Many People Believe That Christopher Columbus Discovered North America

Christopher Columbus

Many people believe that Christopher Columbus discovered North America. That is wrong. A lot of stuff people think about Christopher Columbus is actually not true. The ship, La Nińa, was actually not called the La Nińa. What about his name? His name was not Christopher Columbus! What else is there about him?

Childhood

Christopher Columbus was born into a middle class family in 1451. His parents were Domenico Colombo and Susana Fontanarossa. Columbus grew up in Genoa, Italy, with three brothers named Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo. He also had a sister named Bianchinetta. Christopher Columbus was the oldest out of his siblings, and he never went to school. Christopher first went to sea as a teenager, on a merchant ship. He stayed at sea, until French privateers attacked the ship in 1470. The boat sank, but Columbus floated to shore on a piece of wood, and landed somewhere in Lisbon, Portugal, and there he learned mathematics, astronomy, cartography, and navigation. He also met his brother Bartolomeo while he was in Lisbon.

Four Voyages

Later on in his life, Christopher Columbus went on a voyage to try and find a sea route to China, from Spain. In doing so, Christopher accidentally discovered the Americas. He made a total of four voyaged to Newfoundland. Columbus set out on his first voyage on August 3, 1492. He landed in the Bahamas on October 12. There he explored the Caribbean and Cuba for nearly five months. He returned to Spain in March, 1493.

Christopher Columbus’ second voyage began in the September of 1493. He landed somewhere in Puerto Rico in November. From there, Christopher journeyed to Cuba, and landed on the April of the following year. He left Cuba three days later for Jamaica, and anchored on May 5, 1494. About two years later, Columbus returned to Spain in August, 1496. Christopher Columbus started his third voyage in the May of 1498. He landed somewhere near the Canary Islands, about two months later. Columbus then returned in the August of the same year, finishing his third voyage. Christopher’s fourth and final voyage began on May 11, 1502. He explored Central America and some parts of South America before returning to Spain in 1504, thus finishing his four voyages, as he died two years later on May 20, 1506.

A lot of facts people think about Christopher Columbus, are actually not true. For example, Christopher Columbus was actually not his name at all! His real name is Cristforo Colombo. A lot of people also say that Christopher Columbus (Cristforo Colombo) discovered North America. However, that is wrong. Leif Eriksson, a Viking, discovered North America in 1000 AD, about 500 years before Columbus. Christopher did not even set foot in North America’s mainland! He did journey to Central and South America in the Nińa, the Pińta, and the Santa Maria. Actually, that is wrong. The Nińa and the Pińta were actually nicknames. The Nińa’s real name was the Santa Clara. It is unknown what the Pińta’s real name was.

Christopher Columbus had many great achievements in his life. He “discovered” America, and he laid the way for the exploration of Newfoundland. Columbus was an important historic person in US history. To find out more information, go to www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus.

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