discovery of the "new world"
Christopher Columbus
- Before the discovery of the Americas, people believed that the world was flat.
- Columbus came to believe that the East Indies (present day Indonesia and surrounding islands) could be reached by sailing west through the Atlantic Ocean.
- King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to finance Columbus in the hopes of acquiring great wealth.
- On August 3, 1492, Columbus, crew, and three ships, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, left Palos, Spain and headed westward.
- On October 12, a crew member aboard the Pinta sighted one of the Bahama Islands. Columbus encountered native peoples who he named “Indians” because he believed they were inhabitants of the Indies.
- Columbus returned to Spain a hero. Some began to believe that Columbus had found “a new world” rather than a shortcut to the Indies.