2nd year of the discovery of America. Columbus's discovery of America. Lake Vostok

«- Okay, take care of him! There are many memories associated with this suitcase.
- What memories? Not a single trip...
- About all the trips we never went on…»
Jack and Jill: Love on Suitcases

Nowadays, everyone knows that the discovery of America belongs to a gentleman named Christopher Columbus. This is where the school program to cover such a grandiose event usually ends, and those interested have to independently search for the necessary information in the library and the Internet. At this moment the most interesting thing comes: a person learns that with Columbus’s visit to America, not everything is so simple. There is evidence that he was not the first there, that many years before his first steps along the shores of the New World, Scandinavian Vikings, Biscay fishermen and other travelers were already frolicking there.

Today we will try to go through all the stages of the discovery of America, which are known to us from reliable sources, and establish who was the first to officially set foot on the shores of the new continent and declare it the New World.

Columbus Expedition, 1492

The end of the 15th century, there are still many unexplored places on Earth where no human has ever set foot. Obsessed with great plans to conquer everything, the Spaniards decided to create the Great Expedition to the Canary Islands, consisting of three high-speed caravels, one of which was the Santa Maria, a ship whose admiral was Christopher Columbus. Ahead of him lay months of travel and one of the main achievements in the history of mankind. On August 3, 1492, the ship weighed anchor and set off.

Admiral of all seas and oceans

In the spring of 1492, a few months before the expedition, Christopher Columbus, or, as the Spaniards called him, Don Cristoval Colon, was in audience with the royal couple who ruled Spain. Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon suggested that the researcher conclude an agreement according to which Christopher Columbus is recognized as the admiral of all seas and oceans, as well as a high-ranking governor of all lands and islands that he can discover during his journey. It would be unforgivable to refuse such an offer.

An additional incentive in the kings' proposal was the fact that one tenth of all the wealth, treasures and goods that Columbus would be able to exchange or find on new lands, the traveler could take for himself, while the remaining nine-tenths would go to the disposal of the royal treasury. This was a truly generous offer that could make Columbus one of the richest men in Europe.

Along with the title and wealth, Don Cristoval Colon was offered guarantees that his title would be inherited forever. He will also be able to retain his privileges for life in the previously unexplored lands of India. All participants in the journey were convinced that, setting sail to the West, Columbus would reach the eastern shores of India, but a surprise awaited them.

« The admiral decided to count fractions of the journey less than they actually took, in the event that the voyage turned out to be long, so that people would not be overcome by fear and confusion»

The True Aims of Christopher Columbus

Despite all the royal promises, Columbus's true motives and ideas about the Earth at that time remain the subject of debate to this day. Historians recognize the significant contribution of the great traveler to the history of mankind and his influence on the era of great geographical discoveries. However, this does not negate the fact that Columbus was driven more by mercantile interests than by the spirit of exploration.

A generous offer from the royal couple, as well as the opportunity to discover new trade routes and the untold riches of the East, were of much greater interest than perishing in the middle of a storm or dying from an unknown disease on unfamiliar shores. It was the thirst for money that became the main incentive for travelers of those times to make the most striking geographical discoveries.

However, if Columbus was calculating, he was also smart. Many modern historians suggest that the discoverer knew in advance where he would sail. That there is no India beyond the Atlantic Ocean, there is a New Land, endless and uninhabited. There were even rumors that Columbus had a certain map on which researchers marked not only the already discovered islands in the Atlantic Ocean, but also the eastern coast of the continent, which would later be called South America.

IN In 1474, the Florentine scientist Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, who devoted his life to astronomy, geography and mathematics, sent a letter to the Portuguese king in which he drew conclusions about the geography of our planet, given that it is a sphere. Toscanelli argued that in this way India could be reached much faster by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. There is evidence that Columbus somehow obtained this letter, or a copy of it, with an attached map on which new lands were marked. However, no one has been able to prove this.

Conspiracy theories surrounding the discovery of America

Like any other high-profile scientific discovery, Columbus's voyage quickly acquired its own conspiracy theories from ill-wishers and simply due to a lack of information. We have no way to verify the events that took place in the 15th century, so speculation and theories will continue to exist. These include the rumors that Columbus himself was looking for an opportunity to go on a trip to the West, because he knew that there was a New Land there, so he tried to persuade the kings to equip an expedition for him.

