LOGIN | NEU REGISTRIEREN

Schule > Englisch > Landeskunde > Christoph Columbus

Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America

Columbus was born in Italy in 1451. First he went to the Italy king to spent money in his expedition but he said no and so he went to the Spanish King. The Spanish king and queen were interested in finding a sea-route to Asia and so they would spent a lot of money. But he didn’t find Asia, he discovered the middle of America. A few centuries ago a Wicking discovered the north of America.
Columbus was born in Genoa. His father was a weaver and many people think, that Columbus has been a weaver when he was young, too. We don’t know, when Columbus started being a sailor. It is possible, that Columbus sailed already he was young, because Genoa had a big seaport. Between 1470 and 1480 he undertook his first merchant service to the island Chios. In 1476 he sailed together with some other ship to England. But they didn’t arrive England. His ship sank but he could save himself and so he arrived Lisbon. Since this moment he lived there. His brother lived and worked there, too. In 1479 he married the daughter by the governor of the island Porto Santo. The single child in this marriage was Diego Columbus. He was born 1480.
Columbus was inspired by the theories of the antiquity. He thought, that the earth is a ball. And so he had the idea that there is a harmless sea-route to Asia. They knew, that they can sail round Africa, but this route was very dangerous. In the year 1484, after he had study the map of the world, he went to John II and asked him, if he would finance this journey by ship to Asia. But they didn’t allowed him to do this, because his calculation was wrong and ships from Portuguese wanted to find the sea-route to Asia, too.
After that, Columbus went to Spain. There were same rich men who wanted to help him. In 1486 he met queen Isabella. At this time he had lost his wife. He met Beatriz Enriquez and later he married her. Then was his second son Ferdinand born. The king didn’t want to help him. But he didn’t give up and so he was successful. In April in 1492 told the queen and the king him, that they would finance the expedition.
The expedition existed of three ship. They started at the 3. August 1492 in Spain in a group of 90 men. In the evening of the 12. October they could see land. And at the next day in the early morning they disembarked at an island. Later they called it San Salvador. A few weeks later they disembarked at Cuba and Haiti. Columbus thought, that this Islands were next to Asia. In December one ship was broken. The two other ship started the return-journey at January in the year 1493. They arrived home in March. The king was happy and Columbus get the privileges with they had promise him.
In September in 1493 the second expedition started. They were 1700 men. They sailed in a group of 17 ship. At November the 27. they disembarked in La Navidad, they recognized, that the men, who should stay there, were killed. Columbus founded a colony next to the Kap Isabella how it is call today. In the year 1494 in spring he reconnoitred the coast of Cuba. He thought, that this coast belongs to the Asia continent. At November the 29. he came back to the colony. The colonists and the men who came to America together with Columbus had an dispute, because the Indians were angry about the people who were unfriendly and criminal against the colonists. Columbus defeats the Indians in the March in 1495 and took a lot of them to Spain. He wanted to sell this people, but the queen wouldn’t allow that, and so he brought them back to America. He founded a new town which was called Santo Domingo. Then he sailed back to Spain to met the king and the queen. They promised him, that they will finance another expedition. Two years later he was able to sail to America with eight ship.
In the year 1498 at March the 30. he started the third expedition. He sailed to Trinidad and to Venezuela. After he sailed along the coast and sent a group to the country he wrote down, that he had discovered a new world, which the European hadn’t know before. In August he arrived in the colony. The colonists were very angry about his brother who should govern them. He appeased them and wanted them to get Christians. At this time his enemies told the king, that the colony needs a new governor. In March in the year 1499 the king wouldn’t allow Columbus anymore to govern the colony. The new governor was Francisco de Bobadilla. He came to the colony at August the 23. in the year 1500. The new governor told the people to send Columbus and his brother back to Spain. The king and queen gave them the money which they had to get, but they wouldn’t allow, that Columbus could do his job. But the governor in America wasn’t allowed to govern the colony anymore, and so they sent Nicolas de Ovando to the Colony to govern it.
The king promised Columbus, that he would help him to start the fourth expedition, because he should find a sea-route to Asia, but he only had four ship and they were not the best. And they told him not to sail to the colony. After 21 days they arrived at the colony. The colonists knew, that there would be a cyclone they wouldn’t allow him to land. After he had repair the ship he sailed through the sea in front of Honduras. Then he sailed six months along the coast to find the way westerly to Asia. In 1503 in January he landed in Panama. There he founded a colony. Later he had to give up this colony. In the year 1503 in June the 23. he was shipwrecked. He sent people to the colony to get help. He forced the Indians to give them food. One year later they came back and ransomed Columbus. At November the seventh they arrived at Spain.
Later Columbus didn’t sail anymore. In the last months of his life he was worried by illness. He wanted, that the king gave him the privileges he had had. He was really rich. He died in the year 1506 at May the 20. in Spain. He was a great man.

Download: PDF, DOC