Year of discovery of America - 1492
The first discovery of America by the Normans
The voyage of the Normans to the shores of North America was unthinkable without their substantiation in Iceland. But the first Europeans to visit Iceland were Irish monks. Their acquaintance with the island took place 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 informed me that there, not only during the summer solstice, but also on the previous and subsequent days, the setting sun seemed to only hides behind a small hill, so that it is not dark there even for the shortest time… and you can do whatever work you want… If the clerics lived on the high mountains of this island, then the sun might not hide from them at all… As long as they are there lived, 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 ”(Dikuil - an Irish medieval monk and geographer who lived in the second half of the 8th century AD)
About 100 years later, a Viking ship accidentally washed up on the shores of Iceland
“They say that people from Norway are going to sail to the Faroe Islands…. However, they were carried to the west, to the sea, and there they found a large land. Entering the eastern fjords, they climbed a high mountain and looked around for smoke or any other signs that this land was inhabited, but they did not notice anything. In autumn they returned to the Faroe Islands. When they left for the sea, there was already a lot of snow on the mountains. Therefore, they called this country the Snow Land."
Over time, a large number of Norwegians 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 settlement, lost his way and discovered land to the south. In the spring of 1004, the son of Eric the Red, Leyv 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 they were not very attractive natural conditions.
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 in Asia Minor led to the cessation of overland trade links with the countries of the East along the Great Silk Road
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the critical need of Europe for the spices of India and Indochina, which were used not so much in cooking as as a hygiene item, for making incense. After all, Europeans washed their faces in the Middle Ages rarely and reluctantly, and a kintal (a measure of weight, 100 pounds) of pepper in Calicut or Hormuz cost ten times less than in Alexandria.
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erroneous idea 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 the ocean; that is, the maritime 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. He was the first-born in a large weaver's family. Participated in the production and trade enterprises of his father. 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. He settled on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago. He was admitted to the family archives, reports on sea voyages, geographical maps and sailing directions. Frequently visited the harbor of Porto Santo Island
“in which nimble fishing boats scurried and anchored ships going 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 ... (I learned from) experienced people about their voyages in the Sea-Ocean. A certain Martin Viseinte told Columbus that 450 leagues (2700 kilometers) west of Cape San Vicente, he picked up a piece of wood in the sea, processed, and at the same time very skillfully, with some kind of tool, obviously not iron. Other sailors met boats with huts beyond the Azores, and these boats did not capsize even on a big wave. We saw huge pine trees along the Azorean coast, these dead trees were brought by the sea at the time when strong western winds were blowing. Sailors came across on the shores of the Azores island of Faial the corpses of broad-faced people of "non-Christian" guise. A certain Antonio Leme, “married to a resident of Madeira,” told Columbus that, having passed a hundred leagues to the west, he came across three unknown islands in the sea ”(I. Light“ Columbus ”)
He studied and analyzed contemporary works on geography, navigation, travel notes of travelers, treatises of 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 were five books for Columbus
- Historia Rerum Gestarum by Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini
- "Imago Mundi" by Pierre d'Ailly
- "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
- The Book by Marco Polo
- Parallel Lives of Plutarch
1492, April 30 - the royal couple approved a certificate of awarding Columbus with the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands that will be opened to them in navigation along the named Sea-Ocean. Titles complained forever “from heir to heir”, at the same time Columbus was elevated to a noble rank and could “name and title himself Don Christopher Columbus”, had to receive a tenth and an eighth of the profits from trade with these lands, had the right to resolve all litigations. The city of Palos was approved by the expedition preparation center
“He talked heart to heart with the inhabitants of Palos and everywhere said that the expedition needed brave and experienced sailors and that its participants would get great benefits. “Friends, go there, and we will go on this campaign all together; you will leave poor, but if, with God's help, we manage to open 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 were drawn into the harbor of Palos, wishing to take part in the voyage to the shores of an unknown land.
