Christopher Columbus
By: Andrew b.
Christopher Columbus Background
Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, a busy seaport on the coast of Italy. As a child, Columbus had read about the travels of Marco polo. In the late 1200s Marco polo had a voyage to Asia and had a very good find. He brought back a lot of gold, jewels, and spices from china. Columbus was also interested in exploring the same faraway lands that his hero, Marco, had traveled. So, around the age of 15, Columbus had become a sailor. He sailed ships that went around the coast of Africa and north to Ireland. Columbus had thought that he was the best sailor. But, he had no knowledge on the voyage the Vikings took.
The voyage of Christopher Columbus
On August 3, 1492, Columbus left his hometown (Spain) with 3 ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. They sailed southwest past the Canary island and then west in the Atlantic ocean. On October 12, a sailor spotted a piece of land. It looked like a tiny, white beach like island. His crew and him named it San Salvador. For 3 months, Columbus searched for gold and spices. In 1493, him and his crew sailed back to Spain with few gold and spices.
After His Journey
When Columbus returned to Spain and told the queen and king about his voyage and how much profit he brought back, the king and queen were very satisfied. They told Columbus that they would fund him for other voyages. Columbus promised the couple " as much gold as you need...as many slaves as they ask." Columbus made 3 more voyages. He found very little gold. In fact, he didn't even know that he had made it to the New World.