The lands that Columbus discovered in 1492. Biography of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was born between August 26 and October 31, 1451 on the island of Corsica in the Republic of Genoa. The future discoverer received his education at the University of Pavia.

A brief biography of Columbus does not preserve exact evidence of his first voyages, but it is known that in the 1470s he carried out sea expeditions for trading purposes. Even then, Columbus had the idea of traveling to India through the west. The navigator appealed to the rulers many times European countries with a request to help him organize an expedition - to King João II, Duke of Medina Seli, King Henry VII and others. It was not until 1492 that Columbus's voyage was approved by the Spanish rulers, most notably Queen Isabella. He was given the title of “don” and was promised rewards if the project was successful.

Four expeditions. Discovery of America

Columbus's first voyage took place in 1492. During the journey, the navigator discovered the Bahamas, Haiti, and Cuba, although he himself considered these lands to be “Western India.”

During the second expedition, Columbus's assistants included such famous personalities as the future conqueror of Cuba Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, the notary Rodrigo de Bastidas, and the pioneer Juan de la Cosa. Then the navigator's discoveries included the Virgin Islands, Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

Christopher Columbus's third expedition took place in 1498. The navigator's main discovery was the island of Trinidad. However, at the same time Vasco da Gama found the real way to India, so Columbus was declared a deceiver and sent under escort from Hispaniola to Spain. However, upon his arrival, local financiers managed to persuade King Ferdinand II to drop the charges.

Columbus never abandoned the hope of discovering a new shortcut to South Asia. In 1502, the navigator was able to obtain permission from the king for a fourth voyage. Columbus reached the coast of Central America, proving that between the Atlantic Ocean and South Sea lies the mainland.

Last years

During his last voyage, Columbus became seriously ill. Upon his return to Spain, he failed to restore the privileges and rights granted to him. Christopher Columbus died on May 20, 1506 in Seville, Spain. The navigator was first buried in Seville, but in 1540, by order of Emperor Charles V, Columbus's remains were transported to the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), and in 1899 again to Seville.

Other biography options

Historians still do not know true biography Christopher Columbus - there is so little factual material about his fate and expeditions that the biographers of the navigator introduce many fictitious statements into his biography.
Returning to Spain after the second expedition, Columbus proposed settling criminals on the newly discovered lands.
Columbus's dying words were: “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum” (“Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my spirit”).
The significance of the navigator's discoveries was recognized only in the middle of the 16th century.

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Christopher Columbus (autumn 1451, Republic of Genoa - May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain) - Spanish navigator of Italian origin, who in 1492 discovered America for Europeans.
Columbus was the first of the reliably known travelers to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the subtropical and tropical zones northern hemisphere and was the first European to sail in the Caribbean Sea. He laid the foundation for the exploration of South and Central America. He discovered all of the Greater Antilles - the central part of the Bahamas archipelago, the Lesser Antilles, as well as a number of small islands in the Caribbean Sea and the island of Trinidad off the coast of South America. Columbus can be called the discoverer of America with reservations, because even in the Middle Ages, Europeans in the person of the Icelandic Vikings visited North America. Since there was no information about these campaigns outside Scandinavia, it was Columbus’s expeditions that first made information about the lands in the west public and marked the beginning of the colonization of America by Europeans.
Columbus made 4 voyages to America:
First voyage (August 2, 1492 - March 15, 1493).
Second voyage (September 25, 1493 - June 11, 1496).
Third voyage (May 30, 1498 - November 25, 1500).
Fourth voyage (May 9, 1502 - November 1504).
Biography
Christopher Columbus- navigator, viceroy of the Indies (1492), discoverer Sargasso Sea and the Caribbean Sea, the Bahamas and Antilles, parts of the northern coast of South America and the Caribbean coastline of Central America.
In 1492-1493, Columbus led a Spanish expedition to find the shortest sea route to India; on 3 caravels (“Santa Maria”, “Pinta” and “Nina”) crossed the Atlantic Ocean, discovered the Sargasso Sea and reached the island of Samana on October 12, 1492, and later the ancient Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti. In subsequent expeditions (1493-1496, 1498-1500, 1502-1504) he discovered the Greater Antilles, part of the Lesser Antilles and the coasts of South and Central America and the Caribbean Sea.
Christopher Columbus born in the fall of 1451 in Genoa, Genoese by origin. He was above average height, strong and well-built. His hair, reddish in his youth, turned gray early, making him look older than his years. On the elongated, wrinkled and weather-beaten face with a beard, living Blue eyes and an aquiline nose. He was distinguished by faith in divine providence and omens, and at the same time, rare practicality, painful pride and suspicion, and a passion for gold. He had a sharp mind, the gift of persuasion and versatile knowledge. Christopher Columbus was married twice and had two sons from these marriages.

