Discovery of America Expedition. What did Christopher Columbus discover? Discoveries of Christopher Columbus

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

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How did Columbus discover

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

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

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

He, like many scientists of that time, naively believed that, having gone straight from Western Europe to the East, he would reach the shores of such Asian countries as China and India. No one could even imagine what was in his way all of a sudden. new lands will appear.

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

Continents discovered by Columbus

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

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

Who else mastered America

Formally, many navigators opened America to the world in different ways. History counts many names associated with the development of the lands of the New World. The Columbus case continued:

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

Thanks to these navigators, the entire continent was explored and mastered, including Pacific coast.

Also, another discoverer of America is considered a no less famous person - Amerigo Vespucci. The Portuguese navigator went on expeditions and explored the coast of Brazil.

It was he who first suggested that Christopher Columbus sailed far not to China and India, but to previously unknown. His conjectures were confirmed by Fernand Magellan, after making the first trip around the world.

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

Pre-Columbian expeditions to the Americas

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

Everyone knows how Columbus discovered America, but in fact Christopher was far away not the first navigator who visited this continent. Leif Erickson, who named one of the parts of the new continent as Vinland, cannot be called the discoverer either.

Who is considered first? Historians dare to believe that he was a merchant from distant Scandinavia - Bjarni Herjulfsson, which is mentioned in the Greenlanders' Saga. According to this literary work, in 985. he moved towards Greenland to meet his father, but lost his way due to a strong storm.

Before the discovery of America, the merchant had to sail at random, since he had not seen the lands of Greenland before and did not know a specific course. He soon reached the level shores of an unknown island covered with forests. Such a description did not fit Greenland at all, which surprised him greatly. Bjarni decided not to land and turn back.

Soon he sailed to Greenland, where he told this story to Leif Erickson, the son of the discoverer of Greenland. Exactly he became the first of the vikings who tried their luck to enter to the lands of America before Columbus, which he called Vinland.

Forced search for new lands

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

Stories about fertile lands covered with dense forests only spurred them on. Erickson gathered a small team for himself and set off on a journey in search of new territories. Leif became the one who discovered North America.

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

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

The scientist who was nicknamed the "second Columbus"

The famous German geographer, naturalist and traveler - all this is one great man, whose name is Alexander Humboldt.

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

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

It is considered that in 1796 The scientist set himself the following tasks:

• explore little-studied areas of the globe;
• systematize all the information received;
• taking into account the results of research by other scientists, a comprehensive description of the structure of the universe.

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

The history of the discovery of America is quite amazing.

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

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

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

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

Christopher Columbus is the great Spanish navigator. Information about where he was born and spent his childhood is scarce and contradictory. It is known that being young, Christopher was fond of cartography. He was married to the daughter of a sailor. In 1470, the geographer and astronomer Toscanelli informed Columbus of his assumptions that the journey to India was shorter if one sailed west. Apparently, then Columbus began to hatch his idea of ​​​​a short way to India, while, according to his calculations, it was necessary to sail through the Canary Islands, and Japan would already be close there.
Since 1475, Columbus has been trying to implement the idea and make an expedition.

The purpose of the expedition is to find a new trade route to India across the Atlantic Ocean. To do this, he turned to the government and the merchants of Genoa, but he was not supported. The second attempt to find funding for the expedition was the Portuguese king João II, however, even here, after a long study of the project, he was refused.

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

The expedition was organized on the condition that Columbus, if successful, would receive not only the gifts and wealth of new lands, but also receive, in addition to the status of a nobleman, the title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands, which he would open.

For Spain, a successful expedition promised not only the development of new lands, but also the opportunity to trade directly with India, since according to an agreement concluded with Portugal, Spanish ships were forbidden to enter the waters of the western coast of Africa.

When and how did Columbus discover America?

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

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

Who discovered America first?

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

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

Why is America called America?

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

Around 1474 to Portugal sailor Christopher Columbus arrived. Where he came from, who he was, where he spent his youth - all these questions have been of interest to European and American scientists for many decades. Columbus himself apparently had very good reasons to keep secret everything that related to his origin and youth, so information about him is very scarce and contradictory.

It is usually believed that he was a Genoese and spent his youth on voyages, that he visited various ports in the Mediterranean, traveled to Ireland and Iceland.

