Sarah Smart & Alexis Aronson

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Spanish Italian Navigator. He was born 1451 in Genoa, Italy.

He believed that the eart was 25% smaller than the popular thought of his peers. Thinking that the fastest way to arrive in Asia would be to go west, he sailed westward across the Atlantic Ocean ignoring the apparent long eastward route. Unfortunately, he never found Asia, but he did sail to North America and the Caribbean.

First Attempt When he lived in

Portugal (1484), he asked King John II to fund his expedition across the Atlantic. The king passed the petition along to the Royal Maritime Commission who rejected the idea due to too many other ships rounding the tip of Africa at that time.

Second Attempt Columbus then moved to

Spain and petitioned to Queen Isabella of Castile. The Royal Commission there also rejected his plan, but when he tried again in 1492, he was given their consent. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sponsored the expedition. Their conditions were that Columbus would be the viceroy of all lands located and they would keep 9/10ths of all valuables found.

He set sail in 1492 from Palos de la Frontera, Spain with 90 men, 3 ships called The Nina, The Pinta, and The Santa Maria. Columbus commanded The Santa Maria. They had to stop on the Canary Islands to fix the Pintas mast. The sailed west August 6th but switched October 12th to the Southwest direction when they spotted the land that is now known as the Bahamas.

He was unable to understand the locals so he claimed the land for himself. He still believed that he was in Asian waters. He wrecked the Santa Maria off the coast of Espanola (now Dominican Republic and Haiti) so they built a makeshift fort called La Navidad then sailed home. The arrived back in Spain in March 1493. He took four total trips but became ill in 1506 and died ending his exploring.

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"Columbus, Christopher." Compton's by Britannica. 01 Aug 2011: n.p. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 03 May 2013.

"This Week in History: Christopher Columbus." NewsCurrents Read to Know. 08 Oct 2012: n.p. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 03 May 2013.