Columbus ships
Discovery of America. Briefly
- 1492, September 16 - Diary of Columbus: "We began to notice many bunches of green grass, and, as could be judged by its appearance, this grass had only recently been torn off the ground."
- 1492, September 17 - Diary of Columbus: "I found that since the departure from the Canary Islands there was not so little salt water in the sea."
- 1492, September 19 - Diary of Columbus: “At 10 o'clock a dove flew into the ship. We saw another one last night."
- 1492, September 21 - Diary of Columbus: “We saw a whale. A sign of land, because the 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 is strange here, and the winds that would help them return to Spain will never blow."
- 1492, September 25 - Diary of Columbus: “The earth appeared. I ordered you to go in that direction."
- 1492, September 26 - Diary of Columbus: "What we took for the earth turned out to be the sky."
- 1492, September 29 - Diary of Columbus: "Sailed their way to the West."
- 1492, September 13 - Columbus noticed that the compass needle does not point to the North Star, but 5-6 degrees northwest.
- 1492, October 11 - Diary of Columbus: “Sailed west-south-west. For all the time of the voyage, there had never been such excitement at sea. We saw "pardelas" and green reeds near the ship itself. People from the caravel "Pinta" noticed a reed and a branch and fished out a hewn, possibly iron, stick and a piece of reed and other herbs that would be born on earth, and one plank
1492, October 12 - America is discovered. It was 2 a.m. when on board the faster, slightly ahead of the Pinta, there was a cry of “Earth, earth !!!” and a shot from a bombard. The contour of the shore stood out in the moonlight. Boats were lowered from the ships in the morning. Columbus with both Pinsons, a notary, a translator, a royal controller, landed on the shore. “The island is very large and very flat and there are many green trees and water, and in the middle there is a large lake. There are no mountains,” wrote Columbus. The Indians called the island Guanahani. Columbus designated it San Salvador, now Watling Island, part of the Bahamas.
- 1492, October 28 - Columbus discovered the island of Cuba
- December 6, 1492 - Columbus approached a large island called Borgio by the Indians. Along its coast "the most beautiful valleys stretch, very similar to the lands of Castile," the admiral wrote in his diary. apparently that's why he called the island Hispaniola, now Haiti
- 1492, December 25 - "Santa Maria" ran into reefs off the coast of Haiti. The Indians helped to remove valuable cargo, guns and supplies from the ship, but the ship could not be saved.
- January 4, 1493 - 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 the Santa Maria ran aground. Two days later, both surviving ships met, but on February 14, 1493 they parted in a storm
- 1493, March 15 - Columbus returned to Palos on the Nina, with the same tide, the Pinta entered the harbor of Palos
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 found out that he had found a way not to India, but to a world completely unknown to Europe
Columbus discovered America October 12, 1492
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October 13, 1492 Columbus first set foot on the shore of the new land
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On behalf of and on behalf of the king and queen, Christopher Columbus took possession of the land he had discovered. About this, a notarial deed was drawn up on the spot with all the required formalities. Actually, it was at this moment that Columbus became the Viceroy, because he had his own territory! Having hoisted the Castilian banner on the shore, the delegation went to see the local sights. And after a short time, "guides" appeared - local residents.
Columbus named the first island he discovered "San Salvador"
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It is interesting that there are no detailed descriptions of the exact landing site of Columbus, according to which it would be possible to confidently say which of the Bahamas was the first to feel the pleasant weight of the Castilian shoes. Therefore, several pieces of land from the Bahama garland are fighting for the right to take the lead. For himself, the island of Columbus named San-Salvador (Salvation).
After spending a few days exploring the island and making contact with the locals Arawaks, as they called themselves, Columbus began to suspect that he had not found exactly what he was looking for. According to the level of development, the islanders were in the Stone Age - they did not know metals. Didn't know the wheels. Pack and riding animals were not used. Their language was not like any of the Oriental languages in which the interpreter of the expedition tried to communicate with them. Luis de Torres. However, at first Columbus was not embarrassed. It could be assumed that his ships went to some island remote from the mainland. More embarrassing was that no spices grew on the island. And most importantly, there was no gold.
