is a rather rough estimate. While discovering new lands and islands, Columbus did not even imagine that this was another continent, which would later be called the "New World". The traveler undertook 4 expeditions. He came to new and new lands, believing that these are the lands of "Western India". For a long time, everyone in Europe thought so. However, another traveler Vasco da Gama declared Columbus a deceiver, since it was Gamma who found the direct path to India and brought gifts and spices from there.

What kind of America did Christopher Columbus discover? We can say that thanks to his expeditions since 1492, Columbus discovered both North and South America. To be more precise, the islands were discovered, which are now considered either South or North America.

Who Discovered America First?

Although historically it is believed that it was Columbus who discovered America, in fact this is not entirely true.

There is evidence that " New World"previously visited the Scandinavians (Leif Ericsson in 1000, Thorfinn Karlsefni in 1008), this journey became known from the manuscripts" The Saga of Eric the Red "and" The Saga of the Greenlanders. "There are other" discoverers of America ", but the scientific community is not takes them seriously, since there is no reliable data.For example, an African traveler from Mali - Abu Bakr II, a Scottish nobleman Henry Sinclair, a Chinese traveler Zheng He previously visited America.

Why was America called America?

The first widely known and recorded fact is the visit of the traveler and navigator Amerigo Vespucci to this part of the "New World". It is noteworthy that it was he who put forward the assumption that this is not India or China, but a completely new, previously unknown continent. It is believed that this is why the name America was assigned to the new land, and not its discoverer, Columbus.

Columbus discovered America

The year when this Spanish navigator discovered a new land is indicated in history as 1492. And by the beginning of the eighteenth century, all other regions of North America, for example, Alaska and the Pacific coast regions, had already been discovered and explored. It must be said that travelers from Russia also made an important contribution to the study of the continent.

Mastering

The history of the discovery of North America is quite interesting: it can even be called accidental. At the end of the fifteenth century, a Spanish navigator with his expedition reached the shores of North America. However, he mistakenly believed that he was in India. From this moment the countdown of the era begins when America was discovered and its development and exploration began. But some researchers consider this date inaccurate, claiming that the discovery of the new continent happened much earlier.

The year Columbus discovered America - 1492 - is not an exact date. It turns out that the Spanish navigator had predecessors, and more than one. In the middle of the tenth century, the Normans got here after they discovered Greenland. True, they did not succeed in colonizing these new lands, since they were repelled by the harsh weather conditions of the north of this continent. In addition, the Normans were also intimidated by the remoteness of the new mainland from Europe.

According to other sources, this continent was discovered by ancient seafarers - the Phoenicians. Some sources call the middle of the first millennium AD the time when America was discovered, and the Chinese are the pioneers. However, this version also lacks clear evidence.

The most reliable information is considered to be about the time when the Vikings discovered America. At the end of the tenth century, the Normans Bjarni Herjulfson and Leif Eriksson found Helluland - "stone", Markland - "forest" and Vinland - "vineyards" of land, which contemporaries identify with the Labrador Peninsula.

There is evidence that even before Columbus in the fifteenth century, the Bristol and Biscay fishers reached the northern continent, who called it the island of Brazil. However, the time periods of these expeditions cannot be called that milestone in history when America was truly discovered, that is, they identified it as a new continent.

Columbus is a true discoverer

And yet, when answering the question of what year America was discovered, experts most often name the fifteenth century, or rather its end. And the first to do this is believed to be Columbus. The time when America was discovered coincided in history with the period when Europeans began to spread ideas about the round shape of the Earth and the possibility of reaching India or China along the western route, that is, across the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, it was believed that this path is much shorter than the eastern one. Therefore, taking into account the Portuguese monopoly on control over the South Atlantic obtained by the Alcazovas Agreement of 1479, Spain, always striving to obtain direct contacts with the eastern countries, warmly supported the expedition of the Genoese navigator Columbus in the western direction.

The honor of discovery

Christopher Columbus was interested in geography, geometry and astronomy from an early age. From a young age, he participated in sea expeditions, visited almost all the oceans known then. Columbus was married to the daughter of a Portuguese sailor, from whom he inherited many maps and notes from the time of Henry the Navigator. The future discoverer studied them carefully. His plans were to find a sea route to India, but not bypassing Africa, but directly across the Atlantic. Like some scholars - his contemporaries, Columbus believed that, having gone west from Europe, it would be possible to reach the Asian eastern shores - the places where India and China are located. At the same time, he did not even suspect that on the way he would meet a whole continent, hitherto unknown to Europeans. But it happened. And from that time the history of the discovery of America began.