According to some theories, Columbus simply followed the “beaten path” from other navigators who discovered this route long before him. Indeed, to make such a desperate journey across the unfriendly Atlantic Ocean for ships of those times seemed, if possible, then deadly dangerous.

Despite the fact that the majority of historians are of the opinion that it was Columbus who discovered America, there are many people, including respected ones in the scientific community, who suggest that the continent was discovered long before Columbus’s historical voyage in 1492. One of the main proponents of this theory was an Englishman named Gavin Menzies, who once wrote a book called “1421, or the year China discovered the world.”

The public loves conspiracy theories, so Menzies' book caused concern among the masses. At the same time, the scientific community is in no hurry to take seriously everything said in this book.

« Thursday, October 11. We sailed west-southwest. During the entire voyage there had never been such rough seas. We saw “pardelas” and green reeds near the ship. People from the Pinta caravel noticed a reed and a branch and caught a stick hewn, possibly with iron, and a fragment of a reed, and other herbs that were born on the ground, and one plank. People on the Niña caravel saw other signs of the earth and a twig strewn with rose hips. Everyone was inspired and happy when they saw these signs.»

Diary of the First Voyage, Christopher Columbus

The Great Journey of the Chinese

Despite the fact that the names of almost all great travelers are of European origin, the desire to explore the world was inherent in everyone on Earth.

In the spring of 1421, when the famous Christopher Columbus had not even been born, in one of the Chinese cities called Tangu, the ships of the Great Emperor's fleet were preparing to sail. The commander of the flotilla was the venerable Zheng He. More than a hundred huge unique ships were sent to the open sea. No other power in the world had similar ships: these were real autonomous floating giants that could calmly survive any storms on the high seas.

At that time, the great festival of the Forbidden City was held in China, after which the emperor instructed his admiral Zheng He to act as a kind of taxi driver and take high-ranking guests to their homes, who had arrived from all over the world. When the admiral completed the task, the emperor ordered him not to rush back home, but instead to look “to the ends of the earth” and collect tribute from all the barbarians that he met along the way, and also wrap them in Confucianism in order to make civilized people out of them.

This voyage of the Golden Fleet was the largest ever undertaken by China. For three years, sailors explored our planet, and in his book, Gavin Menzies suggested that it was the Chinese travelers who were able to draw up an approximate map of the globe, putting all six continents on it, and also walked around all the oceans.

Obsessed with his idea of dispelling the influence of Columbus, Menzies spent many years collecting the facts of the Great Chinese Voyage, bit by bit, that were left to us from those times. His task was complicated by the fact that all of Zheng He's diaries and ship's logs were destroyed or lost.

Some of Menzies' efforts were successful. For example, he established the fact that the wreckage of giant Chinese ships, the so-called “junks,” were found off the coast of almost all continents. Despite the fact that historians prefer to believe that the junk wrecks could have been carried to Australia and America by current, Gavin Menzies' research cannot be ignored within the framework of modern history. Archaeologists also found Chinese maps on which all the continents were depicted, including America. Menzies is confident that these maps are much older than Columbus himself.

Amerigo Vespucci and the famous confusion

At school we were often told that although Christopher Columbus discovered America, it got its name in honor of another explorer. The fact is that Columbus never realized where he had sailed. Until recently, the researcher was sure that these were the eastern shores of India and the Eurasian continent.

The traveler's research was inspired by the Italian Amerigo Vespucci, who a few years later shared his thoughts about the discovery of Columbus with his mentor Francesco del Medici. In them, he suggested that the new lands that Columbus spoke about in Spain are not the eastern part of India, and this is a completely new continent. These letters, as well as Vespucci's thoughts on other travels, were published in a large collection in 1507, which for some reason was called "The New World and New Countries Discovered by Amerigo Vespucci of Florence."