However, according to sources, local residents had some pieces of gold, and Columbus began to ask where it came from and where, they say, they took it? What the savages pointed to in the direction of the southwest - there, they say, there is a large land, other people live there, and here they have ... ", BGCOLOR, "#ffffff", FONTCOLOR, "#333333", BORDERCOLOR, "Silver", WIDTH, "100%", FADEIN, 100, FADEOUT, 100)"> 
All this nonsense, wandering from book to book, from site to site, with the addition of fictitious details, is not worth a penny eaten banana. If the natives San-Salvadora and there was gold, why would they need it? What is its value to them? Is it processed or in the form of nuggets? Columbus, of course, could show the natives their gold products. But what could the natives compare them to? Some questions...
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After looking for gold in the ground on the island and not finding it, the freight forwarders decided to continue looking - as lucky. Stumbling for two weeks among the Bahamas, the Admiral's expedition on October 28, 1492 landed on the northeast coast of Cuba. They equipped the troops, scoured the coast for a long time, sent reconnaissance deep into the territory. But even here it was not what he was looking for. No gold. No spices. No palaces. No Great Khan.
I think that the Admiral is not accidentally unlucky with all this. After all, he came to the new land to take, take away, grab, and not to do something good on it. And the ending of his fate in this regard is quite natural. Columbus' team were the usual invaders, bandits, slave traders and assassins. And Christian morality did not condemn all this. However, there are other places on the Internet for philosophical reasoning, and we will return to our travelers.
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Believing that he is in the poorest part of China, Columbus decides to turn east, where, according to one version, the rich country of Sipangu / Japan / could be located, according to another (at the prompt of local residents) - it was to the east of Cuba that there was a large island on which there was a lot of gold. The ships went east along the northern coast of Cuba.
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It is impossible to say exactly how and when exactly the members of the expedition first tried tobacco, but an entry about this historical event appears in Columbus' logbook on November 15th. There is a version that tobacco it was not the plant itself that was called, but the tube through which the Indians inhaled smoke. But it was it that became a household name for the potion itself.
Where did the Pint go?
On November 20, 1492, the Pint suddenly disappeared. She just disappeared from sight, apparently, left at night. The most current version is that its captain, Martin Alonso Pinzon, the second person on the expedition, who seems to have been burned by megalomania and greed, broke away from his comrades to be the first to find gold. Or other values. And be the first to rush back, because he also knew something about navigation. Most likely, it was so.
On December 6, 1492, Columbus discovered the island of Haiti - Hispaniola
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The remaining two ships continued their journey east and two weeks later, on December 6, 1492, travelers discovered the current island of Haiti, which Columbus called Hispaniola / little Spain /, although the island was three times larger than Sicily!
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Near the north coast of Hispaniola, Columbus discovered an island, which he named Tortuga/Turtle/. This island later became the most famous nest in the Caribbean, is repeatedly described in novels and has retained the name given by Columbus to this day.
For another two weeks, the Niña and the Santa Maria slowly moved along the winding coast of Haiti, all the while trying to establish contact with the local population for the presence of precious metals.", BGCOLOR, "#ffffff", FONTCOLOR, "#333333", BORDERCOLOR, "Silver", WIDTH, "100%", FADEIN, 100, FADEOUT, 100)">In one of the bays where the ships stopped, they managed to find out from the local population that further east is the territory of a powerful leader Guacanagari, and in the depths of the island lies a territory called Cibao, where there is a lot of this gold like shoe polish at the shoe polish factory. The admiral, of course, immediately thought that Cibao That's what it is Sipango, decided to reach the territory of the leader by sea and then penetrate deep into the country. But then the unexpected happened. On the night of December 25, 1492, the Santa Maria landed on the reefs.
The secret of death ""
The collapse of the Santa Maria still causes ambiguous assessment among Columbologists, because the circumstances of the disaster inspired and continue to inspire suspicion. Why did they walk along the coast at night, where there could always be pitfalls? Why was the cabin boy at the helm?Maybe it was beneficial for someone to run the flagship of the expedition aground? But to whom?