Christopher Columbus spent three quarters of his life sailing. Among the great figures of world civilization, few can compare with Columbus in the number of publications devoted to his life, and at the same time in the abundance of “blank spots” in his biography. It can be more or less confidently stated that he was Genoese by origin and around 1465 he joined the Genoese fleet, and after some time was seriously wounded. Until 1485, Christopher sailed on Portuguese ships, lived in Lisbon and on the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, engaged in trade, mapping and self-education. It is not clear when and where he drafted the western, in his opinion, the shortest sea route from Europe to India; the project was based on the ancient doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth and on the incorrect calculations of scientists of the 15th century. In 1485, after the Portuguese king refused to support this project, Columbus moved to Castile, where, with the help of Andalusian merchants and bankers, he organized a government naval expedition under his command.
Christopher Columbus's first expedition of 1492-1493 consisting of 90 people on three ships - "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina" - left Palos on August 3, 1492, turned west from the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, opening the Sargasso Sea, and reached an island in the Bahamas archipelago, named by the traveler San Salvador, where Columbus landed on October 12, 1492. For a long time Watling Island was considered San Salvador. However, our contemporary American geographer J. Judge in 1986 processed all the collected materials on a computer and came to the conclusion: the first American land Columbus saw was the island of Samana. On October 14–24, Columbus approached several more Bahamian islands, and on October 28–December 5 he discovered part of the northeastern coast of Cuba. On December 6 he reached the island of Haiti and moved along the northern coast. On the night of December 25, the flagship Santa Maria landed on a reef, but the crew escaped. For the first time in the history of navigation, by order of Columbus, Indian hammocks were adapted for sailor berths. Columbus returned to Castile on the Niña on March 15, 1499. The political resonance of the voyage of H. Columbus was the “papal meridian”: the head of the Catholic Church established a demarcation line in the Atlantic, which showed rival Spain and Portugal different directions for the discovery of new lands.
Second expedition (1493-96), which was headed by Admiral Columbus, as viceroy of the newly discovered lands, consisted of 17 ships with a crew of 1.5-2.5 thousand people. On November 3-15, 1493, Columbus discovered the islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe and about 20 Lesser Antilles, and on November 19, the island of Puerto Rico. In March 1494, in search of gold, he made a military campaign deep into the island of Haiti, and in the summer he discovered the southeastern and southern coasts of Cuba, the islands of Juventud and Jamaica.
For 40 days, Columbus explored the southern coast of Haiti, which he continued to conquer in 1495. But in the spring of 1496 he sailed home, completing his second voyage on June 11 in Castile. Columbus announced the opening of a new route to Asia. The colonization of new lands by free settlers that soon began was very costly for the Spanish crown, and Columbus proposed populating the islands with criminals, cutting their sentences in half. With fire and sword, plundering and destroying the country of ancient culture, the military detachments of Cortez passed through the land of the Aztecs - Mexico, and the troops of Pizarro - through the land of the Incas - Peru.
Columbus's third expedition (1498-1500) consisted of six ships, three of which he himself led across the Atlantic. On July 31, 1498, the island of Trinidad was discovered, entered the Gulf of Paria, discovered the mouth of the western branch of the Orinoco Delta and the Paria Peninsula, marking the beginning of the discovery of South America. Having entered the Caribbean Sea, he approached the Araya Peninsula, discovered Margarita Island on August 15, and arrived in Haiti on August 31. In 1500, following a denunciation, Christopher Columbus was arrested and shackled (which he then kept for the rest of his life) and was sent to Castile, where his release awaited him. Having obtained permission to continue the search for the western route to India, Columbus on four ships (the fourth expedition, 1502-1504) reached the island of Martinique on June 15, 1502, and the Gulf of Honduras on July 30, where he first met representatives of the ancient Mayan civilization, but did not attach any importance to this. From August 1, 1502 to May 1, 1503, he opened 2,000 km of the Caribbean coast of Central America (to the Gulf of Uraba). Not finding a passage to the west, he turned north and on June 25, 1503, was wrecked off the coast of Jamaica. Help from Santo Domingo came only a year later. Columbus returned to Castile on November 7, 1504, already seriously ill.
last years of life
Illness, fruitless and painful negotiations with the king on the restoration of rights, and lack of money undermined Columbus's last strength, and on May 20, 1506 he died in Valladolid. His discoveries were accompanied by the colonization of lands, the founding of Spanish settlements, brutal enslavement and mass extermination of the indigenous population, called “Indians,” by troops of conquistadors. Christopher Columbus was not the discoverer of America: the islands and coasts of North America were visited by Normans hundreds of years before him. However, only Columbus's discoveries had world-historical significance. What he found new part light, was finally proven by the voyage of Magellan. The name Columma is carried by: the state in South America, a province of Canada, the Federal District and a river in the USA, the capital of Sri Lanka, as well as many rivers, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, capes, cities, parks, squares, streets and bridges in different countries.
Truth and fiction in the biography of Christopher Columbus
Columbus was born into a poor family. Indeed, his family was not rich, but this did not prevent Columbus from receiving a good education - according to some sources, he graduated from the University of Pavia. Her marriage to Dona Felipe Moniz de Palestrello most likely played a significant role, since her father was a famous navigator during the time of Prince Enrique.
The traveler who gave the world the New World died without knowing that he had found the wrong continent that he was looking for. In those days, there was an assumption that in order to get to India, China or Japan, one had to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The entire expedition of Columbus was organized precisely for the discovery of a new direct route to Far East. Geographer Paolo Toscanelli calculated that it was necessary to sail 5,600 km to reach the shore, which coincided with Columbus's calculations. As a result, having discovered the New World during his first voyage, Columbus believed until the last that he landed on the border with China.

