Columbus discovered America

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

Development

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 that era begins, when America was discovered and its development and exploration began. But some researchers consider this date to be inaccurate, arguing that the discovery of a new continent happened much earlier.

The year of discovery of America by Columbus - 1492 - is not an exact date. It turns out that the Spanish navigator had predecessors, and moreover, not one. In the middle of the tenth century, the Normans got here after they discovered Greenland. True, they failed to colonize these new lands, because they were repelled by the harsh weather conditions of the north of this continent. In addition, the Normans were also frightened by the remoteness of the new mainland from Europe.

According to other sources, this continent was discovered by ancient navigators - the Phoenicians. Some sources call the middle of the first millennium of our era the time when America was discovered, and the Chinese are the pioneers. However, this version also does not have clear evidence.

The most reliable information is considered to be 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 - "vineyard" land, which contemporaries identify with the Labrador Peninsula.

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

Columbus is a real pioneer

And yet, when answering the question in what year America was discovered, experts most often name the fifteenth century, or rather its end. And Columbus is considered the first to do this. 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, through the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, it was believed that this route is much shorter than the eastern one. Therefore, taking into account the Portuguese monopoly on control over the South Atlantic, received by the Alcasovas agreement of 1479, Spain, always striving to obtain direct contacts with eastern countries, warmly supported the expedition of the Genoese navigator Columbus in the western direction.

Opening honor

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 then known oceans. Columbus was married to the daughter of a Portuguese sailor, from whom he inherited many geographical maps and notes from the time of Henry the Navigator. The future discoverer carefully studied them. His plans were to find a sea route to India, however, not bypassing Africa, but directly across the Atlantic. Like some scientists - his contemporaries, Columbus believed that, having gone west from Europe, it would be possible to reach the Asian eastern shores - those 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 mainland, until then not known to Europeans. But it happened. And since that time, the history of the discovery of America begins.

First expedition

For the first time, the ships of Columbus set sail from the harbor of Palos on August 3, 1492. There were three. Before canary islands the expedition proceeded quite calmly: this segment of the journey was already known to the sailors. But very soon they found themselves in a boundless ocean. Gradually, the sailors began to fall into despondency and raise a murmur. But Columbus managed to pacify the recalcitrant, maintaining hope in them. Soon signs began to come across - 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 before the sailors. Columbus, having landed on the coast, declared this land the possessions of the Spanish crown. The island was named San Salvador, that is, the Savior. It was one of the small pieces of land included in the Bahamas or Lucayan archipelago.

Land where there is gold

The natives are peaceful and good-natured savages. Noticing the greed of those who sailed to the golden ornaments that hung in the nose and ears of the natives, they told with signs that in the south there is a land literally abounding in 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 a Spanish colony. From here, the expedition, turning east, landed in Haiti. At the same time, along the way, the Spaniards met savages who not only willingly exchanged 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 Lesser Spain, he built a small fortress.

Return

When the ships landed in the harbor of Palos, all the inhabitants came ashore to greet them with honors. Very graciously received Columbus and Ferdinand with Isabella. The news of the discovery of the New World spread very quickly, just as quickly gathered those who wanted to go there with the discoverer. At that time, Europeans had no idea what kind of America Christopher Columbus discovered.

Second trip

The history of the discovery of North America, which began 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 its southeastern part. In 1497, the British entered into rivalry with them, also trying to find northwestern routes to Asia. For example, the Genoese Cabot under the English flag discovered the island of Newfoundland 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 region of North America.

Third and fourth expeditions

It began in May 1498 and ended in November 1500. As a result, the mouth of the Orinoco was also 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 - trip from May 1502 to November 1504, Columbus had already discovered Central America. His ships passed along the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua, reached from Costa Rica and Panama up to the Gulf of Darien.

new mainland

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

True, there is some reason to believe that the new continent was named after the Bristol philanthropist Richard America from England, who financed the second transatlantic voyage in 1497, and Amerigo Vespucci after that took on the nickname in honor of the continent so named. To prove this theory, researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the shores 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 coast of Canada, giving the area its modern name.

Other contenders

The development of the continent of North America was continued by such navigators 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 also knows many other names of sailors who moored to American soil even before Columbus. This is 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, the Earl of Orkney de Saint-Clair, the Chinese explorer Zhehe He, the Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.

But, in spite of everything, it is Christopher Columbus who is the man 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, being the property of the United States, is kept in Washington.