The significance of Columbus's discovery of America was lost in writing, and in the same year, the German cartographer Waldseemüller, based on Vespucci's letters, proposed calling the new part of the world America in honor of the name Amerigo. He reflected all this in his book “Introduction to Cosmography”. It is noteworthy that although Vespucci wrote about Columbus, Waldseemüller did not attach any importance to this.

The style of the young German scientist was liked by the public, and a few years later, in 1520, during a scientific meeting of the greatest minds of those times, the name America was applied to the general geographical map of the planet.

Since then, the controversy has not subsided. If Columbus did not understand that he had discovered the New World, and Vespucci did it for him, then can the latter be credited with the discovery of the continent?
However, there is evidence that people conventionally discovered new continents long before the voyages of the Chinese, Columbus and Vespucci’s assumptions.

Ambitious Vikings

At the end of the 10th century, when Europe had not yet thought about domination over the whole world, a large boat with Nords on board set sail from the shores of Iceland. They were commanded by Björni Hjorlfson, a rugged Norwegian Viking who was motivated by a thirst for adventure and profit.

Björni Hjorlfson set out to sea to reach Greenland, where a colony of Vikings had already settled and traded with Scandinavia. But Hjorlfson lost his way due to a storm, and a few days later he arrived at the shores of an unknown land, which were dotted with dense impenetrable forests. Björni decided not to take risks and not to land on an unfamiliar shore, but simply swam along it, simultaneously remembering everything he saw. A few days later, the Viking managed to swim to Greenland, where he told about what he had seen.

Hjorlfson's stories inspired another settler of Greenland, Leif Erikson, the son of the same Erik the Red, who was famous among the Viking peoples for his heroic character. The spirit of adventure led Leif and his comrades along the route told by Björni. First, their boat sailed to the rocky shore, which is now called Baffin Island. The area here seemed lifeless, everything around was covered with glaciers. Deciding that there was no life and nothing good on this land, the Vikings moved on, simultaneously giving the stone land a name - Helluland, the Land of Boulders.

Then the travelers reached the Canadian shores, covered with vegetation and forests. The Vikings also gave this land a name - Markland, Forest Land. The young and profit-hungry people did not stop there, so they went further south. A few days later they dropped anchor in one of the coastal bays. Coming ashore, the friends found real wild grapes among other vegetation, so they named this area Vinland. Modern historians have found that this bay is now located in Massachusetts.

Having returned after a long journey along unfamiliar lands, the Nords did not want to miss the opportunity to populate them, so two years later they equipped a new expedition. Leif's brother, the famous Thorvald, went to the shores of America and dropped anchor at the place of his brother's last stop - in Vinland. Here they unexpectedly met local residents - Indians who appeared in the bay on their pirogues. Everyone knows that the Vikings were not timid and were not averse to fighting, so the Norwegians simply killed several Indians and captured the rest. That same night, the Indians came to avenge their slain brethren and rained down arrows on the Viking camp. One of them hit Torvald, and he died a few days later.

In 1003, the Vikings again came to the shores of America, now with serious intentions of settling in uninhabited lands. Almost two hundred people sailed here on three boats, established relationships with the local population and even built a village here. However, the Indians soon sharply changed their attitude towards uninvited guests, and flatly refused to share their lands with them. A bloody war broke out between people again, and traces of the Scandinavians soon completely disappeared from the shores of America.

Who discovered America?

In the 15th century, ancient tribes lived on the territory of modern America who were very good-natured and hospitable. In Europe, even then the states were quite developed and modern. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence and find new sources of replenishment of the state treasury.

When you ask any adult or child who discovered America, we will hear about Columbus. It was Christopher Columbus who gave impetus to the active search and development of new lands.

Christopher Columbus is the great Spanish navigator. Information about where he was born and spent his childhood is limited and contradictory. It is known that as a young man, Christopher was interested in cartography. He was married to the daughter of a navigator. In 1470, the geographer and astronomer Toscanelli informed Columbus of his assumptions that the route to India was shorter if one sailed west. Apparently, then Columbus began to hatch his idea of a short route to India, and according to his calculations, it was necessary to sail through the Canary Islands, and Japan would be close there.
Since 1475, Columbus has been trying to implement the idea and make an expedition. The purpose of the expedition is to find a new trade route to India across the Atlantic Ocean. To do this, he turned to the government and merchants of Genoa, but they did not support him. The second attempt to find funding for the expedition was made by the Portuguese King João II, however, even here, after a long study of the project, he was refused.

