Who is Columbus and what did he discover. Discovery of America: when and how did Christopher Columbus discover America

In what year and where was Christopher Columbus born?

FOURTH EXPEDITION
(1502 - 1504): 4 ships. In June 1502, Columbus discovered the island of Martinique, then the lands of the Maya Indians (Honduras), the Mosquito Coast (Nicaragua) and the Gold Coast (Costa Rica). In 1502, ships came to the bay, which in 400 years would become the northern entrance to the Panama Canal. In April 1503, Columbus reached the Uraba Strait and turned back to Haiti. Along the way, they discovered the Cayman Islands, called "turtle"; and in May 1503 there was a wreck off the coast of Jamaica. Columbus returned to Spain in 1504 already a sick man ... and in May 1506 ... he was gone ...

To the question "What did Christopher Columbus discover?" the answer for many is obvious - America. In fact, this is not the only discovery of the famous traveler. Thanks to him, in the XIV century, Spain became one of the richest and most prosperous European countries.

Discovery of America by Columbus

A native of Spain with Italian roots, Christopher Columbus assembled his first expedition in August 1492. It consisted of three ships: the flagship "Santa Maria" and the caravels "Pinta" and "Nina". The voyage lasted a little over two months. Since the navigator expected to get to India, he called the inhabitants of one of the Bahamas, to the shores of which the flotilla moored, the Indians.

Following the island of San Salvador, Columbus discovered the northeast coast of Cuba and the island of Haiti. Thus, one of the most significant historical discoveries was made - the discovery of America. Despite the fact that even in the Middle Ages the territory of North America was visited by the Icelandic Vikings, it is Columbus who is considered the one. Since he was the first to publish information about new lands, which marked the beginning of the colonization of America.

What did Christopher Columbus discover besides America

Columbus was the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean. During the second expedition, the navigator discovered new way to Asia, and in the third marked the beginning of the discovery of South America.

From his first expedition, Columbus brought new varieties of plants to Europe: potatoes, corn, smoking tobacco. Therefore, it is Columbus that Europeans owe to the spread of addiction.

Columbus was the first in the history of navigation to think of adapting Indian hammocks for sailor bunks.

500 years ago, from the caravel of Columbus, they saw a previously unknown land. From that moment began new page in the history of mankind - the expansion of the oecumene, the development of a giant continent, called the New World.

What was it: discovery, colonization, Christianization of pagans? Conquest, enslavement, Indian resistance? A meeting of two worlds, two cultures? Each of these concepts has adherents both in scientific circles and among the general public. The interpretation of the events that began in October 1492 is ambiguous and depends both on the position taken by the researcher and on the point of view from which they are considered.

Today, on the eve of the 500th anniversary, these various positions came to light especially clearly, since the question turned out to be in the foreground: the anniversary of what event are we celebrating? To paraphrase a Latin proverb, one can say: "Tell me what you are celebrating, and I will tell you who you are."

In the very general plan existing concepts can be grouped into three areas. The Eurocentric emphasizes the contribution and significance of the mission of Europeans in the New World; Latin American highlights the importance of the cultures and traditions of the indigenous peoples of the continent, whose development was interrupted by foreign invasion; the last, conciliatory, marks, first of all, such an aspect as the meeting of two worlds. Therefore, it is necessary first of all to determine what exactly we are honoring, not forgetting, of course, the main thing: the landing of Europeans on the American continent changed the course of historical development and its significance for all mankind is indisputable.

Note that most interpretations of this event are based on a narrow, often speculative approach: events are considered from the side of one people, one continent and within the same time - the past. Consequently, they are considered biased, based on certain interests, logical and ideological constructions, and thereby come into conflict with other points of view.

Columbus, Christopher (Cristoforo Colombo, Cristobal Colon) (1451-1506), Spanish navigator who discovered America. Italian by birth. Born in Genoa between August 25 and October 31, 1451 in the family of woolen 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 the trading 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 Sao Jorge da Mina).

In the early 1480s, he began to develop a project for sailing to the shores East Asia westward across the Atlantic Ocean; he was inspired by the works of Aristotle, Seneca, Pliny the Elder, Strabo, Plutarch, Albert the Great and Roger Bacon, while the Florentine cartographer Paolo Toscanelli (1397-1482) was his main inspiration. In 1484 he presented his project to the Portuguese king João II (1481-1495). However, in the spring of 1485, the Mathematical Junta (Lisbon Academy of Astronomy and Mathematics) recognized Columbus's calculations as "fantastic". In the summer of 1485 he left for Spain (Castile) and in January 1486 proposed his project to the Spanish royal couple - Ferdinand II of Aragon (1479-1516) and Isabella I of Castile (1474-1504), who created a special commission headed by E. de Talavera. In the summer of 1487, the commission issued an unfavorable opinion; nevertheless, Ferdinand and Isabella postponed the decision until the end of the war with the Emirate of Granada.