In 1474, Columbus entered the Portuguese service, visited the newly founded Portuguese colonies in Africa, and lived for several years on the island of Madeira.

At this time, the Portuguese ships were slowly but steadily moving south, surveying the African coast, founding trading posts and preparing the opening of the eastern route to India around Africa.

But Columbus wanted to take a different path.

For a long time he had collected fragmentary information about the lands beyond the Atlantic Ocean, inconsistent stories about voyages to the west, fantastic legends of antiquity and the Middle Ages. He heard that occasionally unknown flowers and other parts of plants, as well as the bodies of unknown people, were brought to the shores of the Azores by the current. Columbus compared all the information with ancient descriptions of Asia.

Particularly struck his imagination was the book of Marco Polo, which told about the gold-roofed palaces of Jipango (Japan), about the splendor and splendor of the court of the great khan, about the birthplace of spices - India.

Columbus had no doubt that the Earth had the shape of a ball, but it seemed to him that this ball was much smaller than it actually was. That is why he thought that Japan was relatively close to the Azores.

Columbus decided to make his way to India by the western route, and in 1484 he outlined his plan to the Portuguese king. But this project seemed fantastic to the king and his advisers. And the possibilities of Portugal were very limited. The war with the Moors in Morocco and the expedition to Africa so exhausted the treasury of Portugal that the Portuguese king categorically refused to equip a new expedition to the unknown west.

At the end of 1484, Columbus fled to Spain to offer his project to King Ferdinand of León and his wife, Queen Isabella of Castile. But here, too, Cristoval Colon (as Columbus was called in Spain) was expected for many years of need, humiliation and disappointment. The royal advisers found the Columbus project unfeasible. Columbus was rejected. Then he proposed his plan to England, and then again to Portugal, but nowhere was he taken seriously.

Only after the Spaniards took Granada, after much trouble, Columbus managed to get three small ships in Spain. With incredible difficulty, he assembled a team, and finally, on August 3, 1492, a small squadron left the Spanish port of Paloe and headed west to look for India.

The sea was calm and deserted, a fair wind was blowing. It went like this for over a month. On September 15, Columbus and his Companions saw a green stripe in the distance. But their joy soon turned to chagrin. It wasn't a long-awaited land, it was the Sargasso Sea, a gigantic seaweed.

On September 18-20, sailors saw flocks of birds flying west. “Finally,” the sailors thought, “the land is near!” But this time, too, the travelers were disappointed. The crew began to worry. In order not to frighten people with the range of the distance traveled, Columbus underestimated the distance traveled in the ship's log.

On October 11, at ten o'clock in the evening, Columbus, eagerly peering into the darkness of the night, saw a light flickering in the distance, and on October 12, 1492, in the morning, still in the moonlight, one of the sailors of the front ship shouted: "Earth!" The sails were removed from the ships. In the morning, travelers saw a small low-lying island overgrown with palm trees. Naked people with copper-red skin ran along the sand along the shore. Columbus put on a scarlet dress on the armor and, with the royal flag in his hands, went down to the shores of the New World. It was Watling Island in the Bahamas.

The locals called it Guanahani, and Columbus called it San Salvador. This is how America was discovered.

However, Columbus was sure until the end of his life that he did not discover any "New World", but only found a way to India. And with his light hand, the inhabitants of the New World began to be called Indians.

The inhabitants of the newly discovered island were tall and beautiful. They walked naked, their bodies were colorfully painted. Some had shiny sticks threaded through their noses, which delighted Columbus. After all, it was gold, but nachit, close to the country of golden palaces - Jipango.

In search of the golden Jeepango, Columbus left Guanahani and moved on, discovering island after island. Everywhere the Spaniards were amazed by the lush tropical vegetation, the beauty of the islands scattered in the blue ocean, the friendliness and meekness of the Indians, who gave the Spaniards gold and colorful birds for trinket, molasses and beautiful rags. On October 28, Columbus reached Cuba.

The population of Cuba was more cultured than the inhabitants of the Bahamas. In Cuba, Columbus found statues, large houses, bales of cotton, and for the first time saw cultivated plants - tobacco, corn and potatoes, products of the New World, which later conquered the whole world. All this further strengthened Columbus's confidence that Jipango and India were somewhere close. On December 4, 1492, Columbus discovered the island of Haiti (the Spaniards then called it Hispaniola). On this island, Columbus built Fort La Navidad (Christmas), left forty people of the garrison there, and on January 16, 1493, headed for Europe on two ships. His largest ship, the Santa Maria, was wrecked on December 25th.