For the last time, he came to the Spanish king with his project. At the beginning, his project was considered for a long time, there were even several meetings and commissions, this lasted several years. His idea was supported by bishops and Catholic kings. But Columbus received final support for his project after the victory of Spain in the city of Granada, which was liberated from the Arab presence.

The expedition was organized on the condition that Columbus, if successful, would receive not only the gifts and riches of new lands, but also receive, in addition to the status of a nobleman, the title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all the lands that he discovers. For Spain, a successful expedition promised not only the development of new lands, but also the opportunity to trade directly with India, since according to the treaty concluded with Portugal, Spanish ships were prohibited from entering the waters of the western coast of Africa.

When and how did Columbus discover America?

Historians consider 1942 to be the year of the discovery of America, although these are rather approximate data. Discovering new lands and islands, Columbus had no idea that this was another continent, which would later be called the “New World”. The traveler undertook 4 expeditions. He arrived to new and new lands, believing that these were the lands of “Western India”. For quite a long time everyone in Europe thought so. However, another traveler Vasco da Gama declared Columbus a deceiver, since it was Gamma who found a direct route to India and brought gifts and spices from there.

What kind of America did Christopher Columbus discover? It can be said that thanks to his expeditions since 1492, Columbus discovered both North and South America. To be more precise, islands were discovered that are now considered either South or North America.

Who discovered America first?

Although historically it is believed that it was Columbus who discovered America, but in fact this is not entirely true.

There is evidence that the “New World” was previously visited by the Scandinavians (Leif Eriksson in 1000, Thorfinn Karlsefni in 1008); this journey became known from the manuscripts “The Saga of Eric the Red” and “The Saga of the Greenlanders”. There are other “discoverers of America,” but the scientific community does not take them seriously because there is no reliable data. For example, America was previously visited by an African traveler from Mali - Abu Bakr II, a Scottish nobleman Henry Sinclair, and a Chinese traveler Zheng He.

Why was America called America?

The first widely known and recorded fact is the visit of this part of the “New World” by the traveler and navigator Amerigo Vespucci. It is noteworthy that it was he who put forward the assumption that this was not India or China, but a completely new, previously unknown continent. It is believed that this is why the name America was assigned to the new land, and not its discoverer, Columbus.

Columbus discovered America

The year when this Spanish navigator discovered a new land is indicated in history as 1492. And by the beginning of the eighteenth century, all other areas of North America, for example, Alaska and the regions of the Pacific coast, had already been discovered and explored. It must be said that travelers from Russia also made an important contribution to the exploration of the mainland.

Development

The history of the discovery of North America is quite interesting: it can even be called accidental. At the end of the fifteenth century, a Spanish navigator and his expedition reached the shores of North America. At the same time, he mistakenly believed that he was in India. From this moment begins the countdown of the era when America was discovered and its exploration and exploration began. But some researchers consider this date inaccurate, arguing that the discovery of a new continent occurred much earlier.

The year Columbus discovered America - 1492 - is not an exact date. It turns out that the Spanish navigator had predecessors, and more than one. In the middle of the tenth century, the Normans arrived here after they discovered Greenland. True, they failed to colonize these new lands, since they were repelled by the harsh weather conditions of the north of this continent. In addition, the Normans were also frightened by the remoteness of the new continent from Europe.

According to other sources, this continent was discovered by ancient sailors - the Phoenicians. Some sources call the middle of the first millennium AD the time when America was discovered, and the Chinese as the pioneers. However, this version also does not have clear evidence.

The most reliable information is considered to be about the time when the Vikings discovered America. At the end of the tenth century, the Normans Bjarni Herjulfson and Leif Eriksson found Helluland - “stone”, Markland - “forest” and Vinland - “vineyards” of land, which contemporaries identify with the Labrador Peninsula.