Columbus did not equip his first expedition for long. This is wrong. Quite a lot of time passed from the moment he conceived the expedition until it was equipped. Until 1485, Columbus served on Genoese and Portuguese ships, visited Ireland, England, and Madeira. At this time, in addition to trading, he was intensively engaged in self-education. He conducted extensive correspondence with famous scientists and cartographers of the time, compiled maps, and studied shipping routes. Most likely, it was in those years that he came up with the idea of reaching India by the Western route. Presumably in the period from 1475-1480. (there are no exact data) he sent the first proposal to the merchants and government of Genoa. He had to write many more such letters; for about 10 years he received only refusals. Moreover, having been shipwrecked off the coast of Portugal, he tried for a long time to persuade the Portuguese king and only after several wasted years headed to Spain. As a result, he was able to go on his first expedition only in 1492, thanks to the support of the Spanish Queen Isabella.

Columbus's return from the first expedition aggravated the political situation. When Columbus returned in 1493, having discovered new lands, this message excited minds and aggravated the situation between Spain and Portugal. Until this time, the main discoverer of all new routes to Africa was Portugal. She was given all the lands south of the Canary Islands. But the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were not going to give up Spain's rights to the newly discovered lands, and therefore turned to Pope Alexander VI. The Pope decided that 600 km west of the Azores a vertical line should be drawn on the map (the so-called papal meridian), to the east of which all lands would belong to Portugal, and to the west to Spain. However, the Portuguese king did not agree with this decision, since in this case Portuguese ships could not sail to the south and east without entering Spanish territory. As a result, the Spaniards made concessions and moved the vertical line 1600 km to the west. Spain could not even imagine how fatal this decision would be. Literally 7 years later, in 1500. Portuguese navigator Pedro Cabral, sailing to India, came across land that was not marked on the map. As it turned out, the line drawn on the map cut off this piece in favor of Portugal, which immediately laid claim to its rights. As a result, even before America was recognized as a new continent, the future Brazil began to belong to Portugal.
Thanks to Columbus, the local residents began to be called Indians. Columbus was looking for India and when he reached the Bahamas, he was completely sure that he had found it. Therefore, he began to call the local residents Indians. This name has stuck with the indigenous people to this day.
Columbus was able to equip the second expedition thanks to boasting. No one can confirm this for certain. But it is known that upon his return to Barcelona, Columbus actually boasted of his achievements. Moreover, he repeatedly demonstrated gold jewelry obtained from local tribes, while speaking about the riches of the Indian land. His vanity sometimes lifted him so high that he began to talk about future negotiations with the Great Khan. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the king and queen of Spain could succumb to the speeches of Columbus. In any case, they very quickly, with the support of the Pope, organized a second expedition (from 1493 to 1496).
Columbus was a pirate. This is a controversial proposition. However, there are some facts that do not characterize his best features. In his reports from the second expedition, he asks to send ships with livestock, supplies, and tools from Spain. He further writes: “Payment... can be made by slaves from among the cannibals, cruel people... well-built and very intelligent.” This means that he caught local residents as slaves for Spain. In fact, all of his activities in the new lands boiled down to robbery and robbery, which is typical of pirates, although it cannot be denied that this may be a consequence of the upbringing of the era. Of course, you can blame Columbus for all the further troubles of the American continent, but this is unlikely to be fair. No one is obliged to answer for the sins of others.

Columbus had a monopoly on all discovered lands. Indeed, upon arrival from the first expedition, Columbus (Don Cristoval Colon) was given the title of admiral of the sea, viceroy and governor of the islands discovered in India. His monopoly was unquestioned until after the second expedition it became clear that the new territories were too vast and one person was not able to rule them. In 1499, the kings abolished Columbus's monopoly on the discovery of new lands. This was primarily due to the fact that in 1498 the Portuguese Vasco da Gama sailed by sea to real India and began trade relations with it. Against the backdrop of his achievements, Columbus, with his complicated situation, small profits for the treasury and conflicts in new territories, seemed like a liar. In an instant, he lost all the privileges he had won.
Christopher Columbus gloriously completed all three of his expeditions. The first expedition brought glory to Columbus. The second, for which 17 ships were allocated, brought doubts about the riches of the open lands. The third expedition was fatal for Columbus. During it, he lost all rights to the lands. Francisco Bobadilla, sent to Hispaniola with unlimited powers, arrested the admiral and his brothers Bartalomeo and Diego. They were shackled. Columbus was put in shackles by his own cook. They were imprisoned in the Sandoming Fortress. Columbus was accused of "cruelty and inability to govern the country." Two months later they were sent in chains to Spain. Only two years later the kings dropped the charges against Columbus. He was awarded 2000 gold pieces, but given promise the property and money were not returned to him.
Christopher Columbus was buried with honors. Columbus returned from the fourth expedition seriously ill. He still hoped to defend his rights, but with the death of his patron, Queen Isabella, this hope faded. At the end of his life he needed money. In 1505, an order was given for the sale of all movable and immovable property of Columbus in Hispaniola to pay off creditors. On May 20, 1506, the great navigator passed away. No one noticed his death. His discoveries were almost forgotten amid the conquests of the Portuguese. His death was recorded only 27 years later. At the end of his life, all his dreams of wealth, mined gold and honors suffered complete collapse...