First expedition

For the first time, Columbus's ships sailed from Palos harbor on August 3, 1492. There were three of them. Until the Canary Islands, the expedition proceeded quite calmly: this segment of the route was already known to the sailors. But very soon they found themselves in the endless ocean. Gradually the sailors began to become discouraged and murmured. But Columbus managed to pacify the rebellious, keeping them hopeful. Soon, signs began to come across - the harbingers of the proximity of land: unknown birds flew in, tree branches sailed. Finally, after six weeks of sailing, lights appeared at night, and when dawn broke, a green picturesque island, all covered with vegetation, opened up in front of the sailors. Columbus, having landed on the coast, declared this land the possession of the Spanish crown. The island was named San Salvador, that is, the Savior. It was one of the smaller pieces of land found in the Bahamas or Lucayan archipelago.

The land where there is gold

The natives are peaceful and good-natured savages. Noticing the greed of those who sailed to the gold jewelry that hung in the nose and ears of the aborigines, they told by signs that there is a land in the south that is literally teeming with gold. And Columbus went on. In the same year, he discovered Cuba, which, although he took it for the mainland, more precisely, for the eastern coast of Asia, he also declared it a Spanish colony. From here the expedition, turning east, landed in Haiti. At the same time, all the way the Spaniards met savages who not only willingly changed their gold jewelry for simple glass beads and other trinkets, but also constantly pointed to south direction when asked about this precious metal. On which Columbus called Hispaniola, or Little Spain, he built a small fortress.

Return

When the ships docked in Palos harbor, all the inhabitants went ashore to greet them with honors. Columbus and Ferdinand and Isabella were very kindly received. The news of the discovery of the New World spread very quickly, just as quickly those wishing to go there together with the discoverer gathered. Then the Europeans had no idea what America Christopher Columbus discovered.

Second journey

The history of the discovery of North America, which was launched in 1492, continued. From September 1493 to June 1496, the second expedition of the Genoese navigator took place. As a result, the Virgin and Windward Islands were discovered, including Antigua, Dominica, Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher, as well as Puerto Rico and Jamaica. The Spaniards firmly settled on the lands of Haiti, making them their base and building the fortress of San Domingo in the southeastern part of it. In 1497, the British entered into a rivalry with them, who were also trying to find the northwestern routes to Asia. For example, the Genoese Cabot discovered the island of Newfoundland under the English flag and, according to some reports, came very close to the North American coast: to the Labrador and Nova Scotia peninsulas. So the British began to lay the foundation for their dominance in the North American region.

Third and fourth expeditions

It began in May 1498 and ended in November 1500. As a result, the island of Trinidad and the Orinoco estuary were discovered. In August 1498, Columbus landed on the coast already on the Paria Peninsula, and in 1499 the Spaniards reached the shores of Guiana and Venezuela, after which - Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon. And during the last - fourth - travel from May 1502 to November 1504, Columbus discovered Central America. His ships sailed along the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua, reached from Costa Rica and Panama up to the Darien Bay.

New mainland

In the same year, another navigator - whose expeditions were under the Portuguese flag, also explored the Brazilian coast. Having reached Cape Cananea, he hypothesized that the lands discovered by Columbus were not China, and not even India, but a completely new continent. This idea was confirmed after the first trip around the world by F. Magellan. However, contrary to logic, the name America was assigned to the new mainland - on behalf of Vespucci.

True, there is some reason to believe that the new continent was named after the Bristol philanthropist Richard of America from England, who financed the second transatlantic voyage in 1497, and Amerigo Vespucci after that took the nickname in honor of the continent named so. In support of this theory, the researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the coast of Labrador two years earlier, and therefore became the officially registered first European to set foot on American soil.

In the middle of the sixteenth century, Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, reached the shores of Canada, giving this territory its present name.

Other applicants

Mastering the continent North America continued by seafarers such as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Buffin. It was thanks to their research that the continent was studied up to the Pacific coast.

However, history knows many other names of seafarers who moored on American soil even before Columbus. These are Hui Shen - a Thai monk who visited this region in the fifth century, Abubakar - the Sultan of Mali, who sailed to the American coast in the fourteenth century, Count of Orkney de Saint-Clair, Chinese explorer Zhee He, Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.

But, in spite of everything, it is Christopher Columbus who is the person whose discoveries had an unconditional impact on the entire history of mankind.

Fifteen years after the time when the ships of this navigator discovered America, the very first geographic map mainland. Its author was Martin Waldseemüller. Today, it is the property of the United States and is kept in Washington, DC.