Once Christopher Columbus uttered a sacramental phrase: "The world is small", which became, in fact, the leitmotif of his whole life. A little more than 50 years of life this the greatest navigator managed to make as many discoveries and bring untold wealth to the whole of Europe, as it is impossible to do even in a few centuries. Whatever he did, and as soon as the navigator did not beg the Catholic kings, in order to achieve his main life goal - to make an expedition to the shores of the New World. In total, during his life, Columbus managed to make four voyages to the shores of America.

Columbus made his first sea voyage in 1492-1493. So, three ships under the names "Santa Maria", "Nina" and "Pinta", the total crew of which was 90 people, set sail in 1492, on August 3, from the port in Palos. The route was laid as follows: after the Canary Islands, the expedition went west across the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of which the Sargasso Sea was discovered, and then landed on one of the islands belonging to the Bahamas. Columbus christened it San Salvador, and it happened on October 12 in 1492, which is considered the official date of the discovery of America. Remarkably, for a long time there was an opinion that San Salvador is the current Watling. However, in 1986, the geographer J. Judge, an American, made a computer model of the expedition, which showed that Columbus was the first to see Samana Island, located at a distance of 120 km southeast of Watling Island.

From October 14 to October 24 of the same year, Columbus explored other Bahamas, but from October 28 to December 5, he discovered the territories of the northeast of the Cuban coast. December 6 was marked by a landing on the island of Haiti, after which the expedition proceeded along the northern coast. However, on the night of December 24-25, the Santa Maria collided with a reef, but the flagship crew managed to escape, and the expedition was forced to turn to the coast of Spain.

March 15, 1493 "Nina", the crew of which was led by Columbus, and "Pinta" return to Castile. The navigator brings with him trophies, among which are the natives, whom the Europeans called the Indians, gold, unfamiliar vegetation, vegetables and fruits, and the plumage of some birds. Remarkably, Columbus was the first to use Indian hammocks instead of sailor bunks. The first expedition caused such a powerful response that the so-called "papal meridian" was laid, which determined in which direction Spain would open new lands, and in which direction - Portugal.

The second expedition took longer than the first - from September 25, 1493 to June 11, 1496, and it started from Cadiz. This time, 17 ships entered the flotilla, and their crew, according to various sources, numbered from 1.5 to 2.5 thousand people, including colonists who decided to try their luck on open lands. In addition to, in fact, people, the ships were loaded with livestock, seeds and seedlings, tools - everything that was necessary to create a public settlement. During this expedition, the colonists conquered Hispaniola, laid the city of Santo Domingo. The journey was marked by the discovery of the Virgin and Small Antilles, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, in addition, the expedition continued to explore Cuba. Remarkably, Columbus continued to be sure that he was exploring western India, but not the territories of the new continent.

The third expedition started on May 30, 1498. This time it consisted of 6 ships with 300 crew members. It was marked by the discovery of the island of Trinidad, the exploration of the Orinoco Delta and several other lands. On August 20, 1499, Christopher Columbus returned to Hispaniola, where things were going badly. Remarkably, in 1498, Vasco de Gama discovered the real India, from where he returned with irrefutable evidence - spices, and Columbus was declared a deceiver. So, in 1499, Columbus was deprived of the monopoly right to discover new territories, he himself was arrested and taken to Castile. He was saved from imprisonment only by the patronage of major financiers who had influence on the royal couple.

The fourth and last voyage of Columbus

The last expedition was undertaken on May 9, 1502. This time the traveler was exploring the mainland of Central America, namely: Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. By the way, this expedition was marked by the first acquaintance with the Mayan tribe. The purpose of this voyage was to find South Sea, i.e, Pacific Ocean However, the attempts were unsuccessful, and Columbus had to return to Castile in October 1504.

In general, the importance of Columbus' expeditions cannot be overestimated, but his contemporaries treated them very negligently, realizing their value only after half a century after the death of navigators, when ships began to bring huge amounts of gold and silver from Peru and Mexico. For reference, the royal treasury, when recalculated, spent only 10 kg of gold on the equipment of the first voyage, but she received many times more - 3 million kilograms of the treasured yellow metal.

The origin of Columbus and his dream to open a western route to India

Christopher Columbus (in Spanish - Cristobal Colon), was born in 1446 in Genoa, was originally engaged in the weaving craft of his father and undertook sea voyages for trading business, traveled to England, to Portugal, in 1482 he was in Guinea.