There are many accidental discoveries in history, when the discoverers sought a completely different goal. Most shining example- discovery of America by Columbus, made during his search for a sea route to India.

It all started with the idea of sailing to India along a new route - the Atlantic Ocean. Christopher Columbus first proposed it to Portugal: however, King Juan II did not approve of the navigator’s plan.

Italian by birth, Columbus went to Spain. Here, not far from Palos, in one of the monasteries, a monk he knew was found. He helped Columbus gain an audience with Queen Isabella. After listening to the navigator, she instructed the scientific council to discuss the project. The council consisted mainly of people who held clergy.

Columbus prepared a powerful report. He said that ancient scientists proved that the Earth is a ball. He showed a copy of the map compiled by the famous astronomer from Italy Toscanelli. On it, the Atlantic Ocean was covered with a mass of islands, behind which the eastern coast of Asia could be seen. He remembered the legends that there was a land beyond the ocean, from which tree trunks, clearly processed by people, sometimes floated across the sea. Columbus, who was well educated and spoke four languages, managed to win over the council members to his side.

In addition, the interest of the Spanish crown had other reasons.

In a country that had just experienced the capture of Granada and the Reconquista, the economy was in a deplorable state. There was no money in the treasury, many nobles went bankrupt. If Columbus's voyage had been successful, it might have helped change the situation. Columbus received the status of viceroy of all lands that would be discovered - and set off on his way.

First expedition

The first expedition began on August 3, 1492 in the port of Palos. The flotilla included 3 caravels (“Santa Maria”, “Pinta”, “Nina”), carrying 90 people. First, the ships went to the Canary Islands, from where they turned to the west. On the way, the Sargasso Sea was discovered, where green algae grew in amazing abundance.

2 months passed before the team saw land. On the night of October 12, 1492, at two o'clock, the watchman noticed the shore, which was illuminated by flashes of lightning. These were the Bahamas, but Columbus believed that he managed to reach India, China or Japan. Therefore, the people who met here were called Indians. And the archipelago was called the West Indies.

The island to which the travelers descended was named San Salvador, which belongs to the American continent. Officially, October 12, 1492 is considered the day of the discovery of America.

Continuing their voyage, the ships reached new islands - Cuba and Haiti. This happened on December 6, and on the 25th the ship “Santa Maria” was stranded.

The expedition returned to Spain on March 15, 1493. The natives also arrived on the ships, as well as potatoes, tobacco and corn - products then unknown in Europe. Columbus was surrounded with honor and given the title of admiral of the sea-ocean, as well as viceroy of the open lands and those that he had yet to find.

Second expedition

During his second voyage, Columbus explored most of the islands of the Caribbean. 17 ships, carrying 1,500 people, set sail.

On this journey, Guadeloupe, the islands of Dominica and Jamaica, Antigua and Puerto Rico were discovered. It was on this expedition, without knowing it, that the sailors reached the shores of a new continent, which is now called Colombia - named after Columba. On June 11, 1496, Spanish ships returned to their homeland.

Third expedition

Columbus's third voyage took place in 1498. The flotilla under his command reached the Orinoco River delta. This was the shore of a new unknown continent. 2 islands were also discovered - Trinidad and Margarita, as well as the Paria Peninsula.
In 1500, Spanish settlers of the New World rebelled against Columbus. He was relieved of his duties as leader of the new lands. However, he received permission to go on a new journey.

Fourth expedition

Columbus's fourth voyage lasted 2 years. From 1502 to 1504, he sailed along much of the coast of the new continent, which later became known as Central America.

Four ships traveled a long distance and discovered new islands - Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama. But at the end of June 1503, the ships were caught in a storm off Jamaica and were wrecked.

The Great and the Unfortunate

Columbus himself did not suspect that he had discovered a new continent. He died confident that all expeditions led to India, and his discovery was the route to India from the west. There was no gold in the lands that he discovered, and no spices were found there. This brought neither Spain nor Columbus himself wealth.

The sailor was poor. He spent all the money he had on equipping a rescue expedition to save people on one of the caravels. He died sick and forgotten in 1506.

Who else discovered America

When the navigator and astronomer from Florence Amerigo Vespucci decided to go to the lands discovered by Columbus, he concluded that this was not India, but a completely new continent. This happened during an expedition in 1501-1502. He published his thoughts, which became the basis for the creation new card peace in 1507. To Europe, Asia and Africa, another continent was added, which at first bore the name of the land of Amerigo. Later it transformed into America.

This continent, as it became clear later, was discovered more than once. In 1497, a flotilla of Portuguese ships headed by Vasco da Gama (1469-1524) set off for India. 4 ships, carrying 170 people, left the Lisbon port in the direction of the Cape of Good Hope. They rounded the cape, reached the mouth of the Zambezi, went north near Africa, and then reached the harbor of Malindi. From here the ships reached the port of Calicut, where they were led by an Arab pilot. This marked the opening of the route to India, which took approximately 10 months.

The meeting in Calicut was cold. After staying there for 3 months, the Portuguese set off on their way back. The captain decided to sail across the Indian Ocean, bypassing East Africa. The voyage lasted about a year, but by September 1499, the two ships returned to Lisbon, having lost most of the crew.

On August 3, 1492, the first expedition of the navigator Christopher Columbus began, discovering new lands for Europeans.