On the way back, a terrible storm broke out, and the ships lost sight of each other. Only on February 18, 1493, the exhausted sailors saw the Azores, and on February 25 they reached Lisbon. On March 15, after an eight-month absence, Columbus returned to the port of Palos. Thus ended the first voyage of Columbus.

The traveler was received in Spain with enthusiasm. He was granted a coat of arms with a map of the newly discovered islands and with the motto:

FOR CASTILIA AND LEON
NEW WORLD DISCOVERED COLON

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Other books on similar topics: Thanks to him, we learned about potatoes and tomatoes, without which we cannot imagine a modern menu. I will tell interesting facts, as well as about where the Spanish subject sailed when he opened new lands for Europeans. Columbus is not from the nobility, his father was a small merchant, the guardian of the city gates. It is possible that the son also began to earn money as a cabin boy on a ship early, but he received an education and knew geometry and geography well.

Later he worked as a cartographer, drew up geographical maps, which were secret at that time. He lived in Genoa, Portugal, and then in Spain, from where he began his sea expeditions. Most likely, the navigator was looking for a sea route to India, rich in spices and spices. Using the knowledge of that time, Christopher headed westward, made four expeditions and discovered a new continent. Until the end of his life, he was sure that the lands he discovered were located not far from India.

Columbus discovered for Europeans such a convenient item for country rest as a hammock, which he spied on from local residents. Berths on ships made of sail and mesh also appeared thanks to an unusual find. The idea of ​​the traveler was the decision to send criminals from prisons to develop open lands, which later became the cause of numerous uprisings of former prisoners.

Sadly, the discovery of the lands also served to revive slavery. The development of overseas territories required a large number of workers, and the settlers did not want to work themselves.

And then the Spaniards enslaved the natives, who could not resist the Europeans with firearms. Spain allocated only ten kilograms of gold for the preparation of the first expedition of its subject. And after the discovery of the New World, during the years of her reign, she took out valuables from there in an amount equal to three million kilograms of gold. One of the greatest geographical discoveries was made possible thanks to an elementary mistake. In the Columbian era, mankind had already recognized that the Earth was round, so the Spanish Kingdom sent Christopher Columbus to find India, valuable for its spices.

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus

1st expedition

The first expedition of Christopher Columbus (1492-1493), consisting of 91 people on the ships Santa Maria, Pinta, Nina, left Palos on August 3, 1492, turned west from the Canary Islands (September 9), crossed the Atlantic Ocean in subtropical zone and reached the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas, where Christopher Columbus landed on October 12, 1492 (the official date of the discovery of America). On October 14-24, Christopher Columbus visited a number of other Bahamas, and on October 28-December 5, he discovered and explored a section of the northeast coast of Cuba. On December 6, Columbus reached Fr. Haiti and moved along its northern coast. On the night of December 25, the flagship Santa Maria landed on a reef, but people escaped. Columbus on the ship "Nina" January 4-16, 1493 completed the survey of the northern coast of Haiti and March 15 returned to Castile.

2nd expedition

The 2nd expedition (1493-1496), which Christopher Columbus led already in the rank of admiral, and in the position of viceroy of the newly discovered lands, consisted of 17 ships with a crew of over 1.5 thousand people. On November 3, 1493, Columbus discovered the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe, turning to the North-West, - about 20 more Lesser Antilles, including Antigua and the Virgin Islands, and on November 19 - the island of Puerto Rico and approached the northern coast of Haiti. On March 12-29, 1494, in search of gold, Columbus made an aggressive campaign into Haiti, and crossed the Cordillera Central ridge. On April 29-May 3, Columbus with 3 ships passed along the southeastern coast of Cuba, turned from Cape Cruz to the South, and on May 5 discovered about. Jamaica. Returning on May 15 to Cape Cruz, Columbus walked along the southern coast of Cuba to 84 ° west longitude, discovered the Jardines de la Reina archipelago, the Zapata Peninsula and the island of Pinos. On June 24, Christopher Columbus turned east and surveyed the entire southern coast of Haiti on August 19-September 15. In 1495 Christopher Columbus continued the conquest of Haiti; March 10, 1496 left the island and June 11 returned to Castile.

