Mr. Kersey.org - Mr. Kersey's Lecture Notes

Columbus Sets Sail: Goals and Events

(Lecture Notes from Mr. Kersey's 8th Grade U.S. History Class)

Christopher Columbus was a well educated man, and a gifted sailor.
He learned the newest navigation tricks from the Portuguese.
He also read a great deal, like Marco Polo’s Description of the World.
Columbus was also ambitious and driven by a desire to prove himself and for wealth.

After learning of Dias’s voyage around Africa, Columbus became convinced he could find a better route to Asia.
Columbus thought he could sail west from Europe and eventually hit Asia. He thought the ocean was much smaller than other people of the time did.
Chris spent years trying to convince anyone with a crown to give him money for his trip.
Eventually he convinced Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to fund his voyage.

Columbus was given three ships, a crew, and all the supplies he needed for his trip.
He was promised a tenth of all gold, an eighth of profits from trade, and he got to be viceroy of all lands he found.
Ferdinand and Isabella weren’t really out too much to start, but Columbus was well motivated to find the Indies (a.k.a. Asia).

On Aug. 3, 1492, Chris set sail from Spain for the Canary Islands. From the Canary Islands he took his three ships west.
It wasn’t long before the ships were in uncharted waters and crew members started to freak out.
Columbus kept his men motivated with promises of gold and an iron fist.
The crew members eventually began to see signs of land nearby.
Finally on Oct.12, 1492, land was sighted.
It wasn’t Asia.

Columbus had actually arrived in a group of islands southeast of mainland North America.
He and his crew were greeted by native Americans, a tribe called the Taino.
These people greeted Columbus with gifts and curiosity.
Columbus wrote back to Spain that they were remarkable in their generosity…
…and that they would make great slaves.
Columbus sent out men to look for gold and question the Taino about the location of gold.
He also took a bunch of them captive to take home.

When Columbus arrived back in Spain, he told Ferdinand and Isabella that he had found Asia, and that it was a land teeming with gold, and rich with resources.
His story was a tad exaggerated, mostly because he wanted to go on another voyage.

Columbus made three other trips to the New World, never really knowing what he had found.
It would be for other explorers to figure out the magnitude of his discovery.