Born in Genoa, Columbus became a sailor in early age, swam on Mediterranean Sea on merchant ships. Then he settled in Portugal. Under the Portuguese flag, he sailed north to England and Ireland, and sailed along the west coast of Africa to the Portuguese trading post of São Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana). He was engaged in trade, mapping and self-education. During this period, Columbus had the idea of reaching India by a western route through the Atlantic Ocean.

At that time, many Western European countries were looking for sea routes to the countries of South and East Asia, which were then united under the common name “India”. Pepper came from these countries to Europe, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, expensive silk fabrics. Traders from Europe could not penetrate Asian countries by land, since Turkish conquests cut off traditional merchant connections with the East through the Mediterranean Sea. They were forced to purchase Asian goods from Arab merchants. Therefore, Europeans were interested in finding a sea route to Asia, which would allow them to purchase Asian goods without intermediaries. In the 1480s, the Portuguese tried to circumnavigate Africa to penetrate Indian Ocean to India.

Columbus suggested that Asia could be reached by moving west across the Atlantic Ocean. His theory was based on the ancient doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth and the incorrect calculations of 15th century scientists who considered the globe to be much smaller in size and also underestimated the real extent of the Atlantic Ocean from west to east.

Between 1483 and 1484, Columbus tried to interest the Portuguese King João II with his plan for an expedition to Asia by the western route. The monarch handed over his project for examination to the scientists of the "Mathematical Junta" (Lisbon Academy of Astronomy and Mathematics). Experts recognized Columbus's calculations as "fantastic", and the king refused Columbus.

Having received no support, Columbus set off for Spain in 1485. There, at the beginning of 1486, he was presented to the royal court and received an audience with the king and queen of Spain - Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. The royal couple became interested in the project of the Western route to Asia. A special commission was created to consider it, which in the summer of 1487 issued an unfavorable conclusion, but the Spanish monarchs postponed the decision to organize the expedition until the end of the war they waged with the Emirate of Granada (the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula).

In the fall of 1488, Columbus visited Portugal, where he again proposed his project to John II, but was again refused and returned to Spain.

In 1489, he tried unsuccessfully to interest the regent of France, Anne de Beaujeu, and two Spanish dukes in the idea of sailing west.

In January 1492, unable to withstand a long siege by Spanish troops, Granada fell. After long negotiations, the Spanish monarchs, overriding the objections of their advisers, agreed to subsidize Columbus's expedition.

On April 17, 1492, the royal couple entered into a treaty (“capitulation”) with him in Santa Fe, granting him the title of nobility, the titles of admiral of the Sea-Ocean, viceroy and governor-general of all the islands and continents that he would discover. The title of admiral gave Columbus the right to rule in disputes arising in matters of trade, the position of viceroy made him the personal representative of the monarch, and the position of governor general provided the highest civil and military power. Columbus was given the right to receive a tenth of everything found in the new lands and an eighth of the profits from trading operations with foreign goods.

The Spanish crown pledged to finance most of the expedition's expenses. Italian merchants and financiers gave part of the funds for it to the navigator.

He named the island San Salvador (St. Savior), and its inhabitants - Indians, believing that he was off the coast of India.

However, there is still ongoing debate about Columbus's first landing site. For a long time (1940-1982), Watling Island was considered San Salvador. In 1986, American geographer George Judge processed all the collected materials on a computer and came to the conclusion: the first American land Columbus saw was the island of Samana (120 km southeast of Watling).

On October 14-24, Columbus approached several more Bahamian islands. Having learned from the natives about the existence of a rich island in the south, the ships left the Bahamian archipelago on October 24 and sailed further to the southwest. On October 28, Columbus landed on the northeastern coast of Cuba, which he named “Juana.” After this, the Spaniards, inspired by the stories of the natives, spent a month searching for the golden island of Baneque (modern Great Inagua).

On November 21, the captain of the Pinta, Martin Pinson, took his ship away, deciding to search for this island on his own. Having lost hope of finding Baneke, Columbus with the two remaining ships turned east and on December 5 reached the northwestern tip of the island of Bohio (modern Haiti), to which he gave the name Hispaniola ("Spanish"). Moving along the northern coast of Hispaniola, on December 25 the expedition approached the Holy Cape (modern Cap-Haïtien), where the Santa Maria ran aground and sank, but the crew escaped. With the help of local residents, they managed to remove guns, supplies and valuable cargo from the ship. From the wreckage of the ship they built a fort - the first European settlement in America, named "Navidad" ("Christmas town") on the occasion of the Christmas holiday.

The loss of the ship forced Columbus to leave part of the crew (39 people) in the established settlement and set off on the Niña on the return journey. For the first time in the history of navigation, on his orders, Indian hammocks were adapted for sailor berths. To prove that he had reached a part of the world previously unknown to Europeans, Columbus took with him seven captive islanders, strange bird feathers and the fruits of plants unknown in Europe. Having visited open islands, the Spaniards saw corn, tobacco, and potatoes for the first time.

On January 4, 1493, Columbus set out to sea on the Niña and sailed east along the northern coast of Hispaniola. Two days later he met "Pinta". On January 16, both ships headed northeast, taking advantage of a passing current - the Gulf Stream. On February 12, a storm arose, and on the night of February 14, the ships lost sight of each other. At dawn on February 15, the sailors saw land, and Columbus determined that he was near the Azores. On February 18, "Nina" managed to land on the shore of one of the islands - Santa Maria.

