Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa (Italy), a city incorporated as a republic, then in full economic expansion. In this coastal town, Christopher Columbus learned the trade of sailor at an early age.
After moving to Portugal, he studied cartography and astronomy for many years. Christopher Columbus hopes to link, by a ship crossing, "the end of the East and the end of the West" . Queen Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Castile (Spain) finally agrees to finance her expedition. The economic gains hoped for by a territorial conquest are significant:the conquistadors practice a so-called pillage economy, which is very surplus.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus departed from Spain with a fleet of three ships. The crossing is carried by an east to west wind, the trade wind, which allows Columbus to arrive, after a month of navigation, in the Caribbean Sea. This discovery is totally fortuitous since it is not about the East Indies but about a new continent, unknown until then:America. This event marks the beginning of the great discoveries.
Christopher Columbus will make other expeditions:in 1493-1496, in 1498, and in 1502-1504. He finally returned to Spain tested and ill:he died in 1506.
1451 (approx.) - 1506
Status
Sailor
Explorer
Colonizer