Christopher Columbus (c.1451–1506) is widely recognized as the man who discovered America. He can be portrayed as a heroic explorer who sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and discovered America, and he can also be portrayed as a slave trader and treasure scout, who mistook America for the Indies.
Did Christopher Columbus Really Discover America?
About 500 years before Christopher Columbus first landed on an island in the Bahamas, Leif Ericson (c.970–c.1020), a Norse viking, landed at the northern tip of Newfoundland, an island off Canada. According to the Norse sagas (written versions of oral history), Ericson attempted to settle a land west of Greenland, which he called Vinland.
Several groups of people, sometimes referred to collectively as First Nations or Native Americans, inhabited the Americas at the times when both Ericson and Columbus encountered the land. The First Nations peoples continue to inhabit the Americas in the present day, are known by many names (Arawak, Cherokee, Nimíipuu, Navaho, etc.), and each nation has its own stories about the discovery and colonization of America by European explorers.
Consider Point of View
Christopher Columbus' voyage to the Americas is significant because it brought general awareness of the Americas to the people of Europe and likewise of Europe to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The story can be told from the points of view of the
- European explorers
- Native Americans
- Present-day descendants of European colonists
Colonization, or settlement, of the Americas by Europeans would have looked different to the colonists than it did to the indigenous peoples. For example, many colonists believed that they benefited the natives by bringing Christianity and Western civilization and culture. Columbus referred to his discovery of the "New World" as a conquest. Some present-day descendants of America's indigenous people, as well as others, oppose the celebration of Columbus Day.
Timeline of Columbus' First Voyage to America
1485-1492: Columbus lobbied for funding to set sail and find a western route to Asia. He eventually received funding from Queen Isabella I of Castile.
1492: Columbus set out with three ships – a large carrack ship, the Santa Clara, and two smaller caravel ships, the Pinta and the Santa María. The ships sailed first to the Canary Islands and onward for five weeks at sea.
On October 12, 1492, at 2 a.m., a sailor aboard the Pinta sighted land. The sailor's name was Rodrigo de Triana, but he was also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermejo. The land was an island in the Bahamas, southeast of the American coast. Columbus called the island San Salvador. The native Arawak called it Guanahani.
In the following months, Columbus and his crew explored the nearby coasts of Cuba and Hispaniola.
On Christmas morning, the Santa María ran aground and was abandoned.
1493: Columbus landed in Portugal and then sailed on to return to Spain.
What is in a Name?
The Native Americans. The Norse referred to the indigenous Americans as Skrælingar, which is the name they used for the Thule (Inuit) people of Greenland. Columbus' crew and generations of colonists thereafter referred to the indigenous Americans as Indios, or Indians, after initially mistaking an island in the Bahamas for the East Asian Indies.
Christopher Columbus. Columbus' commonly used name is an Anglicized version of his original name. He was likely born in Genoa, an independent state on the Italian coast, where his name would have been pronounced Christoffa Corombo. The Spanish would have pronounced his name as Cristóbal Colón.
The Three Ships. "The Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María" rhymes nicely, but Niña was a nickname for the Santa Clara, and the Santa María was nicknamed Gallega, or Galician.
America. A year after Columbus' death, German cartographer, Martin Waldseemüller (c.1470–c.1521), first used the name America, perhaps named after Italian explorer and cartographer, Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512).
Tips for Telling a True and Unbiased History
Christopher Columbus, his crew, the American natives, and the colonists can be viewed as heroes, villains, savages, and victims, depending upon viewpoint. Stick to supportable facts and broaden the perspective to include all affected peoples when telling the story of Columbus and the Americas.
Related: Many Ways to Observe Columbus Day with Kids
Recommended Reading: A Young People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, shares American history through the viewpoints and voices of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others.
Sara McGrath - Sara is a veteran homeschool mom of three, Usborne consultant, and the author of Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning.
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