Christopher Columbus
Cristoforo Colombo or Crostóbal Colón discovered America when he was seeking a westward route to India. To his dying day, the master mariner and navigator believed he had achieved his quest, and denied discovering a new continent. While Columbus was not the first European to encounter America, he did achieve what no known previous explorer had: he sailed directly across the uncharted sea, without staying in sight of land, navigating by the stars.
It would be a decade before Europeans realized that the lands Columbus had reached were not part of Asia but an entirely different continent. This was due to astronomical observations made by Amerigo Vespucci off the coast of South America.
In light of Vespucci's calculations, Columbus' own denials, and the earlier voyage of Leif Ericsson, the achievement of the 1492 expedition is sometimes erroneously dismissed as insignificant. But it is important to remember that without the voyages of Christopher Columbus, Vespucci would have had no opportunity to conclude a "new continent" had been discovered, and the Americas would not have been opened to European incursion -- for good or for ill -- at that time in history. The development of American civilization, and perhaps even world civilization, could therefore have proceeded along entirely different lines.
Important Dates
Sets sail from Spain: Aug. 3, 1492
Discovered America: Oct. 12, 1492
Died: May 21, 1506
Images
Christopher Columbus Portrait Gallery
Was Christopher Columbus really Italian? A new program on the Discovery Channel explores the question of his origins, which have been shrouded in mystery for centuries. These three portraits depict Columbus as Spanish, Jewish, and Italian, and have been made available here at the Medieval History site, thanks to the Discovery Channel.Christopher Columbus
This public-domain graphic from the 1902 publication History of the World is free for your use. Part of the Medieval and Renaissance History Portrait Gallery here at this site.
On the Web
In Print
Related Resources
Exploration, Expansion & Discovery
Resources for the study of early European explorations, Viking expansion, trade between East and West, and the Age of Discovery that is sometimes considered the end of the medieval era.Medieval Italy
Sites that focus on the people and places of Italy during the middle ages and Renaissance.Medieval Iberia
A multi-page index of sites concerning people, places and events in medieval Spain and Portugal.
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