History Facts

Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator, colonizer, and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the Western Hemisphere. He was falsely given credit for discovering the “New World” for a long time, however, now it is commonly believed Viking explorers landed in North America some 500 years prior. Columbus is still an important person in our history though. Continue reading to find out why.

Fact #1 - Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451.

Columbus was not born into a wealthy family. He moved up the sailing ranks starting as a teenager when he was a pirate. He eventually became a skilled sailor.

Fact #2 - Christopher Columbus set sail for Asia in 1492 under the Spanish flag.

Even though Columbus was Italian, he was unable to secure funding from Italy for his voyage. Many Europeans thought it was a death trap (in those days they still believe the Earth was flat). Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain eventually said ‘yes’ to funding his voyage.

Fact #3 - Christopher Columbus was given three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Queen Isabella gave Columbus money and ninety sailors.

These vessels were very small. Movies depict Columbus sailing with large Galleons, however the three ships he used carried 25-40 men each. Columbus himself sailed to the New World on the Santa Maria, then returned to Europe on the Nina.

Fact #4 - Christopher Columbus and his crew first sighted land on October 12, 1492.

It is believed that the island Columbus first saw was part of the Bahamas. He named it San Salvador. When they set foot on the land, there were in fact natives already settled there. I’m not sure if Columbus was surprised or not, because he was under the impression that he landed on an island in Southeast Asia, which they knew was populated. He later sailed to what is now Cuba.

Fact #5 - Christopher Columbus made 4 voyages to the New World.

Each voyage brought him to new islands, which he continued to name. He spent a lot of time stranded on Jamaica, but after a year was rescued and returned to Spain where he would retire and eventually pass away in 1506. Columbus died thinking he hand landed on the East Coast of Asia. He never knew how big the Americas were.