1. The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Christopher Columbus
The Man, The Myth, The Legend

2. What do you already know about Columbus
What do you already know about Columbus? What stories have you been taught or heard?

3. The Facts - Background From Genoa, Italy
Believed he could find a western route to India
Proposed idea to Portugal, who rejected Columbus
Over the next four years, he was also rejected by France and England
Continued proposing his idea to Spain for up to six years
Finally accepted by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492

4. The First Voyage Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria
Landed in Bahamas (San Salvador)
Sailed on to Cuba and Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and Dominican Rep.)
Returned in March 1493
Brought spices, parrots, gold, and Native Americans

5. Return Voyages November 1493 September 1498 1502 - final voyage
Brought 17 ships, 1,200 Spanish colonists, military equipment (guns and weaponry)
Enslaved many Native Americans to work in gold mines
September 1498
Realizes that it is not, in fact, India
final voyage

6. So why is Columbus famous?
Started large-scale European settlement in the Americas
Successfully mapped and navigated the Central/South American coastline
His settlements led to Spain’s American empire, which spanned across all of South and Central America

7. Some myths Columbus discovered America
Columbus was a revolutionary thinker who argued that the world was round
Columbus was motivated by pure exploratory curiosity
Columbus did not know he discovered a new continent
Columbus had a long, difficult journey and overcame a near mutiny
Columbus sought to ease the minds of his crew by changing navigation directions in the ships log so they thought they weren’t too far from home

8. The Conqueror
Columbus sought to exploit the Native Americans to get more gold
Massacred many natives when they did not do as he wished
Used conversion of natives to Catholicism as support for his exploits
Brought natives back as slaves

9. Imagine you are a Native American
Imagine you are a Native American. You have lived in the same place for years, interacting with neighboring tribes and keeping within a local area. Suddenly, three ships full of strange-seeming, foreign, white Europeans arrive on your shores. How might you react to this?

10. Imagine you are one of Columbus’ crew members
Imagine you are one of Columbus’ crew members. You left home for a trip across the unknown, expecting to land in India. Hitting the shore, you look out across the land to find a group of completely different looking Native Americans coming out to meet you. They are dressed in nothing but animal hides and cloth, wear feathers in their hair, and speak languages you have never heard before. How might you react to this scene?

11. Portugal vs. Spain Competing for colonies, land, and trade
Treaty of Tordesillas
Line of Demarcation – imaginary North/South line drawn through the Atlantic Ocean
Portugal got all land east of the line, Spain got all land west of the line

13. Columbian Exchange America  Europe Europe  America
Beans, avocados, cocoa, corn, peanuts, pineapples, peppers, potatoes, tobacco, disease, and much more!
Europe  America
Livestock, onions, grains, sugar cane, coffee, olives, grapes, disease, and still more!