On February 24, Niña left the Azores. Two days later she was again caught in a storm, which washed her ashore on the coast of Portugal on March 4. On March 9, the Niña dropped anchor in the port of Lisbon. The team needed a break, and the ship needed repairs. King John II gave Columbus an audience, at which the navigator informed him of his discovery of the western route to India. On March 13, "Nina" was able to sail to Spain. On March 15, 1493, on the 225th day of the voyage, the ship returned to the Spanish port of Palos. On the same day, “Pinta” arrived there.

King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile gave Columbus a ceremonial welcome and, in addition to previously promised privileges, gave him permission for a new expedition.

During Columbus's first voyage, America was discovered, which he took to be East Asia and called the West Indies. Europeans first set foot on the Caribbean islands of Juan (Cuba) and Hispaniola (Haiti). As a result of the expedition, the width of the Atlantic Ocean became reliably known, the Sargasso Sea was discovered, the flow of ocean water from west to east was established, and the incomprehensible behavior of the magnetic compass needle was noted for the first time. The political resonance of Columbus's voyage was the "papal meridian": the head of the Catholic Church established a demarcation line in the Atlantic, which showed rival Spain and Portugal in different directions for the discovery of new lands.

In 1493-1504, Columbus made three more voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of which he discovered part of the Lesser Antilles and the coast of South and Central America. The navigator died in 1506, fully confident that the lands he discovered were part of the Asian continent, and not a new continent.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

autumn 1451, Corsica island, Genoese Republic (according to one version) - May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain

Christopher Columbus - Spanish navigator and discoverer of new lands. He is best known for his discovery of America (1492).

Columbus was the first reliably known traveler to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the subtropical and tropical zones of the northern hemisphere and the first European to sail in the Caribbean Sea. He marked the beginning of the discovery of the mainland of South America and the isthmuses of Central America. He discovered all of the Greater Antilles - the central part of the Bahamas archipelago, the Lesser Antilles (from Dominica to the Virgin Islands inclusive), as well as a number of small islands in the Caribbean Sea and the island of Trinidad off the coast of South America.

Since Europeans in the person of the Icelandic Vikings (Leif Eriksson and others) visited North America back in the 11th century, Columbus, strictly speaking, cannot be called the discoverer of America. However, since Columbus's expeditions were essential to the subsequent colonization of America, such terminology is widely used.

Italian by origin. Born in Genoa between August 25 and October 31, 1451 in the family of wool weaver Domenico Colombo.
In 1470 he began to actively participate in commercial transactions (until 1473 under the leadership of his father). In 1474–1479 he made several voyages as part of trade expeditions of the Genoese company Centurione Negro: he visited the island of Chios, England, Ireland, the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira. In 1476 he settled in Portugal. In 1482–1484 he visited the Azores and the Guinean coast (Fort of São Jorge da Mina).

Columbus was born into a poor Genoese family: father - Domenico Colombo, mother - Susanna Fontanarossa. In addition to Christopher, there were other children in the family: Giovanni (died in childhood, in 1484), Bartolomeo, Giacomo, Bianchella (married Giacomo Bavarello). Studied at the University of Pavia. Around 1470 he married Doña Felipe Moniz de Palestrello. Her father was a famous navigator during the time of Prince Enrique. Until 1472, Columbus lived in Genoa, and from 1472 - in Savona. In the 1470s he participated in sea trade expeditions. It is believed that as early as 1474, the astronomer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli told him in a letter that, in his opinion, India could be reached by a much shorter sea route by sailing to the west. Apparently, even then Columbus was thinking about his project of a sea voyage to India. Having made his own calculations based on Toscanelli’s advice, he decided that it was most convenient to sail through the Canary Islands, from which, in his opinion, there were about five thousand kilometers to Japan.

Christopher Columbus

In 1476, Columbus moved to Portugal, where he lived for nine years. It is known that in 1477 Columbus visited England, Ireland and Iceland, where he could get acquainted with the Icelanders’ data about the lands in the west. During this time, he also managed to visit Guinea as part of the expedition of Diogo de Azambuja, who went there in 1481 to build the Elmina fortress (São Jorge da Mina)

Columbus's first proposal to sail to India to the west was in 1475-1480. He addressed it to the government and merchants of his native Genoa. There was no response.

1480s - during this period the Portuguese were preoccupied with finding a sea route to Asia. The interest in this part of the world can be explained quite simply: Asian spices alone at that time often replaced money, but there were also incense, silk, carpets, luxury goods... There was no land route to Asia then - it was blocked by the powerful Ottoman Empire. They had to repurchase spices, silk and other exotic oriental goods from Arab merchants, losing large profits. The Portuguese saw only one route: rounding Africa and rising into the Indian Ocean, and at the beginning of the decade, King João II of Portugal equipped and sent a corresponding expedition. Columbus proposed an alternative: to reach Asia by moving west. Columbus's theory was based on the navigator's own calculations. But in fairness, it must be said that Columbus was not an innovator - the idea of a western route to India was put forward in the ancient world by Aristotle and Protagoras.

