Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus, Italian Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish Cristóbal Colón, (born between August 26 and October 31?, 1451, Genoa [Italy]—died May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain), master navigator and admiral whose four transatlantic voyages (1492–93, 1493–96, 1498–1500, and 1502–04) opened the way for European exploration, exploitation, and colonization of the Americas. He has long been called the “discoverer” of the New World, although Vikings such as Leif Eriksson had visited North America five centuries earlier. Columbus made his transatlantic voyages under the sponsorship of Ferdinand II and Isabella I, the Catholic Monarchs of Aragon, Castile, and Leon in Spain. He was at first full of hope and ambition, an ambition partly gratified by his title “Admiral of the Ocean Sea,” awarded to him in April 1492, and by the grants enrolled in the Book of Privileges (a record of his titles and claims). However, he died a disappointed man.
What is Christopher Columbus known for?
What was Christopher Columbus looking for?
Columbus sailed in search of a route to Cathay (China) and India to bring back gold and spices that were highly sought in Europe. His patrons, Ferdinand II and Isabella I of Spain, hoped that his success would bring them greater status.
Where did Christopher Columbus go?
Columbus made four transatlantic voyages: 1492–93, 1493–96, 1498–1500, and 1502–04. He traveled primarily to the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Santo Domingo, and Jamaica, and in his latter two voyages traveled to the coasts of eastern Central America and northern South America.
Did Christopher Columbus discover America?
Some people say Columbus discovered America or the «New World,» but Vikings such as Leif Eriksson had visited North America centuries earlier, and Native American tribes had lived in the Americas for centuries before either Columbus or the Vikings arrived.
What was the impact of Columbus’s travels?
The period between the quatercentenary celebrations of Columbus’s achievements in 1892–93 and the quincentenary ones of 1992 saw great advances in Columbus scholarship. Numerous books about Columbus appeared in the 1990s, and the insights of archaeologists and anthropologists began to complement those of sailors and historians. This effort gave rise to considerable debate. There was also a major shift in approach and interpretation; the older pro-European understanding gave way to one shaped from the perspective of the inhabitants of the Americas themselves. According to the older understanding, the “discovery” of the Americas was a great triumph, one in which Columbus played the part of hero in accomplishing the four voyages, in being the means of bringing great material profit to Spain and to other European countries, and in opening up the Americas to European settlement. The more recent perspective, however, has concentrated on the destructive side of the European conquest, emphasizing, for example, the disastrous impact of the slave trade and the ravages of imported disease on the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean region and the American continents. The sense of triumph has diminished accordingly, and the view of Columbus as hero has now been replaced, for many, by one of a man deeply flawed. While this second perception rarely doubts Columbus’s sincerity or abilities as a navigator, it emphatically removes him from his position of honour. Political activists of all kinds have intervened in the debate, further hindering the reconciliation of these disparate views.
Early career and preparation for the first voyage
Little is known of Columbus’s early life. The vast majority of scholars, citing Columbus’s testament of 1498 and archival documents from Genoa and Savona, believe that he was born in Genoa to a Christian household; however, it has been claimed that he was a converted Jew or that he was born in Spain, Portugal, or elsewhere. Columbus was the eldest son of Domenico Colombo, a Genoese wool worker and merchant, and Susanna Fontanarossa, his wife. His career as a seaman began effectively in the Portuguese merchant marine. After surviving a shipwreck off Cape Saint Vincent at the southwestern point of Portugal in 1476, he based himself in Lisbon, together with his brother Bartholomew. Both were employed as chart makers, but Columbus was principally a seagoing entrepreneur. In 1477 he sailed to Iceland and Ireland with the merchant marine, and in 1478 he was buying sugar in Madeira as an agent for the Genoese firm of Centurioni. In 1479 he met and married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, a member of an impoverished noble Portuguese family. Their son, Diego, was born in 1480. Between 1482 and 1485 Columbus traded along the Guinea and Gold coasts of tropical West Africa and made at least one voyage to the Portuguese fortress of São Jorge da Mina (now Elmina, Ghana) there, gaining knowledge of Portuguese navigation and the Atlantic wind systems along the way. Felipa died in 1485, and Columbus took as his mistress Beatriz Enríquez de Harana of Córdoba, by whom he had his second son, Ferdinand (born c. 1488).
In 1484 Columbus began seeking support for an Atlantic crossing from King John II of Portugal but was denied aid. (Some conspiracy theorists have alleged that Columbus made a secret pact with the monarch, but there is no evidence of this.) By 1486 Columbus was firmly in Spain, asking for patronage from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. After at least two rejections, he at last obtained royal support in January 1492. This was achieved chiefly through the interventions of the Spanish treasurer, Luis de Santángel, and of the Franciscan friars of La Rábida, near Huelva, with whom Columbus had stayed in the summer of 1491. Juan Pérez of La Rábida had been one of the queen’s confessors and perhaps procured him the crucial audience.
