Christopher Columbus has always been taught to us as the man who discovered America. Now that we are older, we are being told that he is not the one who discovered America. Events show that even though Columbus did stumble upon America, he did not know that it was another continent. Columbus did leave a legacy but like every story, there are two sides. Christopher was born in Genoa, Italy. He always loved the sea, even as a young child. He studied as much as he could about the sea and becoming a shipmaster. As we were taught, Columbus' dream was to sail to India using a westward route and to prove that the earth was round.
In 1492, Columbus was given the money he needed to sail westward and see his dream come true. He was given the financial assistance he needed because of the ongoing efforts of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Spain was involved in a religious crusade at the time. Columbus used this crusade to his advantage by telling King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella he would help spread Christianity. The King and Queen liked the idea and also liked the idea that Columbus would be trading, therefore, making more money by traveling the shorter route to India. Columbus set out with the three famous ships: the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria. From this point, we are taught that Columbus' ship, the Pinta, saw land on October 12th and that is the reason we have every October 12th off from school. This land was known as the New World, or today as America. Columbus returned to Spain with gold and Indians. He made three more trips to the New World.
Little did we know there was much more than the peaceful story of Columbus than we were told. Columbus had been trying to receive financial assistance for his trip for five years prior to actually getting it. He was not only turned down by Spain, but also by England, France and Portugal as well. In addition, during the voyage, Columbus' predominately Spanish crew became very doubtful and bored.