There is evidence that even before Columbus, in the fifteenth century, the northern continent was reached by Bristol and Biscay fishermen, who called it the island of Brazil. However, the time periods of these expeditions cannot be called the milestone in history when America was truly discovered, that is, it was identified as a new continent.

Columbus - a true discoverer

And yet, when answering the question of what year America was discovered, experts most often name the fifteenth century, or rather its end. And Columbus is considered the first to do this. The time when America was discovered coincided in history with the period when Europeans began to spread ideas about the round shape of the Earth and the possibility of reaching India or China along the western route, that is, through the Atlantic Ocean. It was believed that this path was much shorter than the eastern one. Therefore, given the Portuguese monopoly on control of the South Atlantic, obtained by the Treaty of Alcázovaz in 1479, Spain, always striving to gain direct contacts with eastern countries, warmly supported the westward expedition of the Genoese navigator Columbus.

Honor of opening

Christopher Columbus was interested in geography, geometry and astronomy from an early age. From a young age, he took part in sea expeditions and visited almost all the then known oceans. Columbus was married to the daughter of a Portuguese sailor, from whom he received many geographical maps and notes from the time of Henry the Navigator. The future discoverer carefully studied them. His plans were to find a sea route to India, but not bypassing Africa, but directly across the Atlantic. Like some scientists - his contemporaries, Columbus believed that, having gone west from Europe, it would be possible to reach the Asian eastern shores - those places where India and China are located. At the same time, he did not even suspect that on the way he would meet an entire continent, hitherto unknown to Europeans. But it happened. And from this time the history of the discovery of America began.

First expedition

For the first time, Columbus's ships sailed from Palos harbor on August 3, 1492. There were three of them. The expedition proceeded quite calmly to the Canary Islands: this section of the journey was already known to the sailors. But very soon they found themselves in a vast ocean. Gradually the sailors began to become despondent and begin to grumble. But Columbus managed to pacify the rebellious, maintaining hope in them. Soon signs began to appear - harbingers of the proximity of land: unknown birds flew in, tree branches floated up. Finally, after six weeks of sailing, lights appeared at night, and when dawn broke, a green, picturesque island, all covered with vegetation, opened before the sailors. Columbus, having landed on shore, declared this land to be the possession of the Spanish crown. The island was named San Salvador, that is, the Savior. It was one of the small pieces of land included in the Bahamas or Lucayan archipelago.

The land where there is gold

The natives are peaceful and good-natured savages. Noticing the greed of those who sailed for the gold jewelry that hung in the noses and ears of the aborigines, they told with signs that in the south there was a land literally abounding in gold. And Columbus moved on. In the same year, he discovered Cuba, which, although he mistook it for the mainland, or rather, the eastern coast of Asia, he also declared it a Spanish colony. From here the expedition, turning east, landed in Haiti. Moreover, along the entire route the Spaniards met savages who not only willingly exchanged their gold jewelry for simple glass beads and other trinkets, but also constantly pointed to the southern direction when asked about this precious metal. Which Columbus named Hispaniola, or Little Spain, he built a small fortress.

Return

When the ships landed in Palos harbor, all the inhabitants came ashore to greet them with honors. Columbus and Ferdinand and Isabella received him very graciously. The news of the discovery of the New World spread very quickly, and those who wanted to go there with the discoverer gathered just as quickly. At that time, Europeans had no idea what kind of America Christopher Columbus discovered.

Second trip

The history of the discovery of North America, which began in 1492, continued. From September 1493 to June 1496, the second expedition of the Genoese navigator took place. As a result, the Virgin and Windward Islands were discovered, including Antigua, Dominica, Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher, as well as Puerto Rico and Jamaica. The Spaniards firmly settled in the lands of Haiti, making them their base and building the fortress of San Domingo in its southeastern part. In 1497, the British entered into competition with them, also trying to find northwestern routes to Asia. For example, the Genoese Cabot, under the English flag, discovered the island of Newfoundland and, according to some reports, came very close to the North American coast: the peninsulas of Labrador and Nova Scotia. Thus, the British began to lay the foundation for their dominance in the North American region.

