Columbus has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization - as well as blamed for the destruction of the native peoples of the islands he explored. Ultimately, he failed to find that what he set out for: a new route to Asia and the riches it promised.
The horse from Europe allowed Native American tribes in the Great Plains of North America to shift from a nomadic to a hunting lifestyle. Wheat from the Old World fast became a main food source for people in the Americas. Coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became major cash crops for Latin American countries.
And foods from the Americas, such as potatoes, tomatoes and corn, became staples for Europeans and helped increase their populations. The Columbian Exchange also brought new diseases to both hemispheres, though the effects were greatest in the Americas.
Smallpox from the Old World decimated millions of the Native American population to mere fractions of their original numbers. This more than any other factor allowed for European domination of the Americas. The overwhelming benefits of the Columbian Exchange went to the Europeans initially and eventually to the rest of the world. The Americas were forever altered and the once vibrant cultures of the Indigenous civilizations were changed and lost, denying the world any complete understanding of their existence.
In May , Columbus made headlines as news broke that a team of archaeologists may have found the Santa Maria off the north coast of Haiti.
Barry Clifford, the leader of this expedition, told the Independent newspaper that "all geographical, underwater topography and archaeological evidence strongly suggests this wreck is Columbus' famous flagship the Santa Maria. After a thorough investigation by the U. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.
America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator and explorer who played a prominent role in exploring the New World. While in the service of Spain, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European voyage of discovery to circumnavigate the globe.
Venetian merchant and adventurer Marco Polo traveled from Europe to Asia from to Setting sail on August 3, , Columbus reached the Bahamas on October The expedition headed back to Spain in March of after landing on the islands of Cuba and Espanola. Columbus sailed across the Atlantic three more times during his lifetime. He maintained that the lands he discovered were part of Asia, despite contrary evidence.
There was no need for Columbus to debunk the flat-earthers—the ancient Greeks had already done so. As early as the sixth century B. In search of fame and fortune, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan c. En route he discovered what is now known as the Strait of Magellan and became the The story of North American exploration spans an entire millennium and involves a wide array of European powers and uniquely American characters.
A decade later, he was serving as governor of the eastern province of Hispaniola when he decided to explore a nearby island, which became John Cabot or Giovanni Caboto, as he was known in Italian was an Italian explorer and navigator who may have developed the idea of sailing westward to reach the riches of Asia while working for a Venetian merchant. Though the exact details of his life and expeditions are the Live TV. This Day In History.
History Vault. Recommended for you. Christopher Columbus' Last Voyage. Christopher Columbus Sets Sail. Columbus' Quest for Gold. Columbus Day Columbus Day is a U. Why Columbus Day Courts Controversy More than years after he "discovered" the New World—kicking off centuries of exploration and colonization of the Americas—Christopher Columbus is honored with a federal holiday on the second Monday of every October.
During his second voyage, Columbus explored the islands that are now called Puerto Rico and Jamaica and established the first permanent Spanish settlement on Hispaniola. He made two additional voyages: between and to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America, and between and to the coast of Central America. Columbus's success created the potential for conflict between Spain and Portugal. Ferdinand and Isabella were anxious to protect their claims to the new lands.
In May , very soon after Columbus returned from his first voyage, they persuaded Pope Alexander VI to issue an edict giving Spain all lands west of an imaginary line through the Atlantic. Portugal was not satisfied. Through the Treaty of Tordesillas , the two countries agreed to move the line further west and give Portugal exclusive right to the territory to the east.
Although the result of the shift was unknown at the time, the change put the eastern quarter of South America Brazil in the Portuguese sphere; Pedro Cabral reached the Brazilian coast in He never wavered from the belief that he had reached the outlying islands off the Asian mainland.
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