1. To the owner of the ship Juan de la Cosa? Perhaps he expected to get insurance for him? So he really received later from the kings compensation for the lost property, which indirectly confirms this conjecture.
2. To the Admiral himself. It is possible that he did too. Let's try to reason. Realizing that he did not discover what he was looking for, Columbus felt the futility of further searches for Japan and China. If they were somewhere close, there would be indirect signs of their proximity - exchange goods from local tribes, possibly a wheel, metal products. But none of this happened. But Columbus has already become the Viceroy of all these lands. And the land turned out to be considerable! It was necessary to return here with exploration expeditions. Leaving some people here is an additional argument for equipping the next expedition. In addition, Columbus may well have suspected that Martin A. Pinzon on the Pint did not disappear by accident. He could rush back to be the first to report to the kings about the new lands and get all the preferences. "Santa Maria" in this race for Columbus would be a burden. And there was a reason for refusing to further search for Japan and the Great Khan - they say, with one ship where ... This, of course, is all speculation ...
The third and most likely version is that the team just got drunk on Christmas. Valiant Conquistadors began to fill the throats the night before and were simply unable to get behind the wheel to take the helm. Catholic Christmas is celebrated on the night of December 24-25. It gets dark early in the southern latitudes. And breaking the fast after fasting is allowed with the appearance of the first star in the sky. That's the whole truth about the crash of the Santa Maria.
Fort "Navidad" - pfirst Spanish settlement in the Americas
From the wreckage of the flagship, it was decided to build a fortified settlement on the shore and leave a significant part of the team in it - only 39 souls. This colonists willy-nilly The admiral promised to definitely return next year. ", BGCOLOR, "#ffffff", FONTCOLOR, "#333333", BORDERCOLOR, "Silver", WIDTH, "100%", FADEIN, 100, FADEOUT, 100)"> 
On the third day of Christmas, the travelers began to build a fortress. It was decided to name it " Navidad" (Navidad in Spanish - Christmas), and the remains of the "Santa Maria" were used to build this stronghold. The colonists were left with a significant supply of provisions, wine, firearms and a boat. The admiral touchingly said goodbye to those who remained to spend the winter on the new land, ordered them not to commemorate him dashingly live in harmony with each other and with their neighbors. Alas, he saw them alive for the last time. January 2, 1493 the last remaining caravel of the first expedition of Christopher Columbus "Nina" set off on the return journey.
The return of the prodigal Pint. Back in full swing!
On Sunday, January 6, 1493 year, from the main mast of the Nina, the Pinta was seen. A very strange accident… Soon the Admiral met with the captain of the missing caravel, M. A. Pinson, who declared that he had separated from the flotilla against his will (?!?). What really happened there, no one will be able to establish, but both commanders understood that in their position a bad peace is better than a good quarrel and did not begin to sort things out to the end. The ships "rummaged around" a little more in Haiti in the last hope of finding something, replenished supplies andJanuary 16, 1493 in full sail, taking a steep north coursenor-nor-east(or in our opinion to the north-northeast). The return passage of Columbus to Castile began.
Travelers of the Age of Discovery
Russian travelers and pioneers
The most important event in the history of the great geographical discoveries, and indeed in world history in general, was discovery of America by Columbus- an event as a result of which the inhabitants of Europe discovered two continents, called the New World, or America.
The confusion began with the names of the continents. There is strong evidence for the version that the lands of the New World were named after the Italian patron Richard America from Bristol, who financed the transatlantic expedition of John Cabot in 1497. The Florentine traveler Amerigo Vespucci, who visited the New World only in 1500 and after whom America is believed to have been named, took his nickname in honor of the already named continent.