In the autumn of 1488, Columbus visited Portugal to re-propose his project to Juan II, but was again refused and returned to Spain. In 1489, he unsuccessfully tried to interest the regent of France, Anne de Baeuze, and two Spanish grandees, Dukes Enrique Medinasidonia and Luis Medinaceli, with the idea of ​​sailing west. But after the fall of Granada, with the support of influential patrons at the Spanish court, he was able to obtain the consent of Ferdinand and Isabella: on April 17, 1492, the royal couple entered into an agreement (“capitulation”) with Columbus in Santa Fe, granting him a noble rank, the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean, Vice - the king and governor-general of all the islands and continents that he discovers. The position of admiral gave Columbus the right to decide 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 with overseas goods. The Spanish crown pledged to finance most expenses of the expedition Volnikov A.A. General history state and law. M.: Delo, 1993. - S. 145.

First journey (1492-1493). Early in the morning of August 3, 1492, the Columbus 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 in the Gulf of Cadiz). On August 9, she approached the Canary Islands. After the repair of the "Pint" on the island of Homer, on September 6, 1492, heading west, the ships began crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Having passed the Sargasso Sea, Columbus turned to the southwest on October 7. On October 12, the Spaniards reached the island of Guanahani (modern Watling) in the Bahamas - the first land they encountered in the Western Hemisphere. Columbus Island called 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.

Having learned from the natives about the existence of a rich island in the south, Columbus left the Bahamas on October 24 and sailed further to the southwest. On October 28, the flotilla approached the shores of Cuba, named by Columbus "Juan". Then the Spaniards, inspired by the stories of local Indians, spent a month searching for the golden island of Baneke (modern Great Inagua); 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 turned east with the two remaining ships and on December 5 reached the northwestern tip of the island of Bohio (modern Haiti), which he named Hispaniola (“Spanish”). Moving along the northern coast of Hispaniola, on December 25, the expedition approached the Holy Cape (modern Cap Haitien), where the Santa Maria crashed and sank. This forced Columbus to leave part of the team (39 people) in the fort Navidad (“Christmas”) he founded and set off on the Nina on the way back (January 2, 1493). On January 6, he met "Pint". On January 16, both ships headed northeast, using a favorable current - the Gulf Stream. February 11-14 they got into heavy storm, during which the Pint was lost. On February 15, Nina reached the island of Santa Maria in the Azores, but only on February 18 did she manage to land on the shore. The Portuguese governor of the island tried to delay the ship by force, but ran into the determined resistance of Columbus and let the travelers go; On February 24, Nina left the Azores. On February 26, she again fell into a storm, which washed her on the coast of Portugal on March 4 near the mouth of the Tagus (Tajo). Juan II gave an audience to Columbus, at which he informed the king about the discovery of a 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, Juan II did not dare to go into conflict with Spain, and on March 13, the Nina was able to sail home. March 15, on the 225th day of the voyage, she returned to Palos. Later, "Pinta" also came there. Isabella and Ferdinand gave Columbus reception and gave permission for a new expedition.

Second journey (1493-1496). On September 25, 1493, Columbus' flotilla of 17 caravels (except for ship crews, there were soldiers, officials, monks and colonists on board) left Cadiz and on October 2 reached Canary Islands ov. On October 11, Columbus began crossing the Atlantic, heading more southerly than on his first voyage, as he planned to reach Hispaniola from the southeast. On November 3, the ships approached one of the Lesser Antilles, which Columbus gave the name Dominica (it was Sunday - “the day of the Lord”); Aboriginal people who practiced ritual cannibalism, he called "cannibals." Then navigators discovered a number of other islands in the northern part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago - Montserrat, Antigua, Nevis, San Cristobal (modern St. Christopher), San Eustasio (modern Sint Eustatius), Santa Cruz and the "Islands of Eleven Thousand Virgins "(Virgin Islands), and the large island of Boriken, renamed by the admiral to San Juan Batista (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 ruined; not a single colonist survived. To the east of the fort (in a very unfortunate location), Columbus founded a new settlement, naming it La Isabela in honor of the Queen of Spain. In January 1494, he sent an expedition inland under the command of A. de Ojeda, who obtained a huge amount of gold objects from the Indians. On February 2, the admiral sent twelve ships with booty home. In the spring of 1494, the Spaniards switched to a policy of systematic robbery and extermination of the local population Volnikov A.A. General History of State and Law. M.: Delo, 1993. - S. 296.

