October 16th 1492 Christopher Columbus’ fleet anchored at “Fernandina”
He thought he had reached America!
No, he hadn’t he had reached Long Island in the Bahamas.
However, he goes down in history as having found America, which of course he didn’t, well not this time. He crossed the Atlantic another three times starting the Spanish exploration and colonisation of the Americas.
An Italian, born in Genoa, who married a Portuguese noblewoman, Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, therefore moved to Lisbon. He was an intrepid explorer who was self educated but that didn’t stop him from coming up with a plan to seek a western sea passage to the East Indies. He wanted to profit from the money spinning spice trade. The Portuguese wouldn’t fund him, but Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II of Spain would on one condition, that every country he found became Spanish territory.
Our our sister site Educational Musicals has published a musical Christopher Columbus- The World is Round written for 7 to 14 year old children, simply click on Christopher Columbus- The World is Round
It tells about Christina and Pablo, so desperate to see the world, that they volunteer for the next ship to leave town. Unfortunately, they find themselves on a ship captained by a madman called Christopher Columbus, who claims that the world is round and if they sail far enough West, then they will eventually arrive in the East.
Isn’t History Fun?
For more on Columbus’s travels click on:
https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/christopher-columbus
©Tony Dalton