In the same year, Columbus married the daughter of a noble Italian sailor in Lisbon and then went with his wife to the estate of his father-in-law, on the island of Porto Santo, which lies northeast of Madeira. Here he found nautical charts that belonged to his father-in-law, from which he drew the first information about the islands and lands lying to the west of Europe. From time to time, the sea washed up on the shores of Porto Santo, either the trunks of a strange tree species, or a mighty reed, or the corpse of an unfamiliar human race. Unaware of the existence of a vast continent unknown to Europeans, Columbus saw in these signs confirmation of the testimony of ancient writers - Aristotle, Seneca and Pliny - that India lies on the other side Atlantic Ocean and that from Cadiz you can drive there in a few days.

Portrait of Christopher Columbus. Artist S. del Piombo, 1519

Thus, Christopher Columbus had a plan to open the shortest and most direct route to India without going around Africa. With his project, he turned (in 1483) to the Portuguese king John, but appointed by the king, a commission of scientists recognized the thought of Columbus as a fantasy without foundation. Failure did not disarm Columbus, and after the death of his wife, he went to Spain to get the necessary funds there to implement his idea. In Spain, Columbus was not refused, but the equipment of the expedition was constantly delayed. Having stayed in Spain for about 7 years, Columbus had already decided to look for patrons in France, but on the way he met in a monastery with the confessor of Queen Isabella. He was very sympathetic to the bold thought of Columbus and convinced the queen to put three ships at his disposal. On April 17, 1492, an agreement was signed between Christopher Columbus and the crown, by virtue of which he was granted broad powers and viceroy rights in the lands that he would discover on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Discovery of America by Columbus (briefly)

May 28, 1492 three ships, "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina", with 120 crew members, left the harbor of Palos and headed for the Canary Islands, from there they sailed in a direct westerly direction. A long journey began to instill in the sailors distrust of the feasibility of Columbus's idea. However, the surviving diary of Columbus does not mention anything about the mutiny of the crew, and the story of this, apparently, belongs to the realm of fiction. On October 7, the first signs of the proximity of the land appeared, and the ships took to the south-west towards land. On October 12, 1492, Columbus landed on the island of Gwanagani, solemnly declared it, under the name of San Salvador, the possession of the Spanish crown and proclaimed himself its viceroy. Further voyage in search of the gold-bearing lands, which were reported by the natives of San Salvador, led to the discovery of Cuba and Haiti.

On January 4, 1493, Christopher Columbus undertook a return journey to Spain to personally report on the success of the enterprise. March 15, he arrived in Palos. The journey from Palos to the royal residence, Barcelona, ​​was a real triumphal procession, and Columbus received the same brilliant reception at court.

Columbus before Kings Ferdinand and Isabella. Painting by E. Leutze, 1843

New expeditions of Columbus (briefly)

The government hastened to equip with Columbus new expedition, consisting of 17 big ships with a detachment of 1200 warriors and horsemen and numerous colonists attracted by the general rumors about the fabulous wealth of new countries. On September 25, 1493, Columbus went to sea, after 20 days of navigation he reached the island of Dominica, on his way he discovered the islands of Marie Galante, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and others. Having laid a new fort in Haiti in place of the fortress he had previously built, destroyed in his absence by the natives, he headed further west to reach India, which he considered very close. Having met a dense archipelago on the way, Columbus decided that he was near China, since Marco Polo says that a group of thousands of islands lies to the east of China; then he postponed for a while further searches for a way to India, in order to arrange more firmly government in open lands.

Meanwhile, the unhealthy climate of some inhabited islands, which caused great mortality, the natural failures of the first settlers who followed Columbus with the most ardent dreams, finally, the envy of many for the high position occupied by a foreigner, and the harsh disposition of Columbus, who demanded strict discipline, created Christopher Columbus a lot enemies in the colony and in Spain itself. Discontent in Spain took such proportions that Columbus found it necessary to go to Europe for personal explanations. He again met with a warm welcome at court, but among the population, faith in the wealth and convenience of the new lands was undermined, no one else rushed there and, equipping a new expedition (May 30, 1498), Columbus had to take exiled criminals instead of voluntary colonists . During the third trip, Columbus discovered the islands of Margarita and Cubagua.