3rd expedition

The 3rd expedition (1498-1500) consisted of 6 vessels, 3 of which Christopher Columbus himself led across the Atlantic Ocean near 10 ° north latitude. On July 31, 1498, he discovered the island of Trinidad, entered the Gulf of Paria from the south, 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 then left for the Caribbean Sea, Christopher Columbus approached the Araya Peninsula, discovered the island of Margarita on August 15, and on August 31 arrived in the city of Santo Domingo (on the island of Haiti). In 1500, Christopher Columbus was arrested on a denunciation and sent to Castile, where he was released.

4th expedition

4th expedition (1502-1504). Having obtained permission to continue searching for a western route to India, Columbus with 4 ships reached the island of Martinique on June 15, 1502, and the Gulf of Honduras on July 30, and discovered from August 1, 1502 to May 1, 1503 the Caribbean coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to Uraba Bay. Turning then to the North, June 25, 1503 was wrecked off the island of Jamaica; help from Santo Domingo came only a year later. Christopher Columbus returned to Castile on November 7, 1504.

Facts

Hypotheses

In addition, hypotheses were put forward about visiting America and contact with its civilization by seafarers before Columbus, representing various civilizations of the Old World (for more details, see Contacts with America before Columbus). Here are just a few of these hypothetical contacts:

• in the 5th century - Hui Shen (Taiwanese monk)
• in the 6th century - St. Brendan (Irish monk)
• there are versions according to which, at least from the 13th century, America was known to the Knights Templar
• OK. d. - Henry Sinclair (de St. Clair), Earl of Orkney (c. 1345 - c. 1400)
• in - Zheng He (Chinese researcher)
• in Juan Corterial (Portuguese)

Notes

Literature

• Magidovich I.P. History of discovery and exploration of North America. - M .: Geografgiz, 1962.
• Magidovich I.P. History of discovery and exploration of Central and South America. - M .: Thought, 1963.
• John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. The book of general delusions. - Phantom Press, 2009.

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See what the "Discovery of America" ​​is in other dictionaries:

Discovery of America by the expedition of Christopher Columbus- The Columbus expedition began on August 3, 1492, when the ships Santa Maria, Pinta and Nina left the bay of the Spanish city of Palos de la Frontera (Palos de la Frontera). On September 16, 1492, bunches of green began to appear on the expedition's path ... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

Salvador Dali Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus' sleep effort, 1958 1959 Oil on canvas. 410 × 284 cm Music ... Wikipedia

Discovery of America and Spanish conquests- In the spring of 1492, the Spaniards took Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula, and on August 3 of the same year, three caravels of Christopher Columbus set off from the Spanish port of Paloe on a long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in order to discover ... ... The World History. Encyclopedia

Christopher Columbus. Discovery of America Christopher Columbus. The Discovery Genre Drama Director John Glen Starring Marlon Brando Tom Selleck Duration 122 min ... Wikipedia

Christopher Columbus. The Discovery Genre Drama Director John Glen Starring Marlon Brando Tom Selleck Duration 122 min ... Wikipedia

Invention, find. Discovery of America, invention of gunpowder. Finding... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian dictionaries, 1999. discovery invention, find, know-how, patent; acquisition; Start … Synonym dictionary

Opening- Discovery ♦ Découverte To make a discovery is to make evident something that already existed (as opposed to an invention) but was unknown. Such are the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the law of universal gravitation by Newton. Concept ... ... Philosophical Dictionary of Sponville

OPENING- - identification of natural things, phenomena, patterns, etc., that really exist in nature, but were not known before (the discovery of America, the periodicity of elements, mineral deposits, etc.), which is based on internal ... ... Philosophy of Science and Technology: Thematic Dictionary

Country ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Discovery (meanings). Opening of Mass Effect: Revelation Cover of the Russian-language edition of the book Author ... Wikipedia

Books

• Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of America, D. Windsor. Illustrated historical and critical study, translated from English by F. I. Bulgakov. The book contains information about the sources, about the ancestors and homeland of Columbus, his life in Portugal and ...

