Why do we Celebrate Columbus Day? Does anyone know the famous poem??? ryhistory/famouspeople/christopher _columbus/

Why do we Celebrate Columbus Day? Columbus Day is celebrated in the United States to honor Christopher Columbus's first voyage to America in Columbus actually discovered America on October 12 th, 1492, but Columbus Day is always celebrated on the second Monday of October. ryhistory/famouspeople/christopher _columbus/

Who is Christopher Columbus? Christopher Columbus is an explorer from Italy who sailed for Spain. He is given credit for discovering America in That is why we call it “Columbus Day”.

Christopher Columbus’s Voyage Columbus wanted to discover an easier route to the East that would open up trading. On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to find an all-water route to Asia. Find Asia and Spain on the map in your S.S book!

Can you imagine what it would be like to live on a crowded school bus? Columbus and his men had a little more room than that, but not much. It was an amazing adventure!

Christopher Columbus’s Ships The Jolly Rancher question of the week! Can you name any of them??? Replicas of Columbus’ ships.

Christopher Columbus’s Ships He had three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. The Santa Maria was the largest ship. Replicas of Columbus’ ships. They sailed in 1992 Columbus sailed with 90 men on his first voyage on the Pinta --24 on the Nina --40 on the Santa Maria

Columbus’s Voyage Can you find another map in your textbook of his voyage?

He built space below the deck to store supplies. The hold - the space below deck - was used to store food, tools, ropes, extra sails, cannon balls, guns, and other supplies Columbus felt they might need on the trip.

He had at least one man on watch at all times. At least one member of the crew was always on watch, on the lookout for any danger. Talk to a friend nearby...what possible dangers might they be “looking out for”?

Answer: At least one member of the crew was always on watch, on the lookout for any danger including pirates, men overboard, rocky coral reefs, icebergs and land. The man on watch was tucked high up on the 80- foot mainsail, in the “_______ nest.” Do you know this sailor term?

Clothing This is what your clothes would look like:

Living Conditions You would work in four-hour shifts doing things like cleaning the deck, working the sails and checking the ropes and supplies on board. When you weren’t working, you would sleep anywhere you found space. You would receive only one hot meal a day and your diet would be dried (hard) biscuits, salted meat, dried peas, cheese, water, and fresh-caught fish.

He ordered the crew to catch fresh fish every day, to avoid illness. The crew caught fresh fish every day they could. Along with fish, they ate salt meat, cheese, beans, rice, honey, almonds and raisins.

He told his men that they could not drink the ocean water. Instead, Columbus and his crew drank water from wooden barrels they had brought on board. Survival at Sea…do you think they drank the water out of the ocean? Why or why not?

The voyage took longer than Columbus expected. There was no land, just ocean. The men got scared. They were running out of food and water. After 36 days, a sailor on the Pinta spotted an island. Still, that was a very long time to be at sea! Everyone arrived safely! There is no record of any outbreak of disease. No one fell overboard!

Columbus called the island San Salvador. It was in the Bahamas. They must have been glad to spot land for many reasons! Can you think of some???

Navigation Tools * Compass * NEW VOCABULARY Astrolabe--- Look up the definition in your text book * Hour Glass, why do you think they needed this???

How long do you think he was away at sea? The round trip, including their adventures in the New World (America), took 8 months. Columbus was paid well for his trip!

Did anything go wrong?? Santa Maria ended up sinking after trouble at sea and Columbus had to leave 39 men behind in the Caribbean for his return journey. These men were all killed by the Native Americans before Columbus returned on his second voyage.