The lands were the most common: the founding of cities, the discovery of deposits of gold and wealth. In the 15th century, navigation was actively developing, and expeditions were equipped in search of an unknown continent. What happened on the mainland before the arrival of the Europeans, when Columbus discovered America, and under what circumstances did this happen?

History of the great discovery

By the 15th century European states were distinguished by a high level of development. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, looking for additional sources of profit to replenish the treasury. New colonies were formed.

Before the discovery, tribes lived on the continent. The natives were distinguished by their friendly character, which favored the rapid development of the territory.

Christopher Columbus, while still a teenager, discovered such a hobby as cartography. A Spanish navigator once learned from the astronomer and geographer Toscanelli that if you sail westward, you can reach India much faster. It was 1470. And the idea came just in time, as Columbus was looking for another route that would allow him to get to India in a short time. He assumed that it was necessary to make a route through the Canary Islands.

In 1475, the Spaniard organizes an expedition, the purpose of which is to find a fast route by sea to India across the Atlantic Ocean. He reported this to the government asking for support for his idea, but received no help. The second time Columbus wrote to King João II of Portugal, however, he was refused. Then he again turned to the Spanish government. On this occasion, several meetings of the commission were held, which lasted for a year. The final positive decision on funding was made after the victory of the Spanish troops in the city of Granada, liberated from the Arab occupation.

If a new path to India was discovered, Columbus was promised not only wealth, but also a noble title: Admiral of the Ocean-Sea and Viceroy of the lands that he would open. Since Spanish ships were prohibited from entering the waters on west coast Africa, then the government such a step was beneficial in order to conclude a direct trade agreement with India.

What year did Columbus discover America?

1942 is officially recognized as the year of America's discovery in history. Having discovered undeveloped lands, Columbus did not assume that he had discovered a continent that would be called the "New World". In what year the Spaniards discovered America, we can say conditionally, since a total of four campaigns were undertaken. Each time, the navigator found new lands, believing that this is the territory of Western India.

Columbus thought that he was following the wrong route after the Vasco de Gama expedition. The traveler arrived in India and returned at short notice with rich goods, accusing Christopher of deception.

It was later revealed that Columbus discovered the islands and the continental part of North and South America.

Which traveler discovered America earlier?

It is not entirely true to say that Columbus became the discoverer of America. Before that, the Scandinavians landed on the land: in 1000 - Leif Eriksson and in 1008 - Torfinn Karlsefni. This is evidenced by the historical records "The Greenlandic Saga" and "The Erik the Red Saga". There is also other information about travel to the "New World". The traveler Abu Bakr II, a resident of the Celestial Empire Zheng He and a nobleman from Scotland Henry Sinclair arrived from Mali to America.

There is historical evidence that the Normans visited the New World in the 10th century after the discovery of Greenland. However, they failed to master the territory due to severe weather conditions unsuitable for agriculture. In addition, the journey from Europe was very long.

Visits to the mainland by the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.

October 12, 1492 is a significant date in world history, since it was on this day that the expedition of Christopher Columbus reached the island of San Salvador and thereby discovered a new continent - America. Let us deal with the main prerequisites for such an "incident", isolating some facts, analyze the course of the expedition itself and briefly summarize its results for the states of that time.

Basic prerequisites

It is not entirely correct to talk about the prerequisites for the discovery of America in isolation from the context of other great geographical discoveries: in addition to the Columbus expedition, many attempts were made to reach new lands by sea. There are three main factors that are crucial for the formation of such aspirations in many states and travelers:

• Not so long ago, under the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks, Byzantium fell, which served as the birth of the Ottoman Empire. Since the latter was located in the east of the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor, all trade relations ("Silk Road") with the countries of the east were terminated.
• Spices, which were purchased in India and Indochina, as well as many other goods, were extremely important for European states.
• In the 14th century, geographers misunderstood the size of the Earth. It was believed that all land is limited to the continents of Eurasia and Africa; it was also thought that the distance between the western point of Europe and the eastern point of Asia is no more than a few thousand kilometers.

Expedition progress

The beginning of the expedition is considered to be August 3, 1492, when: on this day, three ships ("Santa Maria", "Pinta", "Niña") began their journey from the Spanish city of Palos de La Frontera. The first documented event was the appearance of algae on the path on September 16. We mention this fact for a reason: during the passage through a body of water with algae, the Sargasso Sea was discovered. The next event took place on October 7, 1492, when the course was seriously changed: it seemed to the team that the ships passed Japan. That is why the expedition headed southwest.

Soon enough - October 12 - from the ships they saw one of the famous to this day Bahamas, which received the name San Salvador - a kind of symbolic tribute to the image of Jesus Christ. According to the available information, the land was noticed by the sailor of the "Pinta" caravel, Rodrigo de Triana, who did not manage to receive the reward promised by the King of Spain afterwards.