Third and fourth expeditions

It began in May 1498 and ended in November 1500. As a result, the island of Trinidad and the mouth of the Orinoco were discovered. In August 1498, Columbus landed on the coast already on the Paria Peninsula, and in 1499 the Spaniards reached the shores of Guiana and Venezuela, after which - Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon. And during the last - fourth - journey from May 1502 to November 1504, Columbus discovered Central America. His ships sailed along the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua, reaching from Costa Rica and Panama all the way to the Gulf of Darien.

New continent

In the same year, another navigator, whose expeditions took place under the Portuguese flag, also explored the Brazilian coast. Having reached Cape Cananea, he put forward the hypothesis that the lands that Columbus discovered were not China, or even India, but a completely new continent. This idea was confirmed after the first trip around the world by F. Magellan. However, contrary to logic, the name America was assigned to the new continent - on behalf of Vespucci.

True, there is some reason to believe that the new continent was named in honor of the Bristol philanthropist Richard America from England, who financed the second transatlantic voyage in 1497, and Amerigo Vespucci after that took his nickname in honor of the continent named so. To prove this theory, researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the shores of Labrador two years earlier, and therefore became the officially registered first European to set foot on American soil.

In the mid-sixteenth century, Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, reached the shores of Canada, giving the territory its modern name.

Other contenders

The exploration of the continent of North America was continued by such navigators as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Baffin. It was thanks to their research that the continent was studied right up to the Pacific coast.

However, history knows many other names of sailors who landed on American soil even before Columbus. These are Hui Shen, a Thai monk who visited this region in the fifth century, Abubakar, the Sultan of Mali, who sailed to the American coast in the fourteenth century, the Earl of Orkney de Saint-Clair, the Chinese explorer Zhee He, the Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.

But, in spite of everything, Christopher Columbus is the person whose discoveries had an unconditional impact on the entire history of mankind.

Fifteen years after the time when America was discovered by the ships of this navigator, the very first geographical map of the continent was compiled. Its author was Martin Waldseemüller. Today it, being the property of the United States, is stored in Washington.

The lands were the most common: the founding of cities, the discovery of deposits of gold and wealth. In the 15th century, navigation was actively developing, and expeditions were set up in search of the unexplored continent. What was on the continent before the arrival of Europeans, when Columbus discovered America, and under what circumstances did this happen?

The story of the great discovery

By the 15th century, European states had a high level of development. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, searching for additional sources of profit to replenish the treasury. New colonies were formed.

Before the discovery, tribes lived on the continent. The natives were distinguished by their friendly character, which was favorable for the rapid development of the territory.

Christopher Columbus, while still a teenager, discovered the hobby of cartography. A Spanish navigator once learned from the astronomer and geographer Toscanelli that if he sailed westward, he could reach India much faster. It was 1470. And the idea came just in time, since Columbus was looking for another route that would allow him to reach India in a short time. He assumed that it was necessary to build a route through the Canary Islands.

In 1475, the Spaniard organized an expedition, the purpose of which was to find a quick route by sea to India across the Atlantic Ocean. He reported this to the government with a request to support his idea, but received no help. The second time Columbus wrote to King João II of Portugal, however, he was also rejected. He then turned again to the Spanish government. Several commission meetings were held on this issue, which lasted for years. The final positive decision on financing was made after the victory of Spanish troops in the city of Granada, liberated from Arab occupation.

If a new route to India was discovered, Columbus was promised not only wealth, but also a noble title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of the lands he would discover. Since Spanish ships were prohibited from entering the waters on the west coast of Africa, this step was beneficial for the government in order to conclude a direct trade agreement with India.

In what year did Columbus discover America?

Officially, the year of the discovery of America in history is recognized as 1942. Having discovered undeveloped lands, Columbus did not imagine that he had discovered a continent that would be called the “New World”. In what year the Spaniards discovered America can be said tentatively, since a total of four campaigns were undertaken. Each time the navigator found new lands, believing that this was the territory of Western India.

Columbus began to think that he was following the wrong route after Vasco de Gama's expedition. The traveler arrived in India and returned in a short time with rich goods, accusing Christopher of deception.

It later turned out that Columbus discovered the islands and continental parts of North and South America.

