Interesting Facts for Kids about Christopher Columbus
Born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy, Christopher Columbus was the oldest of five children. When he was growing up, he learned to weave so he could help his father. He really wanted to sail the ocean. Even though he didn't get a lot of schooling, he traveled a lot and taught himself how to read and write in Spanish and Latin.
Most people today think that Christopher Columbus set out to prove the earth was round, but most people already knew this to be a fact at the time Columbus sailed to the New World. Columbus really wanted to find an easier way to get to China to bring back trade goods like silk, spices and other items. The current trade routes of the time went over land, and was full of danger from bandits.
He got married to Dona Felipa Perestrello in 1479, the daughter of an experienced sea captain. Her high social ranking helped him make better connections and he sailed to Africa's Gold Coast in the name of King John II of Portugal in 1481. By 1484, Columbus offered his plan to discover a new trade route to the king of Portugal, but he was turned down because the king thought his plan was too vague. The king briefly reconsidered, but when Bartholomew Diaz discovered an eastern route by sea to India, the king was no longer interested in an untried western route.
Next he tried to convince King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his voyage. It took eight years before they agreed. By that time, Columbus also demanded that he be knighted and declared Admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the governor and viceroy of all the lands he would discover in his journey. He also demanded ten percent of all valuables he discovered in his travels. The king and queen agreed, and he prepared to set sail across the Atlantic Ocean.
Columbus' first voyage consisted of only three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. He made sure there was enough food aboard to last a year, and in four short months, he set sail with a crew of about 90 sailors, leaving on August 3, 1492. He had to stop in the Canary Islands for a month to repair a problem with some of the ships before again setting out westward in September 3, 1492. Only 33 days later at 2 am on October 12, 1492, one of the sailors on board spotted land in the distance.
Columbus had discovered one of the islands in the Bahamas known today as Watling Island. He named it San Salvador, claiming sovereignty in the name of Spain. He mistakenly thought he was in the West Indies, so he called all the natives "Indians." When he reached Cuba, he thought he had found China.
He built a fort on Haiti and returned to Spain, where he was welcomed as a hero. He made three more voyages to the New World, taking his son, Ferdinand on his fourth trip.
Contrary to popular belief, Columbus never discovered North America… only the outlying islands. He did later discover South America, but when he died in 1506, he never realized he had discovered a new continent.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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