CristobalColon

Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio .: This Portrait was made by the Florentine painter Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483-1561). This illustration may be considered to be in the public domain. This portrait was executed in the first half of the sixteenth century, after the death of Columbus. It is displayed in a showcase of the Museum of the sea and navigation of Genoa, "It Padiglione del Mare e della Navigazione."

In 1483, he proposed his project to the Portuguese King João II, but after a long study the project was rejected.

In 1485, Columbus and his son Diego moved to Spain (apparently fleeing persecution. In the winter of 1485-1486, he found shelter in the monastery of Santa Maria da Rabida as a beggar. Abbot Juan Perez de Marchena accepted him and actually saved him from starvation. He also organized the first letter to Fernando de Talavera, his acquaintance - the queen's confessor, with a brief summary of Columbus's ideas. The King of Spain was at that time in the city of Cordoba, where preparations were taking place for the war with Granada with the personal participation of the sovereigns. 1486 Columbus establishes connections with royal financial advisors, merchants and bankers. It was not until the winter of 1486 that Columbus was introduced to Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo and Grand Cardinal of Spain, who in turn facilitated an audience with the King of Spain. Columbus's proposal was studied several times. theologians, cosmographers, lawyers, monks, courtiers reject him, considering his demands excessive.

Christopher Columbus, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly right.

On April 20, 1488, Columbus unexpectedly received a letter from the Portuguese king inviting him to return to Portugal. The most interesting words here were the following words of Their Majesties:

“And if you fear Our justice regarding some of your obligations, then know that neither after your arrival, nor during your stay in Portugal, nor after your departure, you will be neither arrested, nor detained, nor accused, nor convicted, nor persecuted for any reason arising under civil, criminal or any other law. »

Columbus sends his proposals to other addresses: from King Henry VII of England in February 1488, he received a favorable response, but without any specific proposals.

Columbus and the Indian Maiden

1488 - a certain Beatriz Enriquez de Arana gives birth to Columbus's son Fernando. Columbus not only recognized the child, but also did not forget him later, thirteen years later he took him on one of his expeditions. It was Fernando who would later write the biography of his father, which would become the main source of information about the great navigator.

1492 - Spain is liberated from the Moors, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally make the final decision to finance the search for a western route to Asia. In case of failure, they only lost the funds invested in the enterprise. If successful, dizzying prospects opened up for Spain. Columbus was promised: a title of nobility, the titles of admiral, viceroy and governor-general of all islands and continents discovered during the expedition.

Christopher Columbus kneeling in front of Queen Isabella I.

On April 30, 1492, the royal couple granted Columbus and his heirs the title of “don” (that is, they made him a nobleman) and confirmed that, if the overseas project was successful, he would be Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands that he would discover or will acquire and be able to pass on these titles by inheritance. True, Columbus had to find money to equip the expedition on his own at the expense of lost state tax payments from Her Majesty the Queen of Castile. In addition, according to the agreement, an eighth of the costs had to be borne by Columbus himself, who did not have a penny at all.

Christopher Columbus being greeted by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on his return to Spain.

However, Columbus was helped by Martin Alonso Pinzon. One of the ships, the Pinta, was his own, and he equipped it at his own expense; He lent money for the second ship to Christopher so that Columbus could make his formal contribution to the treaty. For the third ship, money was given by local Marranos (baptized Jews) under his own guarantee to offset their payments to the budget. Among them was the rabbi and royal treasurer, the Castilian tutor Abraham Senior (Coronel) and his son-in-law Mayera Melomed.

Between 1492 and 1504, Christopher Columbus undertook four exploration expeditions at the behest of the Spanish king. He described the events of these expeditions in his logbook. Unfortunately, the original journal has not survived, but Bartolome de Las Casas made a partial copy of this journal, which has survived to this day, thanks to which many details of the described expeditions have become known.

Map four expeditions Columba

First voyage (August 3, 1492 - March 15, 1493).
Second voyage (September 25, 1493 - June 11, 1496).
Third voyage (May 30, 1498 - November 25, 1500).
Fourth voyage (9 May 1502 - November 1504).

Dagli Orti "PINTA", "NINA" AND "SANTA MARIA" - the ships on which Christopher Columbus made his first voyage to the shores of America

First voyage (1492–1493).
Early in the morning of August 3, 1492, Columbus's flotilla of three ships (the caravels "Pinta" and "Nina" and the four-masted sailing ship (nao) "Santa Maria") with a crew of 90 people. left the port of Palos de la Frontera (near the confluence of the Rio Tinto into the Gulf of Cadiz).
On August 9, she approached the Canary Islands. After the Pinta was repaired on the island of Gomera, the ships on September 6, 1492, heading west, began crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Having passed the Sargasso Sea, Columbus turned southwest on October 7. On October 12, the Spaniards reached the island of Guanahani (modern Watling) in the Bahamas archipelago - the first land they encountered in the Western Hemisphere. Columbus named the island San Salvador (St. Savior) and its inhabitants Indians, believing that he was off the coast of India. This day is considered the official date of the discovery of America.

