1. Christopher Columbus The First Voyage 1451-1506 Alex Nunez

2. Columbus’ Dream Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. He loved the sea. When Columbus lived with his brother Bartholomew, who was a mapmaker, he learned to read and draw maps. He studied the works of famous scholars. He became a sailor when he was fifteen years old; and he joined the crews of many ships, traveling to ports from Africa to Iceland. During these voyages, he heard sailors speak about lands across the ocean, sea monsters, and a bottomless whirlpool. With so much experience, Columbus became an accomplished sea captain. He learned about the possibility of a western ocean route to the Far East from the Florentine astronomer, Paolo Toscanelli, who was a leading authority on navigation. Columbus and Toscanelli exchanged letters, and Toscanelli told him that the sea route to the Far East was shorter than the land route. [Columbus had many maps that showed that the earth was round. The maps showed that it was possible to sail west to get to the East.]

3. Financial Backing In order to buy ships, supplies, and support a crew, Columbus needed financial backing. He visited the rulers of Portugal, Spain, France, and England, but they were not interested in his voyage. He could not find anyone to believe in his dream. When Columbus first went to the Court of Spain, there was a war in Spain. "Wait until the war is over," Queen Isabella said. Columbus had to wait many years. The war was over, at last, in 1492. Then Queen Isabella said yes.

4. The Ships Columbus named the three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. The 77-foot-long Santa Maria was the largest ship, and the one Columbus was on. The Pinta and the Nina were caravels, which were the best sailing ships of the period. The Nina was the fastest, and went ahead of the other two ships, scouting for land. All three ships were able to sail in only 7 feet of water, which is useful when exploring unknown shorelines. The ships could use square or triangular sails; square sails were best for going with the wind, and triangular sails were good for going into the wind.

5. Forms of navigation An astrolabe was used at night to find the position of the stars, and use them as a map.

6. Landfall After 33 days at sea, Columbus and his crew sighted land on the 11 th of October. They had finally reached the New World. They waited for daylight, and on the 12 th of October, arrived on a small island, which was called Guanahani, in the language of the native Indians. Experts believe that this island was somewhere in the Bahamas, but are not sure exactly what island it was. Some think it might have been Watling Island, Samana Cay, or Grand Turk. Although Columbus did not discover a sea route to the Far East, he found a New World – a much more important discovery.

7. The End