Leaving his brother Diego to manage Hispaniola, Columbus sailed west on April 24, 1494 with three ships, continuing to search for a route to Asia (China). April 29, he approached the eastern tip of Cuba. Moving along its southern coast, the flotilla reached Guantanamo Bay, and then turned south and on May 5 anchored off the northern coast of Jamaica. Faced with 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). Bypassing Jamaica from the south, the flotilla returned to La Isabela on September 29.

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

Third journey (1498-1500). Although Ferdinand and Isabella had serious doubts about the profitability of the discoveries of Columbus, the preparation by the Portuguese of a flotilla under the command of Vasco da Gama for a decisive throw into the Indian Ocean around m. Good Hope forced them to agree to the organization of the third expedition to the west N. Erofeev. English colonialism in the middle. XIX century - M .: Thought, 1977. - S. 112.

On May 30, 1498, six ships of Columbus left the port of San Lucar de Barrameda (at the confluence of the Guadalquivir into the Gulf of Cadiz). Having entered the island of Madeira, they reached the Canary Islands. There, the admiral sent three ships with colonists directly to Hispaniola, and he himself, with one nao and two caravels, moved south to the Cape Verde Islands, intending to cross the Atlantic using the South trade winds. Leaving the Cape Verde Islands, on July 4, the flotilla headed southwest, and then west, and on July 31 reached the large island, which Columbus called Trinidad ("Trinity"). August 1 saw the coast of Venezuela - so it was opened South America. On August 5, the Spaniards were the first of the Europeans to land on its coast (the peninsula of Paria). The admiral decided that he had found the outskirts of Asia, where the “country of eternal spring”, an earthly paradise, was supposedly located.

Having passed the strait on August 13, which Columbus gave the name Bocas del Dragon ("Dragon's mouth"), the expedition moved northwest, reached Hispaniola on August 21 and anchored at the new administrative center of the island - Santo Domingo on August 31. Having become the head of the administration, Columbus in August 1499 achieved an end to the rebellion of F. Roldan, who rebelled against his brother Bartolome. Rumors of unrest on the island, however, prompted the Spanish court to send a plenipotentiary judge-auditor F. de Bobadilla to investigate cases in the colony. In September 1500 F. de Bobadilla arrested Columba and his two brothers and in early October sent them to Spain in chains. However, Ferdinand and Isabella gave the admiral a warm welcome, dropped all charges against him and returned some of his titles and all his property to him. At the same time, they did not retain the title of Viceroy of the Indies for him, thereby depriving him of the rights to manage the lands he had discovered.

Fourth journey (1502-1504). In March 1502 Columbus received highest resolution to organize a new expedition, however, with a recommendation not to visit Hispaniola. On May 9, 1502, a flotilla of four small caravels (140-150 people) set sail from Cadiz. Having entered the Canary Islands, on May 25 she entered the open ocean and on June 15 reached the island of Matininho, which Columbus renamed Martinique. Passing past the coast of Hispaniola and rounding Jamaica from the south, the ships approached the islands of Jardines de la Reina (“Queen's Gardens”), and then turned sharply to the southwest. In three days (July 27-30) they crossed the Caribbean Sea and reached the Islas de la Bahia archipelago and the land, which the admiral named Honduras ("Deeps") because of the great coastal depths. This is how Central America was discovered.

Having first taken a course to the east, Columbus rounded m. Gracias-a-Dios ("Thanks to God") and sailed south along the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Having learned from the Panamanian Indians about lying in the west richest country Ciguare and big river, he decided that this is both India and the Ganges River. On January 6, 1503, the ships stopped at the mouth of the Belen River and in March founded a small settlement of Santa Maria there. However, already in the first half of April they had to leave it because of the attack of the Indians; during the retreat they abandoned one caravel. Then moving east along the Panamanian coast, the flotilla at the end of April reached the Gulf of Darien and the shores of the modern. Colombia, and on May 1 from the metro station Punta de Mosquitas turned north and on May 12 reached the islands of Jardines de la Reina. Due to the deplorable state of the ships, Columbus was only able to bring them to the north coast of Jamaica (June 25); sailors were forced to spend a whole year in Santa Gloria Bay (modern St. Ann's). Volunteer D.Mendez saved them from imminent death, who managed to get to Santo Domingo on two canoes and send a caravel from there. August 13, 1504 rescued arrived in the capital of Hispaniola. Columbus sailed home on September 12 and landed at San Lucar on November 7.

At the beginning of 1505, Columbus finally abandoned further plans for sea expeditions. He devoted the last year and a half of his life to the struggle for his reinstatement as Viceroy of the Indies and the satisfaction of financial claims, but he achieved only partial monetary compensation. Until his death, he remained convinced that the lands he discovered were part of the Asian continent, and not a new continent N. Erofeev. English colonialism in the middle. XIX century - M .: Thought, 1977. - S. 220.

