1. Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451.
He learned how to sail here first before moving to
Portugal to improve his skills. He believed that he
would be able to reach Asia by sailing westwards.
He hoped the Portuguese king would sponsor
him. When he didn’t he instead looked for the
help of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of
Spain. They decided to sponsor him hoping that it
would bring them great wealth.
Columbus set sail from the port of Palos with
three ships called the Nina, the Pinta and the
Santa Maria in August 1492. Columbus was
captain of the Santa Maria. Some of the crew
were afraid of falling off the edge of the world as
well as mythical sea monsters. Columbus had to
keep two log books during the voyage. One which
told the true distances they had travelled and
another which showed less distance. This log book
was kept to keep the sailors happy as they would
fear they had travelled too far from land. During
the voyage the crew ate salted meats, cheese and
dried biscuits. Fresh water and fruit were in short
2. supply so scurvy started to develop in some of the
sailors. Columbus would have used a compass and
an astrolabe to navigate the boat.
Land was sighted on October 12th
. When
Columbus landed on the island he called it San
Salvador. He believed he had reached Asia and so
called the native people Indians. Columbus had in
fact discovered the islands of the Caribbean which
were off the coast of the unknown continent
America. He sailed around the area exploring for a
few months and discovered the islands of Haiti
and Cuba.
After a few months he started the voyage home
bringing with him some natives as well as other
goods such as gold. He arrived back in Spain in
March 1493. He was received warmly by the
Spanish King and Queen. He went on a further
three voyages discovering more of the Caribbean
as well as Panama. As a reward for his service he
was made governor of the new found lands. His
treatment of the natives was so bad that he was
arrested and returned to Spain. He was forgiven
3. and would go on another voyage towards
America.
His voyage discovered a new continent and would
make Spain the most powerful empire in the
world for the next two hundred years due to the
vast amount of gold and minerals that they
discovered in the new lands.