Christian missionary and anti-Islamic fervour, the power of Castile and Aragon, the fear of Portugal, the lust for gold, the desire for adventure, the hope of conquests, and Europe’s genuine need for a reliable supply of herbs and spices for cooking, preserving, and medicine all combined to produce an explosion of energy that launched the first voyage. Columbus had been present at the siege of Granada, which was the last Moorish stronghold to fall to Spain (January 2, 1492), and he was in fact riding back from Granada to La Rábida when he was recalled to the Spanish court and the vital royal audience. Granada’s fall had produced euphoria among Spanish Christians and encouraged designs of ultimate triumph over the Islamic world, albeit chiefly, perhaps, by the back way round the globe. A direct assault eastward could prove difficult, because the Ottoman Empire and other Islamic states in the region had been gaining strength at a pace that was threatening the Christian monarchies themselves. The Islamic powers had effectively closed the land routes to the East and made the sea route south from the Red Sea extremely hard to access.
In the letter that prefaces his journal of the first voyage, the admiral vividly evokes his own hopes and binds them all together with the conquest of the infidel, the victory of Christianity, and the westward route to discovery and Christian alliance:
…and I saw the Moorish king come out of the gates of the city and kiss the royal hands of Your Highnesses…and Your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians…took thought to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the said parts of India, to see those princes and peoples and lands…and the manner which should be used to bring about their conversion to our holy faith, and ordained that I should not go by land to the eastward, by which way it was the custom to go, but by way of the west, by which down to this day we do not know certainly that anyone has passed; therefore, having driven out all the Jews from your realms and lordships in the same month of January, Your Highnesses commanded me that, with a sufficient fleet, I should go to the said parts of India, and for this accorded me great rewards and ennobled me so that from that time henceforth I might style myself “Don” and be high admiral of the Ocean Sea and viceroy and perpetual Governor of the islands and continent which I should discover…and that my eldest son should succeed to the same position, and so on from generation to generation forever.
Thus a great number of interests were involved in this adventure, which was, in essence, the attempt to find a route to the rich land of Cathay (China), to India, and to the fabled gold and spice islands of the East by sailing westward over what was presumed to be open sea. Columbus himself clearly hoped to rise from his humble beginnings in this way, to accumulate riches for his family, and to join the ranks of the nobility of Spain. In a similar manner, but at a more exalted level, the Catholic Monarchs hoped that such an enterprise would gain them greater status among the monarchies of Europe, especially against their main rival, Portugal. Then, in alliance with the papacy (in this case, with the Borgia pope Alexander VI [1492–1503]), they might hope to take the lead in the Christian war against the infidel.
At a more elevated level still, Franciscan brethren were preparing for the eventual end of the world, as they believed was prophesied in the Revelation to John. According to that eschatological vision, Christendom would recapture Jerusalem and install a Christian emperor in the Holy Land as a precondition for the coming and defeat of Antichrist, the Christian conversion of the whole human race, and the Last Judgment. Franciscans and others hoped that Columbus’s westward project would help to finance a Crusade to the Holy Land that might even be reinforced by, or coordinated with, offensives from the legendary ruler Prester John, who was thought to survive with his descendants in the lands to the east of the infidel. The emperor of Cathay—whom Europeans referred to as the Great Khan of the Golden Horde—was himself held to be interested in Christianity, and Columbus carefully carried a letter of friendship addressed to him by the Spanish monarchs. Finally, the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was known to have pressed southward along the coast of West Africa, beyond São Jorge da Mina, in an effort to find an easterly route to Cathay and India by sea. It would never do to allow the Portuguese to find the sea route first.
Рассказ о кристофере колумбе на английском
АМЕРИКА И АМЕРИКАНЦЫ
COLUMBUS DAY
Columbus Day is celebrated on October 12th. It commemorates the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492.
Christopher Columbus was born in the seaport of Genoa, Italy. Columbus heard sailors speak of Marco Polo who had visited the Far East 200 years earlier. He wrote about his long voyage by land and the wonders he had seen.
He wanted to find the shorter route to Japan, China, India and the East Indies. Europeans were very interested in the gold, gems, and spices that came from the East. They used camels, horses, and elephants to travel on land, across mountains and deserts to get to these countries. These trips were long, dangerous, and expensive.
At that time many people thought that the world was flat. They said that if a ship would sail to the edge of the world, it would fall off and be lost. Columbus did not believe this: he was always convinced that the world was round.
King’s Federation and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to finance Columbus’ expeditions. On the third of August, 1492, Columbus set sail with three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. These ships were made of wood and had very few comfort. The compasses were crude. Columbus navigated by studying the stars and the moon.
It was a dangerous voyage. Finally, on October, 12th, they saw an island. Columbus believed that he had discovered an island off the East Indies. He was wrong. He really had discovered a new world: America. He called this island San Salvador.
As a seaman, he was one of the greatest in history. His success encouraged other explorers.