After the departure of Columbus from Spain, the party hostile to him managed to gain the upper hand at court, she managed to denigrate the brilliant traveler even in the eyes of Isabella, who more than others sympathized with the great enterprise. Columbus's personal enemy, Francis Bobadilla, was sent to revise affairs in the new lands. Arriving in August 1499 in New World, he arrested Columbus and his brothers, Eigo and Bartholomew, ordering them to be put in chains, and the man who prepared her subsequent power, who had rendered invaluable service to the entire Old World, returned to Spain in chains. Ferdinand and Isabella, however, could not allow such a shame, and when Columbus drove up to Spain, they ordered the chains to be removed from him; however, Columbus was denied a request for the return of all his rights and privileges.

In 1502, Christopher Columbus undertook his fourth and last journey across the ocean and, having reached the Isthmus of Panama, had to give up the desire to penetrate into Indian Ocean, with which, as he thought, the Caribbean Sea connects.

Death of Columbus

November 26, 1504 Columbus arrived in Spain and settled in Seville. All his requests for the return of lost rights and incomes in the countries he discovered remained unsatisfied. With the accession to the throne of the new king Philip, the position of Columbus did not change, and on May 21, 1506, he died in Valladolid, not seeing the fulfillment of his desires and at the same time not realizing the true significance of his discoveries. He died believing that he had discovered new way to India, and not a new, hitherto unfamiliar part of the world.

After the death of Christopher Columbus was buried in the Franciscan monastery in the city of Valladolid. In 1513, his body was transferred to Seville, and between 1540-59, according to the dying wish of Columbus himself, his remains were transferred to the island of Haiti. In 1795, with the accession of Haiti to the French crown, the body of Columbus was transferred to Havana and buried in the Havana Cathedral. Statues have been erected to him in Genoa and Mexico. Columbus left a diary of his first journey, published by Navarrete.

An extensive list of studies has been created about the LIFE and travels of Christopher Columbus. Some of them were published in a collection under the heading "How Christopher Columbus Discovered America" ​​(1992). But even more is scattered in numerous editions and in many languages ​​of the world. The discoveries of Columbus meant the beginning of a new worldview, a real sense of the size of the planet, the ratio of land and sea on it. Being in the Portuguese maritime service, well versed in cartography and personally observing the slow progress of ships along Africa with the prospects of reaching India not yet clear, Columbus found his own plan to reach its shores, as it seemed to him, the shorter route that ancient scientists spoke about, but no one has yet ventured to verify their claim. Columbus took the risk.

Christopher Columbus - Italian, born in or around Genoa to a family

weaver. What year is not clear. For a long time, 1436 was considered the year of his birth. Now 1451 is more often called (Antoshko, Solovyov, 1962). He began sailing on ships in the Mediterranean at the age of ten. From 1476 to 1485, Christopher Columbus lived in Portugal, participated in voyages, went through all the stages of maritime service from an ordinary sailor to a ship's captain. He went to the shores of Britain, Ireland, Iceland, the Azores and Canary Islands, to the Guinean coast of Africa. In Lisbon he worked in a cartographic workshop founded by his brother Bartolomeo. I did a lot of self-education. He read in four languages, including Pierre d'Ayi's The Image of the World, which stated that India can be reached by moving west. For some time, Columbus lived on the island of Porto Santo near Madeira, visited the Azores, could hear stories or even see what the sea throws ashore. Among the throws were branches of unknown trees, bamboo twigs, which could evoke the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe near confrontation of the earth. J. Blon (1978) cited such a semi-legendary story: “Once fate threw ashore Porto Santo shipwrecked. The navigator - one of the few survivors of the sailors - was so exhausted that he could not utter a word. In delirium ... the sailor spoke of the incessant singing of bright birds, of unknown animals and dark-skinned natives. But the ship came from west. Christopher Columbus listened attentively to the dying navigator. He immediately ordered to bring him into his house and put him on the bed. He looked after him as best he could, and soon learned his name - Alonso Sanchez from Huelva. Waking up from oblivion, the sailor told his odyssey word for word. Having lost his way during a strong storm, his ship ended up on a wonderful island in the Sea of ​​Gloom. Sanchez reports the details, shows his savior maps and calculations... However, almost immediately after that, Sanchez of Huelva died" (p. 49), and Columbus went to the court of the Portuguese king. Columbus knew that back in 1474, King Affonso V turned to the famous Florentine scientist Paolo Toscanelli with a request to present his thoughts on the possibility of reaching Asia by sailing across the Atlantic. Toscanelli's answer was accompanied by a map that showed neither America nor the Pacific Ocean. “It depicts,” the scientist wrote, “your coasts and islands, from where you must sail continuously to the west; and the places where you will arrive; and how far you must keep from the pole or from the equator; and how far you have to go to reach the countries where there are most different spices and precious stones ”(Bern, 1958. S. 119). Spices: vanilla, saffron, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, delivered to Europe from Eastern countries, were valued like gold and even higher than gold. Toscanelli claimed that the western route to the spice islands was shorter than past Guinea, but the Portuguese did not take his advice. They say that Columbus himself turned to Toscanelli and received from him copies and letters and maps. He also consulted with the famous cartographer Martin Beheim.

