Spain Builds an Empire

The Voyages of Columbus Christopher was born to a wool weaver who later had a cheese stand. One of his brothers later became a cartographer. What is a cartographer? He claims to have first sailed at the age of 10 years old. He first planned to become a businessman and sailed for business trading purposes. 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506

Intelligent and ambitious, Columbus eventually learned Latin, as well as Portuguese and Castilian, and read widely about astronomy and geography including about the travels of Marco Polo.

The land route to Asia had become much more difficult and dangerous The land route to Asia had become much more difficult and dangerous. Who was the first to seek a different route to Asia? Remember his sailors were scared, so he had to go back…. Bartolomeu Dias, Portuguese and sailing for King John II, sailed around the southern tip of Africa in 1488. What did he call this area? Cape of Good Hope Meanwhile, in the 1480’s the Columbus brothers had developed a different plan to reach the Indies by sailing west across the “Ocean Sea” (the Atlantic Ocean). They got monetary support from Spain.

Columbus Map drawn in 1490

August 3, 1492 Columbus left Spain with three ships… Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria On October 12, two hours after midnight, land was sighted from the Pinta. A cannon was fired to let the other ships know they had spotted land.

Columbus and the Taino Columbus really had reached what we know as the Bahama Islands. He believed he had reached the Indies, so he called them Indians. This is how our Native Americans received the name of “Indians.”

The Columbian Exchange

Diseases such as measles and smallpox were also brought over by the Europeans that killed many Native Americans.

The Impact of Columbus Columbus showed Europeans the way to the Americas. The name America actually comes from Amerigo Vespucci, who in 1502 became the first to call the Americas the “new world.”