In May 1497, Cabot reached the shores of Labrador, becoming the first officially registered European to set foot on American soil, two years ahead of Amerigo Vespucci. Cabot mapped the coast of North America from New England to Newfoundland. In the Bristol calendar for that year we read: “... on the day of St. John the Baptist found the land of America by merchants from Bristol, who arrived on a ship with the name "Matthew".
Christopher Columbus - discovery of America
Christopher Columbus is considered the official discoverer of the continents of the New World. He was originally from Italy, arrived in Spain from Portugal. Having found a familiar monk in a monastery near the city of Palos, Columbus told him that he had decided to sail to Asia by a new sea route - across the Atlantic Ocean. He was admitted to an audience with Queen Isabella, who, after his report, appointed a scientific council to discuss the project. The members of the council were mostly clerics. Columbus passionately defended his project. He referred to the evidence of ancient scientists about the sphericity of the Earth, to a copy of the map of the famous Italian astronomer Toscanelli, which depicted many islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and behind them - the eastern shores of Asia. He convinced the learned monks that the legends spoke of a land beyond the ocean, from the shores of which sea currents sometimes bring tree trunks with traces of their processing by people. Columbus was an educated man: knew how to make maps, drive ships, knew four languages. He managed to convince the academic council of the validity of his expectations.
The rulers of Spain believed the traveler and decided to conclude an agreement with Columbus, according to which, if successful, he would receive the title of admiral and viceroy of the lands discovered by him, as well as a significant part of the profits from trade with countries where he would be able to visit. Thus began the era of geographical exploration and discovery, which began with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.
Discovery of America by Columbus: year 1492
On August 3, 1492, three ships "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina" with 90 participants set sail from the port of Paloe. The crews of the ships consisted mainly of convicted criminals. It has been 33 days since the expedition left the Canary Islands, and the land was still not visible. The team started murmuring. To calm her down, Columbus wrote down the distances traveled in the ship's log, deliberately underestimating them.
On October 12, 1492, sailors saw a dark strip of land on the horizon. It was a small island with lush tropical vegetation. Tall people with dark skin lived here. The natives called their island Guanahani. Columbus named it San Salvador and declared it a possession of Spain. This name stuck to one of the Bahamas. Columbus was in full confidence that he had reached Asia. Having visited other islands, he everywhere asked the locals whether it was Asia. But I did not hear anything consonant with this word. Columbus left some people on the island of Hispaniola, and he went to Spain. As proof that he opened the way to Asia, Columbus took with him several Indians, feathers of unseen birds, some plants, among them maize, potatoes and tobacco. On March 15, 1493, he was greeted as a hero in Palos.
Thus, the first visit by Europeans to the islands of Central America took place, as a result of which the foundation was laid for the further discovery of unknown lands, their conquest and colonization.
In the 20th century, scientists turned their attention to information suggesting that contacts between the Old World and the New took place long before the famous discovery of America by Columbus.
In addition to the hypotheses about the settlement of America by the “ten tribes of Israel”, as well as by the Atlanteans, there is a number of weighty scientific evidence that America was visited long before Columbus. Some researchers even argue that the culture of the Indians was brought from outside, from the Old World. In academic science, the theory that the civilizations of the Americas developed almost completely independently before 1492 has a larger number of supporters.
Hypotheses about visiting America by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese and Celts remain unconfirmed, however, there is fairly reliable data on visiting America by Polynesians, preserved in their legends; in addition, it is known that the Chukchi established an exchange of fur and whalebone with the ancient population of the northwestern American coast, but it is impossible to establish the exact date of the beginning of these contacts. Europeans also visited the American continent during the Viking Age. Scandinavian contacts with the New World began around 1000 AD and continued until about the 14th century.
The name of the Scandinavian navigator and ruler of Greenland, Leif I Ericsson the Happy, is associated with the discovery of America. This European discovered North America five centuries before Columbus. His campaigns are known from the Icelandic sagas preserved in such manuscripts as the Saga of Eric the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders. Their authenticity was confirmed by archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.