Which traveler discovered America earlier?

It is not entirely true to say that Columbus became the discoverer of America. Before this, the Scandinavians landed on the lands: in 1000 - Leif Eriksson and in 1008 - Thorfinn Karlsefni. This is evidenced by the historical records “The Saga of the Greenlanders” and “The Saga of Eric the Red”. There is other information about travel to the “New World”. Traveler Abu Bakr II, a resident of the Celestial Empire Zheng He and a nobleman from Scotland Henry Sinclair arrived from Mali to America.

There is historical evidence indicating that in the 10th century the New World was visited by the Normans after the discovery of Greenland. However, they were unable to develop the territories due to severe weather conditions unsuitable for agriculture. In addition, the journey from Europe was very long.

Visits to the mainland by the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.

The story of the great discovery

Before the discovery, tribes lived on the continent. The natives were distinguished by their friendly character, which was favorable for the rapid development of the territory.

In what year did Columbus discover America?

It later turned out that Columbus discovered the islands and continental parts of North and South America.

Which traveler discovered America earlier?

Visits to the mainland by the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.

Official discoverer America considered to be the Spaniard Christopher Columbus, who visited America in 1492 on the orders of the Spanish king. However, Europeans and Chinese sailed to America long before Columbus. Columbus's expedition to the shores of Central and South America is considered the earliest and most complete of those reliably known. In total, Columbus made four trips to America, the first of which (August 1492 - March 1493) is considered “official” by historians. discovery of America. The 1492 expedition consisted of three ships with a total crew of about 90 people.

Discovery of America was initially perceived as finding new routes to Asia (the so-called Western India), which is why the local population of the open lands began to be called Indians. On October 13, 1492, Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean that is now known as San Salvador. The discovery of America marked the beginning of the colonial era, when the leading European powers (Spain, Portugal, England and Holland) conquered the newly discovered lands, exported jewelry and built new settlements. And only in the 19th-20th centuries the colonial regime fell and many independent states were formed in America.

The name "America", however, is considered to be derived from the name of another traveler - the Italian Amerigo Vespucci. We first see this name on a German map from 1507. Apparently, the author of the map mistakenly considered Vespucci, and not Columbus, to be the person who discovered America. It is believed that Vespucci may not even have known that an entire continent was named after him.

Today is October 17, 2019. Do you know what holiday is today?

Tell me Who discovered America friends on social networks:

Wake up anyone in the middle of the night with the question: “Who discovered America first?”, and without hesitation, they will immediately give you the correct answer, calling the name of Christopher Columbus. This is for everyone known fact, which no one seems to dispute. But was Columbus the first European to set foot on new land? Not at all. There is only one question: “So who?” But they didn’t call Columbus for nothing discoverer.

In contact with

How Columbus became a discoverer

In what century did such significant changes for the world take place? The official date for the discovery of a new continent called the Americas is 1499, 15th century. At that time, the inhabitants of Europe began to have speculation that the earth was round. They began to believe about the possibility of navigation on the Atlantic Ocean and the opening of a western route directly to the shores of Asia.

The story of how Columbus discovered America is very funny. It so happened that he randomly stumbled upon the New World, heading to distant India.

Christopher was an avid sailor, who from a young age managed to visit all those known at that time. Carefully studying a huge number of geographical maps, Columbus planned to sail to India across the Atlantic, without passing through Africa.

He, like many scientists of that time, naively believed that, having gone straight from Western Europe to the east, he would reach the shores of such Asian countries as China and India. No one could even imagine what was suddenly on his way new lands will appear.

It was the day when Columbus reached the shores of the new continent and is considered the beginning of American history.

Continents discovered by Columbus

Christopher is considered the one who discovered North America. But in parallel with it, after news of the New World spread throughout all countries, the struggle for the development of the northern territories the British entered.

In total the navigator accomplished four expeditions. The continents that Columbus discovered: the island of Haiti or, as the traveler himself called it, Spain Minor, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua and many other territories of North America. From 1498 to 1504, during his last expeditions, the navigator had already mastered lands of South America, where it reached the shores of not only Venezuela, but also Brazil. A little later the expedition reached Central America, where the coastlines of Nicaragua and Honduras were developed, all the way to Panama.

