Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus Biographical Data Born 1451

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus Biographical Data • Born: 1451 in Genoa, Italy • Sent by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain • Died: May 20, 1506 in Valladolid, Spain

Christopher Columbus Reason for Exploring • Thought that Japan and the Indies were much closer than they are. • “Enterprise of the Indies. ” • Explore a new route to the East Indies (Spice Islands). • Would become Governor of any lands discovered. • Keep 10% of wealth discovered.

Christopher Columbus • Christopher Columbus was born in 1451, in Italy. • He studied navigation and believed he could find a better route to Asia. • Instead of going around Africa, he wanted to go west. He, however, did not know that NA and SA were between Europe and Asia.

Christopher Columbus • Columbus asked King Ferdinand Queen Isabella of Spain to pay for his voyage. • They were fighting a war and did not have the money. • Columbus asked again in 6 years. • This time they said “yes” because they needed money for their war. They believed the spices and gold that Columbus brought back would help pay their debt.

Christopher Columbus His Voyage • Three ships: – the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria • A crew of about 90 men and boys • The Santa Maria, at 100 feet in length, was the largest of the three ships; • the Niña and the Pinta were 70 -foot caravels. • Set sail on Aug 3, 1492 from port of Palos, Spain.

Christopher Columbus His 1 st Voyage • Voyage into uncharted waters. • Made good time, but it was much farther than he thought. • Had to ration food & drink. • October 10 th crew became mutinous. . wanted to turn back • Oct 12 th. . sighted land “Tierra, tierra. ” • Landed in the Bahamas.

Christopher Columbus 1 st Voyage

Christopher Columbus Discoveries/Outcomes • Explored Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) • Met Native Americans (Taino) and traded gold with them. • Returned to Palos on March 15 th. • Made three more voyages to explore the Caribbean region. 1493 -1496, 1498 -1500, 1502 -1504

Christopher Columbus Opinion • Did not “discover” America since many native peoples were already there. – Maybe they came from Asia – Maybe Vikings and other sailors came before him. • Started commerce between Europe and Americas • Was an excellent sailor and explorer.

The Columbian Exchange • Ferdinand Isabella wanted Columbus to start settlements and look for gold. • A settlement is a small community of people living in a new place. • He continued to claim more land in the West Indies for Spain.

The Columbian Exchange • Columbus brought ships filled with horses, cows, pigs, wheat, barley, and sugar cane to the Western Hemisphere. • These animals did not live in the Americas before Columbus brought them.

Effects of Columbus • Europeans cut down rain forests on Caribbean Islands and built sugar plants. • Many American plants and animals were destroyed. • They brought diseases. • They caused epidemics. • An epidemic is an outbreak of disease the spreads quickly and affects many people.

The Columbian Exchange • Columbus returned to Spain with plants no one • • in Europe had seen before. These included maize (corn), peanuts, potatoes, cacao (chocolate), and certain peppers, beans, and squashes. This movement of plants, animals, and people between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres is known as the Columbian Exchange.

Christopher Columbus Bibliography “Christoper Columbus” UXL Biography, Gale. “The Columbus Navigation Homepage. ” http: //www 1. minn. net/~keithp/. Sept 16, 2002.