As everyone is probably well aware, such a process as the discovery of the continent of America is a very extensive topic, but this article will talk about the discovery of America briefly, laying out the main essence.

The discovery of America is one of the most important events in the world history of mankind, as a result of which the Old World, that is, Western Europe, learned about the existence of a new, huge continent called America.

Expeditions of Christopher Columbus - discovery of a new continent

Great Navigator Christopher Columbus in 1492 year went on a sea voyage to find a shorter route to the rich country of India.

The King and Queen of Castile and Aragon sponsored this expedition with three ships.

12 October same year Christopher Columbus reached the current Bahamas and this day is considered the date of the discovery of a new continent. After that, they discovered a number of islands. In March 1493 Columbus returned to Castile. Thus ended his first of four expeditions to the Americas he had discovered.

The second expedition already had a fairly large number of ships and people. If in the first it was only three ships and a crew of less than a hundred people, then already in the second expedition - seventeen ships and more 1 thousand people on board. The most important achievement of this expedition can be considered conquest of Haiti. After that, Columbus v 1496 returns to Spain again.

scope third expedition which started v 1498 year, was much smaller - only six ships. The discovery of South America began with the third expedition. This expedition has been cancelled. v 1500 year for the reason that Columbus was arrested and sent to Castile, but when he arrived there, he was completely acquitted.

Already at that moment, a huge number of those people appeared who wanted to appropriate the brilliant discovery of Christopher Columbus. V 1502 Columbus struggles to get sponsored again for yet another search for a short, sea route to India. During this expedition, he discovered the shores of modern Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama etc. But in 1503 year, Columbus's ship was wrecked, which forced him to stop the expedition in 1504 year, returning to Castile.

After that, Christopher Columbus never returned to America.

However, as further study of history showed, it was not Christopher Columbus who first set foot on the lands of a new continent, this was done long before his birth.

And yes, in general, humanity began to populate America only in 30 thousand years BC e.

And they opened it for the first time, although they did not know that it was a whole continent, none other than the masters of the seas - Vikings, back in the tenth century.

The discoverer should be considered Leif Eriksson. Leif is the son of Eric the Red, a Viking and navigator who discovered Greenland.
This fact is confirmed by traces of a Viking settlement found in L'Ans-o-Meadows (the current territory of Newfoundland and Labrador (which is in Canada)).

As for the travel of Columbus, he himself believed that he discovered not a new continent, but the shores of Asia. And only in his last years, he realized that he had discovered a new continent.

The open continent was named after one of the main explorers of the New World - Amerigo Vespucci. This memorable event took place in 1507 year, from that moment the continent was considered independent.

There are also several hypotheses in history that other navigators could have discovered America. The most popular hypotheses are:
- in the fourth century BC. e. it could have been discovered by the Phoenicians;
- in the sixth century AD. e. it could be the Irish monk Brendan;
- approximately in 1421 the Chinese navigator Zheng He;

However, there is no confirmation of this yet.

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

Basic prerequisites

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

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

Expedition progress

The beginning of the expedition is considered to be August 3, 1492 when: it was on this day that three ships (“Santa Maria”, “Pinta”, “Nina”) began their journey from the Spanish city of Palos de la Frontera. The first documented event was the appearance of aquatic algae on the way, which occurred on September 16th. We mention this fact for a reason: during the passage through the body of water with algae, the Sargasso Sea was discovered. The next event occurred on October 7, 1492, when the course was seriously changed: it seemed to the crew that the ships had passed Japan. Therefore, the expedition headed southwest.

Soon - on October 12 - from the ships they saw one of the famous Bahamas, which received the name San Salvador - a kind of symbolic tribute to the image of Jesus Christ. According to available information, the land was seen by the sailor of the caravel "Pinta" Rodrigo de Triana, who never managed to receive the reward promised by the king of Spain afterwards.

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

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

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

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

moment of awareness

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

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

Results

Obviously, the results of the discovery of a new continent were stunning: the situation in the world has fundamentally changed. Active development of new lands began, the development of shipbuilding was spurred on. It is natural that for some time international relations were significantly strengthened, but soon new territories became the cause of numerous conflicts.

Another important point is cardinal changes in the economy. There was a so-called. "revolution" of prices, due to the flow of various metals (gold, silver and some others). World trade has strengthened significantly, and a huge number of new products have appeared.

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