Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

1. Early Life

   • As a teenager, Columbus travelled around on Merchant ships
   • Born in Genoa, Italy in 1451

2. Beliefs

   • He believed East Indies could be reached by sailing west through the Atlantic Ocean
   • Many maps of the time made the oceans look smaller than they actually are, so he believed it possible to reach China in mere days

3. Sponsership

   • He appealed to the kings of Portugal, France and England to finance a westward trip to the Indies, but all denied his requests
   • King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to finance Columbus
   • They gave him three caravels,
     • the Niña
     • the Pinta
     • the Santa Maria
   • He had a crew of 90 men

4. Voyage

   • On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail
   • After stopping in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa to restock equipment and to make repairs, Columbus’ caravels hit the open seas
   • The voyage took much longer than Columbus expected, there was no land, just ocean
   • Men were scared
     • They were running out of food and water
     • Men were dying of diseases
       • Scurvy
       • Typhoid
     • Mutiny was a threat
       • Kept two logbooks to ease their panic
   • Equipment
     • Log and line
     • Quadrant
     • Astrolabe
   • No land for 4 weeks

5. Land Sighted

   • Reach land on Oct 14th he called it San Salvador
   • He thinks he reached Asia
     • Confused when he didn't find riches he expected
     • Calls natives Indians
   • Traded cheap beads and goods for gold and unique goods and animals
   • Christmas night 1492, Santa Maria gets shipwrcked
     • Builds a shack with its remains and leaves 40 men behind

6. Return to Spain

   • Reaches Spain in March 1493
   • Great welcome
   • Brought back pineapples, parrots, gold and some captive native Americans

7. Return to the Indies

   • He never found the riches he expected
   • Some began to believe that Columbus had found a new world
   • On his last voyage he was brought back in chains for mistreatment of the native people
   • Columbus returned to the new world 3 more times
   • He died bitter and lonely and because he refused to believe that he discovered a new continent