Leif Eriksson was born in Iceland in the family of Erik the Red, who was expelled from Norway along with his entire family. Eric's family in 982 was forced to leave Iceland, fearing blood feuds, and settle in new colonies in Greenland. Leif Eriksson had two brothers, Thorvald and Thorstein, and one sister, Freydis. Leif was married to a woman named Thorgunna. They had one son - Thorkell Leifsson.
Before his trip to America, Leif made a trading expedition to Norway. Here he was baptized by the King of Norway, Olaf Tryggvason, an ally of Prince Vladimir of Kiev. Leif brought a Christian bishop to Greenland and baptized its inhabitants. His mother and many Greenlanders converted to Christianity, but his father, Eric the Red, remained a pagan. On the way back, Leif rescued the wrecked Icelander Thorir, for which he received the nickname Leif the Lucky. On his return, he met a Norwegian named Bjarni Herjulfsson in Greenland, who said that he saw the outline of the earth in the west far out to sea. Leif became interested in this story and decided to explore new lands.
Around the year 1000, Leif Eriksson sailed west with a crew of 35 on a ship bought from Bjarni. They discovered three regions of the American coast: Helluland (probably the Labrador Peninsula), Markland (possibly Baffin Island) and Vinland, which got its name from a large number of vines. Presumably it was the coast of Newfoundland. Several settlements were founded there, where the Vikings stayed for the winter.
Upon his return to Greenland, Leif gave the ship to his brother Thorvald, who instead went to explore Vinland further. Thorvald's expedition was unsuccessful: the Scandinavians collided with the Skralings - North American Indians, and in this clash Thorvald died. If you believe the Icelandic legends, according to which Erik and Leif made their campaigns not at random, but based on the stories of such eyewitnesses as Bjarni, who saw unknown lands on the horizon, then in a sense America was discovered even before the year 1000. However, it was Leif who first made a full-fledged expedition along the coast of Vinland, gave him a name, landed on the coast and even tried to colonize it. According to the stories of Leif and his people, which formed the basis of the Scandinavian "Saga of Eric the Red" and "The Saga of the Greenlanders", the first maps of Vinland were compiled.
This information, preserved by the Icelandic sagas, was confirmed in 1960, when archaeological confirmation of the early settlement of the Vikings was discovered in the town of L "an-o-Meadows on the island of Newfoundland. The discovery of America by Columbus at that time was really a discovery, because they are nothing about the New World did not know. But Columbus was not the discoverer in the full sense of the word. At present, the study of the territory of North America by the Vikings long before the travels of Columbus is considered to be a finally proven fact. Scholars have agreed that the Vikings among Europeans were indeed the first to discover North America, but the exact place their settlement is still unknown.At first, the Vikings did not distinguish between their settlement in Greenland and Vinland, on the one hand, and Iceland, on the other.The feeling of different worlds came to them only after meeting with local tribes, very different from the Irish monks in Iceland: The Saga of Eric the Red and The Saga of Grenlan dtsah" were written about 250 years after the colonization of Greenland and tell that there were several attempts to establish a settlement in Vinland, but none of them lasted more than two years. There are several possible reasons why the Vikings left the settlements, among which are disagreements among the male colonists regarding the few women who accompanied the journey, and armed skirmishes with the locals, whom the Vikings called skraling. Both of these factors are indicated in written sources.
Until the 19th century, historians considered the idea of Viking settlements in North America exclusively in the context of the national folklore of the Scandinavian peoples. The first scientific theory appeared in 1837 thanks to the Danish historian and antiquary Carl Christian Rafn. In his book American Antiquities, Rafn conducted a comprehensive examination of the sagas and explored possible sites on the American coast, as a result of which he concluded that the country of Vinland, discovered by the Vikings, really existed. History continues to lift the veil of its secrets. Scientists have yet to verify the likelihood and time of an even earlier discovery of America and contact with this continent by immigrants from the Old World.
The question of who discovered America is probably the most difficult in the sense that it is difficult to dot all i's. You say: “Christopher Columbus”, and you answer: “Then why is America not called Colombia?” And you instantly get lost. And don’t let such a question still come up on the exam - it’s a disaster in general! Let's analyze this question: who really was the first to discover this incredible continent?