It is worth noting that the duration of the Bahamas archipelago is more than a thousand kilometers: it "stretches" from Florida to Haiti and has about three thousand islands of different sizes. On October 13, Columbus decided to land, during which he raised the Castilian banner; in fact, it was an official "takeover": an appropriate document was even drawn up.

For two weeks, the expedition moved southward, during which islands such as Cuba and Haiti were discovered. Since the geographical representations of the 15th century were seriously different from modern ones, Columbus counted these lands East Asia... Subsequently, the open areas received the appropriate name - "West Indies".

The next important incident happened already in December - on the 26th, the ship "Santa Maria" was not lucky enough to get to the reefs. Due to the help of the natives - the indigenous inhabitants - the navigators were able to cope with the misfortune: guns, supplies, valuable cargo were removed. The wreckage of the ship became the basis for the creation of the fort, which became the first settlement of Europeans on the new continent. Its name is known to many - "Navidad".

The next major date is March 15, 1493, when the expedition returned to its homeland. It is worth noting that Columbus took with him the natives ("Indians"), some gold and plants outlandish for Europeans, among which were potatoes, tobacco and corn. Subsequently, three more expeditions were carried out, which we will not describe in detail; we only note that their result was the discovery of the islands of Jamaica, Dominica, Puerto Rico, as well as the territories of Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

A moment of awareness

Note that at the time of the return of the expedition, many did not realize the significance of the discovery. Columbus himself was deeply disappointed: the natives did not make much of an impression on him, and no wealth was found during the expedition. Already soon - in 1494 - the so-called. Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided open territories between Portugal and Spain. At that time, it was not known that the entire western part of the American continent passed into the possession of the latter. Soon after the return of Columbus, many travelers headed towards the open lands, but the realization of what had happened did not come immediately.

The name "America" ​​itself appeared only in 1507: this is how cartographers named the continent in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. The latter is also a famous discoverer: it was he who first suggested that open lands- not India at all, but the so-called. "New World". He sent reports in 1502 and 1504.

Outcomes

Obviously, the results of the discovery of a new continent were overwhelming: the situation in the world has changed fundamentally. The active development of new lands began, the development of shipbuilding was spurred. Naturally, for some time international ties were significantly strengthened, but soon the new territories became the cause of numerous conflicts.

Other important point- drastic changes in the economy. The so-called. "Revolution" of prices, caused by the flow of various metals (gold, silver and some others). World trade has significantly strengthened, and a huge number of new products have appeared.

Naturally, certain areas of science and technology began to develop more rapidly. Moreover, the discovery of America was reflected even in culture: Europeans learned about a fundamentally different structure of society, which was reflected in the works of Thomas More.

Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. 1492. (Briefly)

The first landing of Christopher Columbus on the shores of the New World: in San Salvador, Wisconsin, October 12, 1492.
Spanish painter Tolin Puebla Theophilus Dioscorus (1831-901)

Date: 1492

"Old World" is called the region of the Earth known to Europeans before the discovery of America. It included Europe, Asia and Africa. "New World"- this is America.

Discovery of America- this is the name of the event as a result of which the inhabitants of the Old World learned about the existence of America - the New World.

From the history:

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506). Genoese. Navigator, Spanish admiral.

Columbus undertook 4 expeditions. America was discovered as a result of the first expedition. The king of Spain of this period is Ferdinand, the queen is Isabella (she supported H. Columbus).

1st expedition- 1492-1493.

Ship: "Santa Maria", "Pinta", "Niña".

Route: Palos da la Flonter, city in Spain - Canary Islands - crossing of the Atlantic ocean- island San Salvador in the Bogamo Archipelago (12 October 1492 - the official date of the discovery of America) - Cuba - the island of Haiti - Castile (Italy)

H. Columbus himself believed that opened the way to Asia, calling the land West - India, and the inhabitants - Indians.

In Spain, H. Columbus was greeted with great honors. The king appointed him "admiral of the sea - ocean", viceroy of those lands that he discovered and will open in the future.

Ironically, the discovery of the land did not give Columbus wealth. He died in poverty, forgotten by everyone.

During the expedition 1501-1502 biennium... florentine sailor Amerigo Vespucci came to the conclusion that Columbus had discovered a new continent. In 1507 appeared on the map new earth, conventionally named "The Land of Amerigo", later America.

Events in the history of Russia of this period:

Period of reign IvanaIII (1462-1505)

1492-1494 - successful war with Lithuania, annexation of Vyazma and other cities.

Prepared by: Vera Melnikova