Search results
Christopher Columbus opened the world of the Americas to his fellow Europeans. Europeans called Vikings had reached the Americas hundreds of years before Columbus first arrived there in 1492. However, the Vikings did not establish long-lasting settlements.
- Discovery of America
- Voyage in 1492
- Second Voyage
- Third Voyage
- Arrest and The Last Voyage
- Later Life and Death
- Personal Life
- Columbus's Goals
- After Columbus
- Legacy
Columbus was not the first European person to have discovered America. At the time of his voyage, Europeans did not know that the Americas existed. However, Leif Erikson had landed in what is now Canada around AD 1000. Native Americanshad lived there for thousands of years before he arrived. However, Native Americans did not record or add to the Eu...
Many people in Western Europe wanted to find a shorter way to get to Asia. Columbus thought he could get to Asia by sailing west. He did not know about the Western Hemisphere, so he did not realize it would block him from getting to Asia. However, Columbus did not have enough money to pay for this voyage on his own. He went to the rulers of Spain, ...
On September 24, 1493, Columbus left Spain with enough ships, supplies, and men to invade and make Spanish colonies in the New World. He had 17 ships and 1,200 men. These men included soldiers and farmers. On this voyage, Columbus explored some of the Lesser Antilles islands. He also sailed around most of Hispaniola and explored the sides of Jamaic...
In 1498, Columbus set out to find a continent that King John II of Portugal believed was to the southwest of the Cape Verde islands. Columbus sent three ships straight to the West Indies (the Caribbean). He led another three ships: first to two Portuguese islands, then to the Canary Islands, then to Cape Verde. From Cape Verde, they sailed to the n...
On August 23, 1500, Columbus was arrested in Hispaniola, now called Santo Domingo, for cruelty to natives and Spaniards. He was sent to Spain in chains in October 1500. He was released on December 12, 1500, and taken to court. Columbus had important friends, and the King restored his freedom. He was allowed to lead another voyage. Columbus made a f...
In his later years, Columbus demanded that the Spanish Crown give him 10% of all profits made in the new lands, according to earlier agreements. His demands were rejected. His family later sued for part of the profits from trade with America, but ultimately lost about fifty years later. On May 20, 1506, Columbus died of heart failure and arthritis ...
Columbus's relatives said that Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. Today, no historian can say for sure where Columbus was born. Most experts think the best evidence says he was born in Genoa. However, other historians think Columbus was born somewhere else, like Spain or Portugal. His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked in Genoa a...
Columbus journeyed to the New World with goals in mind. First, he believed he could find a shorter and easier route to Asia, which made things Europe did not. Some people said this was nonsense. Columbus wanted to prove these people wrong. Second, Columbus wanted to find gold. Gold was the main kind of money used in Columbus's time. Many historians...
When the Spanish learned about the New World, many conquistadors, or conquerors, went there. This led to the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Spanish conquistadors first settled on the islands of Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Cuba, and Puerto Rico. They seized as much gold as they could.
In the United States, Columbus Day is a holiday that celebrates Columbus's arrival in the New World on October 12, 1492. The World's Columbian Exposition, which happened in 1893 in Chicago, Illinois, was held to celebrate the 400th anniversaryof Columbus visiting the Americas.
Learn about the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus, the explorer who discovered America in 1492. Find out how he thought he was sailing to Asia, what he brought to the new world, and why he died a mystery.
Fun Facts About Christopher Columbus for Kids. Christopher Columbus was born on October 31, 1451 in Genoa, Italy. He began sailing when he was just a teenager. He went on trading voyages around the Mediterranean Sea. He took his first voyage into the Atlantic Ocean in 1476. French privateers attached his ship and set it on fire.
Learn about the famous explorer who sailed the seas to find new lands called ‘The Americas’. Find out how he survived pirates, what he brought back from America and why he was looking for China and India.
Learn about the Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to find Asia and discovered the Americas for Spain. Find out his facts, voyages, achievements, and controversies in this kid-friendly article.
This video teaches kids about Christopher Columbus, who he was, why he thought he could sail west to Asia, and what actually happened on his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. It's hard to...
- 12 min
- 195K
- Learn Bright