Who else explored America?

Formally, many sailors opened America to the world in different ways. History goes back many names related to the development of the lands of the New World. Columbus's case continued:

Alexander Mackenzie;
William Baffin;
Henry Hudson;
John Davis.

Thanks to these navigators, the entire continent was explored and developed, including Pacific coast.

Also considered another discoverer of America is an equally famous person - Amerigo Vespucci. The Portuguese navigator went on expeditions and explored the coast of Brazil.

It was he who first suggested that Christopher Columbus sailed far not to China and India, but to previously unknown. His speculations were confirmed by Ferdinand Magellan, after completing his first trip around the world.

It is believed that the continent was named precisely in honor of Vespucci, contrary to all the logic of what is happening. And today the New World is known to everyone under the name America, and not by any other name. So who really discovered America?

Pre-Columbian expeditions to America

In the legends and beliefs of the Scandinavian peoples you can often come across mention of distant lands called Vinland located near Greenland. Historians believe that it was the Vikings who discovered America and became the first Europeans to set foot on the lands of the New World, and in their legends Vinland is nothing more than Newfoundland.

Everyone knows how Columbus discovered America, but in fact Christopher was far away not the first navigator who visited this continent. Leif Erikson, who named one of the parts of the new continent Vinland, cannot be called a discoverer.

Who should be considered first? Historians dare to believe that he was a merchant from distant Scandinavia - Bjarni Herjulfsson, which is mentioned in the Greenlanders' Saga. According to this literary work, in 985 g. he set out towards Greenland to meet his father, but lost his way due to a strong storm.

Before the discovery of America, the merchant had to sail at random, since he had never seen the lands of Greenland before and did not know the specific course. Soon he reached the level shores of an unknown island, covered with forests. This description did not suit Greenland at all, which greatly surprised him. Bjarni decided not to go ashore, and turn back.

Soon he sailed to Greenland, where he told this story to Leif Erikson, the son of the discoverer of Greenland. Exactly he became the first of the Vikings who tried their luck to join to the lands of America before Columbus, which he nicknamed Vinland.

Forced search for new lands

Important! Greenland is not the most pleasant country to live in. It is poor in resources and has a harsh climate. The possibility of resettlement at that time seemed like a pipe dream for the Vikings.

Stories about fertile lands covered with dense forests only spurred them on to move. Erickson gathered himself a small team and set off on a journey in search of new territories. Leif became the one who discovered North America.

The first unexplored places they stumbled upon were rocky and mountainous. In their description today, historians see nothing more than Baffin Island. Subsequent coasts turned out to be low-lying, with green forests and long sandy beaches. This reminded historians very much of the description coast of the Labrador Peninsula in Canada.

On the new lands they mined wood, which was so difficult to find in Greenland. Subsequently, the Vikings founded the first two settlements in the New World, and all these territories were called Vinland.

The scientist nicknamed "the second Columbus"

The famous German geographer, naturalist and traveler - all this is one great man, whose name is Alexander Humboldt.

This greatest scientist discovered America before others on the scientific side, having spent many years on research, and he was not alone. Humbaldt did not think long about what kind of partner he needed and immediately made his choice in favor of Bonpland.

Humboldt and the French botanist in 1799. went on a scientific expedition to South America and Mexico, which lasted five whole years. This journey brought scientists worldwide fame, and Humboldt himself began to be called the “second Columbus.”

It is believed that in 1796 The scientist set himself the following tasks:

explore little-studied areas of the globe;
systematize all received information;
taking into account the research results of other scientists, comprehensively describe the structure of the Universe.

All tasks, of course, were successfully completed. After the discovery of America as a continent, no one dared until Humbaldt conduct similar studies. Therefore, he decides to go to the most little-studied area - the West Indies, which allows him to achieve colossal results. Humboldt created the first geographical maps discovered America almost simultaneously, but in world history the name of Christopher Columbus will always be first on the list of those who explored the territories of the New World.

How to download traffic tickets to your computer

Koch and shebeka, ships with sails of Novgorodians and Pomors