In 1483, Columbus outlined his plan to reach India, but it was not approved. Columbus was deeply confident in the success of his project and was ready to offer it to any monarch. He first went to Spain, where his proposal caused an ambivalent impression: some, including Queen Isabella, rather approved, while others, including King Ferdinand, rejected it. Columbus was kept at court, they assigned him a monetary allowance, but they were in no hurry to organize the expedition. Spain spent all its efforts on confrontation with the Arabs, who still held the south of Spain with the main city of Granada. Columbus's impatience increased, especially after the return to Lisbon of the Dias squadron, with whom Columbus met and saw a map with the Cape of Good Hope depicted on it. In 1491, Columbus decided to leave Spain to search. support from the French king. He was not allowed to leave Spain, serious negotiations began, especially since by that time the Arabs had been expelled from Spanish soil. In April 1492, an agreement with Columbus was signed. In a written agreement, Isabella and Ferdinand declared Columbus their admiral and appointed him viceroy on all the islands and continents that he would discover. Intensive preparations for sailing into the unknown began.

On August 3, 1492, the Columbus squadron of the three caravels "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina" with a team of a total of 90 people, among whom were adventurers and forgiven criminals, left the port of Paloe. Hoping to reach the big cities East Asia, Columbus, as a guide, took with him a book by Marco Polo and a translator who knew Arabic and a number of other oriental languages.

The circumstances and drama of the course of this and subsequent voyages of Columbus are described in detail in the books of J. Verne (1958), N.K. Lebedev (1947), in the textbook by Ya.F. Antoshko and A.I. Solovyov (1962) and in other editions. Let us dwell only on the chronology of the voyages and their geographical consequences.

Columbus did not head straight west from the Iberian Peninsula, as Eratosthenes advised, but led his ships to the Canary Islands and only then moved into an unknown part of the ocean. Obviously, this was in accordance with the recommendation of P. Toscanelli, and the advice was successful. The ships of Columbus were picked up by a favorable trade wind. This was the first discovery. The second discovery of Columbus - recording the change in magnetic declination as you move west, although he could not give this

the phenomenon of correct explanation. The third discovery is abundant thickets of algae in the central part of the ocean. This part of the ocean area was later named the Sargasso Sea. Columbus established the width of the Atlantic Ocean in its tropical latitudes.

On October 12, 1492, after more than two months of sailing, the first "land" was met. It turned out to be a small low-lying island called San Salvador (Savior). This day has been celebrated for more than five hundred years as the day of the discovery of America. For some, this is a holiday, for the native inhabitants, as noted in the declaration of the congress of Indian peoples, who met on the eve of the 500th anniversary, “the ominous day of October 12, 1492 was the beginning of the military, political and cultural invasion of Europe ... which subjected us to cruel genocide and forcibly interrupted political, economic and cultural development” (Christopher, you are wrong, 1990).

Columbus erected a memorial cross and declared the acquired territory, together with its inhabitants, the possession of the Spanish crown, and himself as viceroy. But Columbus strove for the shores of Asia and believed that he was on its threshold. And the natives began to be called Indians, believing that it is located not far from this part of Asia. In Russian, the natives of the New World are called Indians to distinguish them from the inhabitants of real India.