All versions
When we talk about the discovery of North and South America, we must not forget for whom the arrival of European navigators on the continent was a discovery. This was a discovery for Europeans who had been swarming in their Europe for more than a thousand years: at first they had a Hellenic civilization there (Greece and), then the gloomy Middle Ages came. They were busy burning witches at the stake, and far from searching for new lands.
Indeed, long before the Europeans (and before Columbus), America (for themselves) was discovered:
- 15,000 (fifteen thousand) years ago, back in the ice age, enterprising guys from Asia were most likely looking for warm places. Along the glacier that now connects Eurasia and North America, the Bering Strait, they came to the continent. And they became a local, autochthonous population. And Columbus called the local natives Indians because he thought he had discovered India!
- In the VI century, the Irish sailed to North America, led by St. Brendan. Why would the Irish suddenly look for the New World is not clear, and there was no exact confirmation of this fact. Until in 1976, a desperate explorer Tim Siverin built an exact copy of the Irish boat and sailed here from Ireland on his own!
- In the 10th century, the Vikings sailed here, who were avid sailors and most likely were looking for prey. So the search for prey led far southwest of Greenland, and they ended up here. Perhaps the first Vikings founded the first settlements of Europeans here! So in 1960, archaeologist Helge Ingstad discovered traces of such a settlement in Canada!
- In the 15th century, the Chinese discovered South America before Columbus. So claimed British naval officer Gavin Menzies. The Chinese also looked for India to get rich and, according to the theory of the British, colonized South America.
I think now it has become clear to you for whom Columbus (if it was really him) discovered America - for Europeans.
Discovery of America
The reasons that pushed the Europeans to search for new lands were prosaic: the European market was overflowing with goods, colonies were needed to sell them. Europe was actively moving towards colonial capitalism. You can find other reasons in our article.
Spain - the strongest state of that Medieval Europe - was no exception. The crown actively sponsored all the expeditions of various swindlers who promised to open new lands for it. Since the name of the navigator who discovered America is Christopher Columbus, let's take a closer look at his personality.
Christopher Columbus, famous navigator (1451-1506)
Christopher was actually from Genoa. In his youth he studied at the University of Pavia. Around 1474, the famous geographer and astronomer Paolo Toscanelli fired a bullet at Columbus in a letter that the path to India was actually shorter than all sorts of court swindlers believe. Since that time, Christopher became interested in this event - to find a way to the legendary India. Further, Christopher traveled throughout Europe, collecting information about the location of this very India. As a result, in the mid-80s of the 15th century, he drew up his own project - the way to go there.
All discussions of this project came to nothing. Even a meeting with the king and queen yielded nothing. Columbus intends to move to France in the early 90s and try his luck there. But Queen Isabella nevertheless understood what Spain could lose. As a result, the expedition was nevertheless equipped.
America was discovered to Europeans during the first expedition of 1492-1493. She consisted of three ships: Santa Maria, Nina and Pinta. Just 1492 is considered the year of the discovery of America.
Amerigo Vespucci (1454 - 1512)
The remaining three expeditions were exploratory: Europeans explored new terrain. Columbus himself was sure until the end of his life that he had discovered India. So why did the New World come to be called America? Who discovered it: Columbus or Vespucci?
The fact is that in 1499, the cheerful old man Amerigo Vespucci went on one of the expeditions to the New World. The old man went to assess the financial possibilities of the New World, made notes and, most importantly, made a serious map of the new continent.
So in 1507 the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller suggested naming the new continents after this jolly old man. That's why America is called that.
Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov
23.03.2016
The name of the American continent is strongly associated with the name of Christopher Columbus, the famous discoverer of the New World. There is evidence that even before the 15th century, Europeans managed to reach the shores of America. These were the Vikings, who in the 10th century sailed to the coast of the Labrador Peninsula. However, their travels were not of great practical importance for Europe, they were generally unknown to contemporaries. Therefore, the honor of being considered the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach the new continent began to belong to Columbus. Although the question is still sometimes asked: “Who was the first to discover America - Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci?” So, first things first…
In 1492, Christopher Columbus, trying to get to India by a short route from the east side, discovered the islands of Central America. Columbus hatched the project of an expedition to the west for ten years, and it took another eight years to find organizers and sponsors. He pitched the idea to Genoese merchants, Portuguese, French, English rulers, and, more than once, Spanish royal couples.
Ultimately, it was the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, who agreed to patronize Columbus, gave him a noble title and promised a monopoly on income from the territories that he could discover. On his first voyage in 1492-1494, this Spanish subject (although he was Italian by birth) discovered the islands: Haiti (Hispaniola), Cuba, San Salvador (one of the Bahamas).
Columbus returned to his homeland in full confidence that he had reached East Asia, mistaking Cuba for the peninsula of China. In the next sea voyage to the shores of the still unexplored islands, already several thousand people set off on 17 ships. In search of gold and other treasures, Europeans began to seize the islands and subjugate the natives, who were called Indians.
Dominica, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Montserrat, Antigua, Puerto Rico and other names were put on the maps. But the mainland of "India" has still not been discovered, just like the gold promised to the king. Upon learning of the discontent of his patrons, Columbus was forced to return to Spain in order to somehow justify himself. He managed to return the favor of the rulers and obtain the right to the sole study of the lands of the West Indies.
The third expedition in 1498 turned out to be more modest, managing to raise funds to send only six ships. But it was this time that Columbus was able to explore about 300 km of the mainland of Central America. Once at the mouth of the Orinoco River, he realized that such a large river must flow from a large landmass. But he could not continue the expedition due to illness.
In 1499, Vasco da Gama triumphantly returned to Portugal, opening the sea route to the real India. Columbus, after such news, completely lost the confidence of the Spanish monarchs and was even taken into custody. He was soon released under the patronage of influential friends who financed the expedition. However, the monopoly on land development was taken away from Columbus. And the supply of settlers in the West Indies (as this region was still called) was entrusted to the new financial manager of the Florentine trading house - Amerigo Vespucci.
Vespucci was an employee of the trading house that sponsored the second and third expeditions of Columbus. The successes of the navigator aroused curiosity in the Florentine, and when the opportunity arose, he himself set off on a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean. On a voyage in 1499, he received a position as navigator on the ship of Admiral Alonso de Ojeda. Using the maps compiled by Columbus, Ojeda easily led his crew to the coast of the mainland.
They landed on the territory of modern Suriname. Moving along the coast, the travelers reached the Gulf of Maracaibo, where Vespucci saw houses standing in the water on stilts. He called this country "Little Venice" - Venezuela. In 1500, a map of the West Indies was published, where, among others, all the names given by Amerigo Vespucci during the expedition of Alonso de Ojeda were applied. The author of the map was the pilot Juan de la Cosa.
Vespucci, returning from his first trip, moved from the Spanish Cadiz to Lisbon, from where, already under the patronage of the Portuguese king, he twice visited the shores of the new continent. Information about Vespucci's travels was preserved in letters to his patron Lorenzo Medici and the gonfalonier (guardian of justice) of the Florentine Republic and longtime friend Pietro Soderini. These texts aroused great interest in Europe and were translated into French, German, Italian and Spanish (the originals were written in Latin).
The German cartographer and publisher Martin Waldseemüller published the book "Introduction to Cosmography", where he also published Vespucci's letters, in which he called the open lands the New World. The publisher himself was so delighted with the described travels that he proposed to name the mainland in honor of Amerigo. The public supported this idea. So America got its modern name.
The achievements of Columbus quickly faded into the background among his contemporaries, because after him much more large-scale discoveries began to occur in the continental regions of the New World. However, when looking at the events of more than five hundred years ago, the primacy of Christopher Columbus in the exploration of America is no longer in doubt.
