Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. He had many brothers and sisters. His family did not have a lot of money. When Columbus was a young man, he worked on ships. He sailed around the Mediterranean Sea. Once he tried to sail to England, but he got shipwrecked in Portugal.

In 1486, Columbus met Queen Isabella of Spain. He told her that he wanted to sail west across the Atlantic to find the East Indies in Asia. There were lots of expensive spices and gold in Asia. Columbus promised to bring them back for the queen if she would help to pay for his ships and crew. Queen Isabella purchased three ships for Columbus. He named them the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.

Columbus hired about 90 sailors to help with the voyage. The Santa María was larger than the other two ships. This is the one Columbus chose to sail himself. Columbus and his crew sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. The voyage was long and frightening for the sailors. They were at sea for 70 days. On October 12, 1492, Columbus and his crew saw land! They landed on an island and met friendly Native Americans. Columbus believed he had sailed around the world to the East Indies. He did not know that he discovered a whole new part of the world. Columbus and the rest of the crew sailed the Niña and the Pinta back to Spain. Columbus was excited to tell Queen Isabella about the land. When he returned to Spain, Columbus did not have gold or spices to give the queen. Instead, he brought back things from the New World. He presented the queen with pineapples and turkeys.