From San Salvador, Columbus abruptly changed the route, headed south. The Indians pointed there in response to the gold they showed. Columbus made no secret of his goals. “I am doing my best,” he said, “to get to where I manage to find gold and spices ...” The next major discovery of Columbus, October 28, was Cuba, its north coast, or Land of Juan, named after the Prince of Castile. December 6 approached the island of Haiti (Hispaniola). Travelers liked nature and polite islanders. Having built a small fortress called Navidad (in honor of the Nativity of Christ), and leaving a small garrison, Columbus hurried to Spain, where he arrived on March 15, 1493, accompanied by Indians and with a small but quite tangible amount of gold. Columbus was received favorably by the royal couple, preparations were immediately begun for a new, better equipped voyage. At the same time, the problem of dividing open and yet undiscovered lands between Spain and Portugal arose. The arbitrator was Pope Alexander VI Borgia. On May 4, 1493, he signed a document (bulla), according to which “all regions, islands or continents to the west of the meridian, passing at a distance of one hundred Spanish leagues from the Azores or the Green Islands, are the property of Castile (Spain), and the lands on east of this line belong to Portugal." However, with a footnote: "if the lands do not belong to any Christian sovereign." In September 1493, Columbus set off on his second transatlantic voyage with seventeen ships and 2,000 passengers. This time the ocean was crossed in just 20 days, using the power of the trade wind even more advantageously. OPEN Dominica, Guadeloupe, Santa Cruz, Virgin Islands, San Juan Bautista. November 27 arrived in Haiti. But neither the garrison of 39 Spaniards, nor the fortress itself was gone: people died, and the fortification was destroyed. Nevertheless, it was in Haiti that Columbus built a stronghold, into which gold began to flow. Twelve caravels with gold and other outlandish goods were sent by Columbus to Spain. And he went to investigate southern shores Cuba, discovered the island of Santiago (Jamaica). In 1496 he founded the city of Santo Domingo, which for a long time became an outpost of Spanish expansion in America. In the same year, Columbus returned to Spain, and new adventurers, now known as conquistadors, were drawn to the new colony.

On May 30, 1498, the third expedition of Columbus left Seville. This time the most southern route, west of the Cape Verde Islands. After two months of sailing, the island of Trinidad (Trinity) was discovered. Soon a vast bay and coast opened up, called the Land of Gracia (Grace). This was Columbus' first encounter with a continent. The coast was unwelcome, swampy, it was covered with dense mangroves. There was a strong current along the coast, the water was fresh. Then they found out that he was near the mouth of the Orinoco River. Diseases began and supplies were running out, so Columbus hurried to Hispaniola (Haiti). Columbus understood that a lot of fresh water could flow from a large area of ​​land. So he wrote: “I am convinced that this land is of the greatest size, and that there are many more lands in the south of which there is no information.” (Magidovich, Magidovich. T. 2. 1983. P. 35). The vague feeling of meeting with an unknown mainland did not receive logical development from Columbus, he still imagined himself off the coast of Asia.

On the way to Hispaniola, the islands of Tobago and Concepcion (Grenada), as well as a densely populated island called Pearl (Margarita), were met, but Columbus did not linger and arrived in Santo Domingo on August 20. There he found a complete collapse: the colonists mocked the Indians, revolted against the authorities, led by the brothers of Christopher Columbus - Bartolomeo and Diego. Discontent and envy were turned against the Viceroy himself. A year later, Columbus and his brothers were unjustly accused of all mortal sins, shackled and sent to Spain. Columbus managed to justify himself, retained his title, but the attitude towards him was no longer the same. It began to falter and health. He and his brothers were able to go to Hispaniola only in 1502.

On April 3, Columbus set sail on his fourth, and last, journey across the ocean with the task of finally finding a passage to the spice islands, to the wealth that he promised to deliver to the monarchs. On June 29, he appeared in Haiti, where he met with an unfriendly attitude towards himself. After a brief gathering, Columbus heads west. On July 30, off the coast of Honduras, he met a large boat with the natives of the Mayan land, but Columbus was not interested in them. With stops, carefully examining the coast, the expedition proceeded along the coast of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama. In the town of Belen (Portobelo) they stood for three and a half months, lost two ships. On the remaining two, in June 1503, they arrived at the shores of Jamaica, dilapidated ships were shipwrecked. The team that landed on the shore with the sick Columbus lived there for a whole year until help arrived. November 7, 1504 Columbus returned to Spain. This time without triumph. Against the backdrop of the success of Portugal, which opened the sea route to India and received gold, precious stones, and spices as a reward, Spain's acquisitions seemed more than modest. Interest in Columbus disappeared, and on May 20, 1506, he quietly died. Descendants appreciated the significance of the voyages of Columbus. According to A. Humboldt, Columbus "multiplied the number of ideas: thanks to him, the true progress of human thought came."

