| Christopher Columbus was the son of a
weaver. He was very interested in the discovery of new lands. His brother
Bartholomew was a chart maker in Lisbon, Portugal. Columbus studied chart making
with his brother. He believed that the world was round, and he wanted to travel
the seas to prove it. At that time, spice merchants were looking for a new route to Asia. Asia was a large trading area, but it was very difficult to reach by land. Columbus requested support from many people to help him travel the seas. Finally, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain granted his request, and gave him three ships for his voyage. On August 3, 1492, Columbus and ninety men set sail on the Santa Maria along with two other ships, the Nina and the Pinta. The voyage was hard and many men were sick and tired. On October 11, at ten o'clock at night, Columbus saw a light. The Pinta sailed ahead and reported that they had reached land. Since Columbus thought they had reached India, they expected to see people that were Indians. Even when they found out that they were not in Asia, they were happy to have found a new place that they could trade with. Columbus named the area where they landed "San Salvador", and claimed the area for Spain. Today Columbus Day is celebrated in the United States on the second Monday in October. Banks and government offices are closed to honor the man who was the first European to have discovered the New World of the Americas. |