Christopher Columbus:�Explorer of the “New World”

Who was Christopher Columbus?

• An explorer and navigator
• Born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451
• Sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas in 1492
• Worked for the King and Queen of Spain
• Died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506.

Who was Christopher Columbus?

• An explorer and ________
• Born in _______, ______ in 1451
• Sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas in ______
• Worked for the King and _______of Spain
• Died in ___________, Spain, in 1506

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Where did he go?

CAN YOU FOLLOW THE ROUTE?

Why did he go?

• Looking for shortcut to “the Indies” - India, China, Japan and various islands – by sailing WEST rather than EAST
• Money: The Indies had valuable silk and spices such as pepper and cinnamon. Columbus would get a portion or share of all the riches discovered
• Power: would become “governor” of new lands discovered and be given title “Admiral of the Ocean Sea”

Who cares about spices?

• Spices make food taste better!
• Spices disguise (hide) the taste of rotten food

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A Bad Map!

Cathay = China

Cippangu = Japan

A Map without the Americas!

What Columbus got wrong

Columbus and most educated people knew the earth was a sphere (round)

But Columbus miscalculated the earth’s circumference (distance around); he thought it was much smaller than it actually is (about 16,000 miles instead of 25,000 miles)

And he thought that Europe/Asia was much longer than it actually is, stretching close to Spain!

What Columbus got wrong

• Believing the earth was smaller, and Asia bigger, he thought he could get to Asia fast
• AND he didn’t know that North and South America were in the way!
• AND he didn’t know about the Pacific Ocean!

Sail west to China

Reality

• Columbus’s ships would never have made it to the REAL Asia.
• He would have run out of food and water, because the distance was too far.

Ferdinand and Isabella

• Columbus needed money and support for his adventure
• Italy and Portugal had already turned him down
• Finally Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen, of Spain agreed
• They wanted to convert Asians to Christianity
• They never expected Columbus to return!

Spain and Religion

• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were devoted Catholics
• They had just forced all Jews and all Muslims out of Spain
• They were eager to convert more people to the Catholic religion

Columbus’s Ships

• Columbus had 3 ships
• The Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria
• The Santa Maria was the flagship
• There were about 90 men altogether
• Many men didn’t want to go on such a dangerous journey, so Columbus got some criminals to be sailors!

Columbus’s Ships

• Columbus had ___ ships
• The ______, the _______ and the Santa Maria
• The Santa Maria was the flagship
• There were about _____ men altogether
• Many men didn’t want to go on such a dangerous journey, so Columbus got some _____________to be sailors!

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Problems for the Sailors

• Bad food
• Bad water
• No fresh fruit, resulting in scurvy
• Crowded conditions
• Boredom
• Fear; would they have enough food and winds to return?

Where did Columbus end up?

• First stop may have been a small island now called San Salvador
• Then to Cuba
• Then to “Hispaniola,” now the island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
• Columbus did NOT go to what is now the US

Columbus’s Big Mistake

• Columbus believed he had arrived in the Indies
• He called the people “Indians”
• Even today we call these islands the “West Indies.” The REAL Indies are the “East Indies,” thousands of miles away
• Columbus NEVER admitted his mistake!

Columbus’s Big Mistake

• Columbus believed he had arrived in the _________
• He called the people “__________”
• Columbus NEVER admitted his_________!

What did Columbus find?

• The people on the islands were generally friendly but poor
• There was very little gold, no silk and no spices
• Columbus kept thinking the riches were “just around the corner!”

Columbus Kidnaps Some Island People

• Columbus kidnaps about 10- 25 local people and takes them back to Spain as slaves

Timeline

• Leaves August 3, 1492
• Arrives on first island October 12, 1492
• On December 24, 1492, Santa Maria grounds on a reef (shallow water) and is abandoned
• With only 2 ships, Columbus has to leave 40 men behind on Hispaniola
• Returns to Spain March 15, 1493

Timeline

• Leaves August 3, _______
• Arrives on first island October ____, 1492
• On December 24, 1492, Santa Maria grounds on a reef (shallow water) and is abandoned
• With only 2 ships, Columbus has to leave 40 men behind on ____________
• Returns to ________ March 15, 1493

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Second Voyage

• In September 1493, Columbus takes 17 ships and 1,200 men to establish a “colony.”
• On arrival, they find all the men left behind at Hispaniola are dead (from fighting and disease.)
• They start a new colony but the men are mad to find no gold. They are angry at Columbus. The men are cruel to the local people.

Second Voyage: Still No Riches

• Columbus explores more islands but finds very little gold
• The local people are treated badly
• Many locals also begin dying of diseases brought by the Spanish
• Columbus and some unhappy colonists return to Spain in 1496

Another Explorer/Another Route

• In 1497, an explorer named Vasco da Gama finds a way to get to the REAL Indies by water - around Africa!

Third Trip: Columbus Arrested!

• In May 1498, Columbus makes a third trip
• He treats both the local people and the Spanish colonists so badly that another Spanish Governor is sent to arrest him.
• He returns to Spain in chains!

Fourth and Last Voyage

• Columbus makes 1 more trip to the New World in May 1502
• He explores Central America but never finds great amounts of gold or spices or riches
• His ships are wrecked and he is stranded on the island of Jamaica for 1 year
• In November 1504 he finally returns to Spain
• He dies in 1506, still believing he went to Asia!

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Fourth and Last Voyage

• Columbus makes 1 more trip to the New World in May 1502
• He explores ________ __________but never finds great amounts of gold or spices or riches
• His ships are wrecked and he is stranded on the island of __________ for 1 year
• In November 1504 he finally returns to __________
• He dies in______, still believing he went to Asia!

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Naming of “America”

• The name “America” comes from a different explorer, Amerigo Vespucci
• He explored South America and realized it is a CONTINENT
• Washington, D.C. means “Washington, District of Columbia” [Columbus]