Columbus reaches the Americas
Open the interactive lesson
Decisions, questions and your own progress, in the app
The Landing of Columbus, painting by John Vanderlyn · Public domain · Source page
The story
Christopher Columbus sailed west from Spain hoping to reach Asia. About five weeks after leaving the Canary Islands, he landed in the Bahamas.
What happened next
He never accepted that he had found lands unknown to Europeans. His voyages began the Columbian Exchange: potatoes, maize and tomatoes went east, while horses, wheat and deadly diseases went west.
Remember
- Norse sailors had reached North America about 500 years earlier
- His three ships were the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María
- European diseases killed millions of Indigenous people
Review question
Where did Columbus think he had arrived?
Answer: Asia. He called the people he met "Indians" because he believed he was in the Indies.
Image credits
- The Landing of Columbus, painting by John Vanderlyn · Public domain · Source page
.jpg){kind=link}