He then moved to Lisbon, Portugal, to gain support for a journey he was planning to find new trade routes to the Far East. Columbus wanted to find a new route to India, China, Japan and the Spice Islands. Columbus probably based his idea on several sources—rumors of islands in the distant Atlantic and his reading of works on geography, such as those by the ancient scholar Ptolemy. Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen of Spain, agreed to finance him.
Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he stumbled upon the Americas.
For the first trip, in September of 1492 Columbus left the Canary Islands with three ships, sailing west into unknown waters. Two, the Nina and the Pinta were caravels – small ships with triangular sails. The third, the Santa Maria, was a nao – a larger square-rigged ship. The ships were small, between 15 and 36 metres long. Between them they carried about 90 men.
After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Columbus made it to what is now the Bahamas in 61 days. The land was sighted by a sailor called Rodrigo Bernajo (although Columbus himself took the credit for this). Columbus initially thought his plan was successful and the ships had reached India. In fact, he called the indigenous people “Indians,” an inaccurate name that unfortunately stuck. He claimed the island for the King and Queen of Spain, although it was already populated
Although best known for his historic 1492 expedition, Columbus returned to the Americas three more times in the following decade. His voyages took him to Caribbean islands, South America and Central America.
He visited Trinidad and the South American mainland before returning to the ill-fated Hispaniola settlement, where the ‘Indian’ inhabitants had staged a bloody revolt against the Europeans.
Explorer Christopher Columbus (1451–1506)