Columbus died on May 20, 1506 in Valladolid, where he was buried. In 1509, his ashes were transferred to Seville to the monastery of Santa Maria de las Cuevas, from where in 1536-1537 (according to other sources, in the 1540s) they were sent to Hispaniola and placed in Cathedral Santo Domingo. In 1795, the remains were transported to Cuba in the Cathedral of Havana, and in 1899 - back to Spain, where they finally finally rested in the Seville Cathedral.

The name of Columbus is the state of Colombia in South America, the Columbian Plateau and the Columbia River in North America, federal district Columbia in the US and British Columbia in Canada; There are five cities in the USA named Columbus and four named Columbia.

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

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

An Italian by birth, Columbus went to Spain. Here, not far from Palos, in one of the monasteries, a familiar monk was found. He helped Columbus get 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 bore the clergy.

Columbus prepared a vivid report. He talked about how the ancient scientists proved that the Earth is a sphere. Showed a copy of the map compiled by the famous Italian astronomer Toscanelli. On it, the Atlantic Ocean was covered with a mass of islands, behind which one could see the eastern coast of Asia. He remembered the legends that there is a land beyond the ocean, from which tree trunks sometimes sail by sea, obviously processed by people. Columbus, who was well educated and spoke four languages, managed to win over the members of the council to his side.

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

In a country that had just survived 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' voyage succeeded, it could help make a difference. Columbus received the status of viceroy of all the lands that would be open - 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”), on which there were 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.

It took 2 months before the team saw land. On the night of October 12, 1492, at two o'clock, the watchman noticed the coast, which was illuminated by flashes of lightning. These were 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 the voyage, the ships reached new islands - Cuba and Haiti. This happened on December 6, and on the 25th the ship "Santa Maria" was aground.

The expedition returned to Spain on March 15, 1493. Natives also arrived on ships, as well as potatoes, tobacco and corn - products unknown in Europe at that time. 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 Caribbean islands. 17 ships set sail, with 1,500 people on them.

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

Third expedition

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

Fourth expedition

The fourth voyage of Columbus lasted 2 years. From 1502 to 1504, he sailed along a large part 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 got into a storm off Jamaica and were wrecked.

Great and unfortunate

Columbus himself did not suspect that he had discovered a new continent. He died believing that all expeditions led to India, and his discovery was the way to India from the west. On the lands that he discovered, there was no gold, there were no spices. This did not bring wealth to either Spain or Columbus himself.

The sailor was poor. All his money that he had, he spent 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 the 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 was transformed into America.

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

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

For the first time, the idea to cross the Atlantic Ocean to find a direct and fast route to India was allegedly visited by Columbus as early as 1474 as a result of correspondence with the Italian geographer Toscanelli. Navigator made necessary calculations and decided that the easiest way would be to sail through the Canary Islands. He believed that from them to Japan there were only about five thousand kilometers, and from the Country rising sun finding a way to India is not difficult.

But Columbus was able to fulfill his dream only after a few years, he repeatedly tried to interest the Spanish monarchs in this event, but his demands were recognized as excessive and expensive. And only in 1492, Queen Isabella gave a trip and promised to make Columbus an admiral and viceroy of all open lands, although she did not donate money. The navigator himself was poor, but his colleague, the shipowner Pinson gave his ships to Christopher.

Discovery of America

The first expedition, which began in August 1492, was attended by three ships - the famous "Nina", "Santa Maria" and "Pinta". In October, Columbus reached the land and ashore, it was an island that he named San Salvador. Confident that this is a poor part of China or some other undeveloped land, Columbus, however, was surprised by many things unknown to him - he first saw tobacco, cotton clothes, hammocks.

Local Indians told about the existence of the island of Cuba in the south, and Columbus went in search of it. During the expedition, Haiti and Tortuga were discovered. These lands were declared the property of the Spanish monarchs, and Fort La Navidad was created in Haiti. The navigator went back together with plants and animals, gold and a group of natives, whom the Europeans called the Indians, since no one yet suspected the discovery of the New World. All found lands were considered part of Asia.

During the second expedition, Haiti, the archipelago of Jardines de la Reina, the island of Pinos, Cuba were examined. For the third time, Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad, found the mouth of the Orinoco River and Margarita Island. The fourth voyage made it possible to explore the shores of Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The path to India was never found, but South America was discovered. Columbus finally realized that south of Cuba lies a whole - a barrier to rich Asia. The Spanish navigator initiated the exploration of the New World.