Versions about Columbus contacts with America.

Strictly speaking, the first people who discovered America for themselves were representatives of the Paleo-Asian tribes who crossed the bridge of the Beringian land during the Pleistocene cooling period, when the ocean level was much lower than today. The descendants of those first settlers are the indigenous peoples of America. With more or less reasoning, assumptions are made about the ancient Phoenicians and Egyptians, Japanese and Chinese, Polynesians and even Africans getting into America. Thor Heyerdahl (1968) gives an extensive list of examples of undoubted contacts between the inhabitants of America and Polynesia and the participation of Indians in the formation of the population of part Pacific Islands. The undoubted voyages to the American shores of the Normans have already been mentioned. Versions about the visit of the American continent by navigators in the period immediately preceding the voyages of Columbus are being developed and substantiated.

Rumors circulate in Portugal that its subjects reached America 68 years before the birth of its discoverer. A 1424 map kept at the University of Minnesota in the United States allegedly shows the American Isles. An archaeological find is reported in one of the caves Bahamas with the image of a Portuguese sailboat and the date - 1450. It is claimed (Vern, 1958) that in 1460 the Portuguese Kortirial made a long voyage to the northwest and discovered big land Bakkalaos, which means "cod". Portuguese Afonso Sanches was allegedly brought by a storm in North America in 1486. ​​On his way back, he arrived on the island of Madeira and settled in the house of Columbus when he lived there. Soon Sanshish died, and his navigational diary allegedly went to Columbus. We have already mentioned this story, although the name and surname of the sailor were Spanish. So Columbus definitely knew where to sail, and repeated the voyage of Afonso Sanches or Alonso Sanchez. As an argument in favor of the Portuguese version, the names "Cuba" and some others that are in Portugal but are not found in Spain are cited. Hence the conclusion: the Portuguese were in Cuba before the Spaniards. P.V. Gelmersen (1930), referring to A. Gettner, cited the testimony of the Danish scientist Larsen that 20 years before the first voyage of Columbus, a Danish-Portuguese expedition led by two Germans, Pining and Podgusta, in 1472 reached the shores of Labrador, visited Newfoundland and arrived in Iceland. Soon both heads of the expedition were killed. T. Heyerdahl, referring to Other researchers and the diary of Columbus, believes that Columbus himself could participate in the Danish-Portuguese expedition to the shores of Greenland in 1476-1477. Heyerdahl argued that before 1492 Columbus visited the coasts of Central America, that is, he definitely knew about the presence of land in tropical latitudes on the opposite side of the Atlantic, but considered these lands and Greenland to be parts of India (Pshenichnikov, 1996). There is also talk of the possibility of reaching the shores of Labrador by Basque whalers. At the very least, there is evidence of an undoubted long-term presence of whalers on the island of Newfoundland since 1500. Mooring facilities, zhirotopilni, cooperage workshops and numerous burial places of sailors have been excavated (Savostin, 1995). All these and other events could happen, but the degree of their reliability is low, and the events themselves did not leave a noticeable mark in the history of geographical discoveries.

Where Christopher Columbus sailed and why, you will learn from this article.

Purpose of Christopher Columbus' journey

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

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

The first expedition - 1492-1493.

The second expedition - 1493-1496.

The third expedition - 1498 - 1500.

The fourth expedition - 1502 - 1504.

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

Having married in 1482 the daughter of a noble sailor from Italy, he and his wife went to the island of Porto Santo, to the estate of his father-in-law. In his house, Columbus found many nautical charts and received the first information about the lands and islands that lie on the western side of Europe. Walking along the shore of the island, he noticed that the water was coming to the shore, trunks of unknown wood and corpses of the then unfamiliar human race. Then he did not suspect the existence of the mainland, which the Europeans did not yet know about. Later, from the treatises of Pliny, Seneca and Aristotle, he learned about India, the new land. And the navigator caught fire with a new idea and goal - Christopher Columbus was looking for a way to India without going around Africa.

He drew up a project to find a new, direct route to the land of spices, and in 1483 he turned to King John of Portugal with it. Having not received the desired result, Columbus left for Spain, where 7 years later he signed an agreement with the crown to prepare the expedition. It happened on April 17, 1492.