Christopher Columbus

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Christopher Columbus
By Cadet Patience
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Christopher Columbus (c. 1451 May 20, 1506)
Tomb of Christopher Columbus, Cathedral of
Seville. The four kings bearing his tomb
represent the four kingdoms of Spain Castile,
Leon, Aragon, and Navarre
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Was an explorer and trader who crossed the
Atlantic Ocean and reached the Americas on
October 12, 1492. History places great
significance on his discovery of America in 1492,
when in fact he did not reach the mainland until
his third voyage in 1498. It is also a common
misconception that he is the earliest European
explorer to reach the Americas and whilst many
believe it was actually Leif Erikson.
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First Voyage
On the evening of August 3, 1492, Columbus left
from Palos with three ships, the Santa Maria,
Niña and Pinta. Columbus first sailed to the
Canary Islands, which was owned by Castile, where
he restocked the provisions and made repairs, and
on September 6, he started what turned out to be
a five-week voyage across the ocean.
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Second Voyage
Admiral Columbus left from Cádiz, Spain, to find
new territories on September 24, 1493, with 17
ships carrying supplies, and about 1,200 men to
peacefully colonize the region.On November 3,
1493, Columbus sighted a rugged island that he
named Dominica. On After sailing past Les Saintes
he arrived at Guadaloupe, which he explored
between November 4 and November 10, 1493. The
exact course of his voyage through the Lesser
Antilles is debated, but it seems likely that he
turned north, sighting and naming several islands
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Third Voyage
On May 30, 1498, Columbus left with six ships
from Sanlúcar, Spain, for his third trip to the
New World. Columbus landed on the south coast of
the island of Trinidad on July 31. From August 4
through August 12, he explored the Gulf of Paria
which separates Trinidad from Venezuela. He
explored the mainland of South America, including
the Orinoco River.
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The Nina
On the Columbus' first expedition, the Niña
carried 18 men. They left on August 3, 1492,
stopping at the Canary Islands on September 6,
1492, and continued westward. After running the
Santa Maria aground, Columbus returned on the
Niña in early 1493, arriving on March 15. The
Niña joined a grand fleet for the second voyage
to Hispaniola, becoming the flagship for an
exploration of Cuba. She was the only ship to
survive the 1495 hurricane, returning quickly to
Spain in 1496.
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The Pinta
The Pinta (the "Painted") was fastest of the
three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his
first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.
The new world was first sighted on the Pinta on
12 October 1492. Pinta was a caravel-type vessel.
It was square rigged and was smaller than the
Santa María, weighing approximately 60 tons with
a length of 20 meters and a width of 7 meters.
The crew size was 26 men. There are no known
contemporary likenesses of any of the three ships.
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The Santa Maria
The Santa María was the largest of the three
ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first
voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.
The ship was about 70 ft long, had a deck and
three masts. She was the slowest of Columbus'
vessels but performed well in the Atlantic
crossing. The ship ran aground off the
present-day site of Môle Saint-Nicolas, Haiti on
December 25, 1492, and was lost.
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On May 20, 1506, Columbus died in Valladolid,
fairly wealthy from the gold his men had
accumulated in Hispaniola. He was still convinced
that his journeys had been along the east coast
of Asia. Following his death, the flesh was
removed so that only his bones remained. Even
after his death, his travels continued first
interred in Valladolid and then at the monastery
of La Cartuja in Seville, by the will of his son
Diego, who had been governor of Hispaniola, his
remains were transferred to Santo Domingo in
1542.
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The End