Today it is a legal holiday in America. Schools, banks, post offices and government offices are closed. Many schools hold programmes and special events. Cities and organizations hold ceremonies, parades, fairs, food festivals and banquets.
Traditionally this is a day to celebrate the contributions to the culture of the United States made by Italian immigrants. Pizza and pasta, opera, and Italian fashion are part of the daily life of America.
It is also a day to recognize the strong ties of friendship between the two countries: Italy and the United States.
1. When is this day celebrated?
2. What does it commemorate?
3. Who was Christopher Columbus?
4. What he was famous for?
5. How does America celebrate this holiday?
День Колумба отмечается 12 октября. В этот день празднуют открытие Америки Христофором Колумбом 12 октября 1492 г. Христофор Колумб родился в морском порту Генуи, Италия. Колумб слышал, как моряки рассказывали о путешествии Марко Поло на Дальний Восток 200 лет назад. Он написал о свою сухопутную поездку и о чудесах, которые видел.
Поло хотел найти короткий путь в Японию, Китай, Индию и в Восточную Индию. Европейцы интересовались золотом, драгоценными камнями, специями, поступавшие с Востока. Они использовали верблюдов, лошадей, слонов для путешествия по земле, через горы и пустыни, чтобы добраться до этих стран. Путешествия были длительными, опасными и дорогими.
В то время многие думали, что земля была плоской. Говорили, что если корабль доплывет до конца света, то он упадет и потеряется. Колумб не верил в это, он всегда был убежден, что земля круглая.
Королевская федерация и королева Испании Изабелла согласились стать спонсорами экспедиции Колумба. Третьего августа 1492 г. Колумб снарядил три корабля: «Санта-Мария», «Пинта» и «Нина». Корабли были деревянными и имели очень мало удобств. Компасы были очень примитивными. Колумб руководил кораблем, изучая звезды и Месяц.
Как мореплаватель он был одним из самых крупных в истории. Его успех вдохновил других исследователей.
Сегодня это официальный праздник в Америке. Школы, банки, почты, государственные дома закрыты. Школы проводят специальные праздничные программы. Города и организации проводят церемонии, парады, ярмарки, фестивали с угощением и банкеты.
По традиции в этот день отмечается вклад в культуру Соединенных Штатов, сделан итальянскими иммигрантами. Пицца, макароны, опера, итальянская мода является частью жизни Америки.
Этот день также является праздником дружбы двух стран: Италии и Соединенных Штатов.
The Discovery of America (2)
Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. He was born in Italy. His father and both grandfathers were cloth makers. Columbus was a seaman and made many sea voyages.
Most people in Columbus’s days thought that the earth was flat and they did not believe that beyond the Atlantic Ocean lay India. In 1492 the King and the Queen of Spain gave him money to go to India. He decided to sail west as he was sure that our planet was round. There were 3 caravels: the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta. After sailing 4000 miles he reached some land. The crew saw something like a white cliff and cried out: «Tierra! Tierra!». Columbus thought ‘that it must be India but it was not. It was a new land — a new continent. It was America. Columbus named the land they had reached San Salvador («Holy Saviour»). People began to speak about the land as «The new World».
European people came to the New World for many reasons. Some hoped to find gold and silver. Priests and missionaries came to bring the Christian religion to the Indians. Among those who came for freedom was a small group of English people called Pilgrims. They wanted to start a new life and to have no religious problems they had in England. In 1620 on the ship «Mayflower» they landed in the north-east of America. They set up a colony and called that part of the country «New England».
Открытие Америки (перевод)
Христофор Колумб открыл Америку в 1492 г. Он родился в Италии. Его отец и оба дедушки занимались шитьем одежды, Колумб был моряком и совершил много путешествий.
Большинство людей в дни Колумба полагали, что Земля плоская, и они не верили в то, что за Атлантическим океаном лежит Индия. В 1492 году король и королева Испании дали ему деньги на поездку в Индию. Он решил плыть на запад, так как был уверен, что Земля круглая. В путешествие отправились 3 каравеллы: «Санта Мария», «Нина», «Пинта». После того, как они проплыли 4 000′ миль, они достигли какой-то земли. Команда увидела что-то похожее на белую скалу и закричала: «Земля! Земля!’» Колумб подумал, что это должна быть Индия, но это была не она. Это была новая земля, новый континент. Это была Америка. Колумб назвал землю, которой они достигли, Сан Сальвадор («Святой спаситель»). Люди стали говорить об этой земле как о Новом Свете.
Европейцы приезжали в Новый Свет по разным причинам. Некоторые надеялись найти золото или серебро. Священники и миссионеры приезжали, чтобы принести христианство индейцам. Среди тех, кто приезжал за свободой, была маленькая группа англичан, прозванных пилигримами. Они хотели начать новую жизнь и начать ее без религиозных проблем, с которыми они столкнулись в Англии. В 1620 на корабле «Мэйфлауэ» они высадились на северо-востоке Америки. Они основали колонию и назвали эту часть страны Новая Англия.
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