Columbus Christopher and the discovery of America

Christopher Columbus was born in the family of the Genoese weaver-weaver in 1451. Childhood and youth of the future navigator, the eldest son in the family, were held in a weaving workshop, where he helped his father at work. However, from an early age, he dreamed of distant sea voyages. Already in the early 1470s, Columbus Christopher first enters his first trade expeditions. Many biographers of the eminent Italian believe that it was during this period that he had the idea of finding a new path in
India. It is believed that this idea could tell him the then known geographer and astronomer Paulo Toscanelli.

New way to India

In this place it is necessary to dwell on the military-political conjuncture in Europe at that time. The fact is that in the east of the continent the Muslim Ottoman Empire was growing . So, for example, in 1453, the ancient capital of Byzantium, Constantinople (which is today the largest Turkish city of Istanbul), was captured. This mighty empire during the XV century. Actually blocked the classic silk caravan route from Europe to Asia, imposing high duties on traders and hampering the development of such trade. However, the eastern lands always attracted the inhabitants of the Old World. Do not lose the popularity of the legend of fabulous creatures and the incredible wealth of the East. These facts stimulated the idea of finding additional detour routes to the East, in particular to India. The reality of such plans, among other things, confirmed the "young" at the time the assumption of the sphericity of the Earth.

Famous swimming in India

Columbus Christopher arrived in Portugal in 1477, where he met people who had forever changed his life. Acquainted with the principles of navigation, gaining experience
In trade expeditions, the traveler first expressed the idea of trying to find a way to India, bypassing the Afrikan continent. With this proposal, he turned to the Portuguese King Juan III in 1483. However, the project of the future discoverer seemed too unbelievable to the monarch, moreover, it was prohibitively expensive. Columbus Christopher was refused. Moreover, over the next nine years, he survived five more such failures. While in 1492 such a trip was not approved. The first expedition went to the oceanic reaches on August 3, 1492. It consisted of three very small ships: "Pinta", "Ninja" (literally "small") and "Santa Maria". A further story about how navigators, having lost their course, went not along Africa, but far to the west, is widely known. Only two months later, on October 12, 1492, already desperate sailors saw the earth on the horizon. It was one of the modern Bahamas. Subsequently, Columbus made three more expeditions to the shores of the new continent. However, seriously ill after the fourth voyage, he died in 1506. What is ironic, without knowing that he discovered not just a new path, but a whole new continent. This fact will be reported to the world by another well-known Italian - Amerigo Vespucci. And Vasco da Gama will be honored with the honor of opening a detour to India.

Value of Columbus voyage and Great geographical discoveries in general

The continent that Christopher Columbus discovered had yet to substantially transform the face of our world. Not only with respect to geographical knowledge, but also in all spheres of life of the Old World. A lot of new goods and gold reserves of American civilizations poured into the markets of Europe. This process stimulated the so-called initial accumulation of capital, the development of market relations and capitalism. The barely open continent for several subsequent centuries became home to numerous colonialists who later founded their own states. Several European states became global colonial empires, which not only forced indigenous peoples (not only in America, but also in other parts of the world) to work for themselves, but also contributed to the establishment of European values around the world. Of course, Columbus Christopher is not the only one who so significantly influenced the development of world history, except him, there were hundreds of other travelers, theorists and inspirers. However, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest pioneers.