Columbus declares the discovered land the property of the Spanish king

Having learned from the natives about the existence of a rich island in the south, Columbus left the Bahamas archipelago on October 24 and sailed further to the southwest. On October 28, the flotilla approached the shores of Cuba, which Columbus named “Juana.” Then the Spaniards, inspired by the stories of the local Indians, spent a month searching for the golden island of Baneque (modern Great Inagua).

The Landing of Columbus. Christopher Columbus and others showing objects to Native American men and women on shore.

On November 21, the captain of the Pinta, M.A. Pinson, took his ship away, deciding to search for this island on his own. Having lost hope of finding Baneke, Columbus with the two remaining ships turned east and on December 5 reached the northwestern tip of the island of Bohio (modern Haiti), to which he gave the name Hispaniola (“Spanish”). Moving along the northern coast of Hispaniola, on December 25 the expedition approached the Holy Cape (modern Cap-Haïtien), where the Santa Maria crashed and sank. This forced Columbus to leave part of the crew (39 people) in Fort Navidad (“Christmas”), which he founded, and set off on the Niña on the return journey (January 2, 1493). On January 6 he met "Pinta".
On January 16, both ships headed northeast, taking advantage of a passing current - the Gulf Stream. On February 11–14 they fell into heavy storm, during which “Pinta” was lost.
On February 15, the Niña reached Santa Maria Island in the Azores archipelago, but only on February 18 did it manage to land on shore. The Portuguese governor of the island tried to detain the ship by force, but encountered decisive resistance from Columbus and released the travelers.
On February 24, Niña left the Azores. On February 26, she again encountered a storm, which on March 4 washed her ashore on the Portuguese coast near the mouth of the Tagus (Tajo). João II gave Columbus an audience, at which he informed the king about his discovery of the western route to India and reproached him for refusing to support his project in 1484. Despite the advice of the courtiers to kill the admiral, João II did not dare to enter into conflict with Spain, and on March 13, the Niña was able to sail to her homeland. On March 15, the 225th day of the voyage, she returned to Palos. Later, “Pinta” came there too. Isabella and Ferdinand gave Columbus a solemn welcome and gave permission for a new expedition.

First Voyage, Departure for the New World, August 3, 1492

Second Voyage (1493–1496).
On September 25, 1493, Columbus's flotilla of 17 caravels (in addition to the ship's crews, there were soldiers, officials, monks and colonists on board) left Cadiz and reached the Canary Islands on October 2.
On October 11, Columbus began crossing the Atlantic, taking a more southerly course than during his first voyage, since he planned to reach Hispaniola from the southeast. On November 3, the ships approached one of the Lesser Antilles, to which Columbus gave the name Dominica (it was Sunday - “Lord’s Day”); He called the aborigines who practiced ritual cannibalism “cannibals.” Then the navigators discovered a number of other islands in the northern part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago - Montserrat, Antigua, Nevis, San Cristobal (modern Saint Christopher), San Eustasio (modern Saint Eustatius), Santa Cruz and the “Islands of the Eleven Thousand Virgins” "(Virginskie), and the large island of Boriken, renamed by the admiral to San Juan Bautista (modern Puerto Rico).
Approaching the eastern tip of Hispaniola, the flotilla moved along its northern coast and on November 27 reached Fort Navidad, which was devastated; Not a single colonist remained alive. East of the fort (in a very unfortunate location), Columbus founded a new settlement, calling it La Isabela in honor of the Queen of Spain. In January 1494, he sent an expedition deep into the island under the command of A. de Ojeda, which obtained a huge amount of gold objects from the Indians. On February 2, the admiral sent twelve ships with loot to their homeland. In the spring of 1494, the Spaniards switched to a policy of systematic robbery and extermination of the local population.

Cristobal Colon apaciguando una rebelion a bordo.

Cristoforo Colombo in mezzo agli indigenous

Leaving his brother Diego in charge of Hispaniola, Columbus sailed west with three ships on April 24, 1494, continuing his search for a route to Asia (China). On April 29, he approached the eastern tip of Cuba. Moving along its southern coast, the flotilla reached Guantanamo Bay, and then turned south and dropped anchor off the northern coast of Jamaica on May 5. Encountering the open hostility of the natives, Columbus returned to the Cuban coast, headed west and reached Cortez Bay near the western tip of the island. Deciding that the Malacca Peninsula was in front of him, he turned back (June 13). Having bypassed Jamaica from the south, the flotilla returned to La Isabela on September 29.

Christopher Columbus and his crew leaving the port of Palos, Spain, for the New World; crowd of well wishers looks on.

Throughout 1495, Columbus suppressed the Indian uprising that broke out in Hispaniola. In the same year, under the influence of complaints against the admiral from colonists who fled to Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella deprived him of the monopoly right to discover overseas lands and sent their authorized representative J. Aguado to the island. After the conflict with J. Aguado, Columbus left Hispaniola on March 10, 1496, transferring power to his brother Bartolome. On June 11 he arrived in Cadiz.

Columbus and son at the convent of La Rábída, approaching prior Juan Pérez, who is surrounded by poor people.

The First Sight of the New World

Third Voyage (1498–1500).
Although Ferdinand and Isabella had serious doubts about the profitability of Columbus's discoveries, the Portuguese preparation of a flotilla under the command of Vasco da Gama for a decisive push into the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope forced them to agree to organize a third expedition to the west.

The Landing of Columbus at San Salvador, October 12, 1492.