Brought by a storm far to the west of Africa, they found a fertile, well-watered wooded country. But these stories, as well as the remains of ancient American monuments, bearing, according to some, the imprint of the Phoenician, Greek and Egyptian culture, do not give sufficient grounds for assuming that the western continent was already discovered by ancient navigators. An indication that already in the 5th century. n. e. from China there could be communication with America through Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, was made as early as 1761 by the author of the history of the Mongols de Guin. He tried to prove that the Chinese knew America under the name Fuzang. The scientist Klaproth thinks that Japan was called Fuzang. The researcher Neumann argued that at that time Chinese navigators really went to Fuzang and that the description of this country is suitable only for Central America.
From Europe, the Normans were the first to open the way to America. Erich the Red-haired in 982 moved from Iceland to Greenland and founded a colony on its western coast, which later had 2 cities, 16 churches, 2 monasteries and 100 settlements and was under the department of a special bishop. On the way to these settlements, Bjarni Herjulfson (986) was carried aside by a storm and was the first to see the New World. Erich's son Leif discovered in 1000 Helluland(stone ground) Markland(land of forests) and rich in grapes Vinland, which are believed to be the present Labrador, the country near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and along the Hudson Bay. This assumption is confirmed by the fact that runic stones of a Germanic character are found here. The discovery of such stones at nearly 73° north latitude indicates how far the Greenlandic Normans penetrated. The colonies in Vinland, however, did not last long, partly due to internal strife, partly due to hostility with the Skrelingers, as the settlers called the native Eskimos. Only from time to time the Normans from Greenland visited Vinland and Markland, but in 1347 these visits ceased, and at the end of the 15th century. the once flourishing Greenlandic colony has completely died out due to frequent attacks by the Eskimos and thanks to the appearance of the "black death". Two Venetians, the brothers Antonio and Niccolò Zeni, brought to Europe the news that between 1388 and 1404 an expedition had been undertaken with Faroe Islands(Friesland), who explored some places along north coast America. However, their stories, mixed with Greek fables, do not provide any reliable information. Biscay fishermen are also said to have reached the shores of Newfoundland long before Columbus.
But the glory of the real discovery of the American mainland belongs to the Genoese Christopher Columbus . With three ill-equipped ships, he went west to find the shortest route to India and China, and, sailing from the harbor of Palos on August 3, 1492, on October 12 of the same year, landed on one of Bahamas- Guanagani (now San Salvador). In the same year, Columbus discovered Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti), the next year the islands of Dominica, Maria Galante, Guadeloupe, Antigua, Puerto Rico, and a few years later all the islands, later called the West Indies, became known. Only after Giovanni (John) Cabot (1497) discovered Newfoundland, Labrador and the coast of the North American mainland to Florida, Columbus reached (1498) the Orinoco River and the coast of Cumana, and thus also entered the mainland of America.
America's discoverer Christopher Columbus. Artist S. del Piombo, 1519
Brazil was discovered in 1500 by the Portuguese Cabral , whom the storm brought here on the way to the cape Good Hope. Yucatan was discovered in 1507 by Pignon and Dias de Salis. Ponce de Leon discovered Florida in 1512, and Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and reached the opposite sea, which he, having come from the north, called " South Sea". In 1515, Grijalva arrived in Mexico, and Fernand Cortes conquered it in 1519. In 1520, Fernando Magallans ( Magellan) passed the strait, named after him by Magellan, and proved the fallacy of the opinion that the newly discovered lands are nothing but the eastern shores of Asia. From that time on, they began to distinguish between the West Indies (America) and the East Indies (India proper).
Ferdinand Magellan
In 1524, the Florentine Giovanni Verazzani investigated, on behalf of France, east coast North America. In 1527, Pizarro discovered Peru in South America, and Cabot discovered Paraguay. In 1529, Becerre and Grijalva from Mexico sailed to California; in 1533 Welser landed in Venezuela, Cartier - in Canada, Diego de Almagro - in Chile, Pedro de Mendos - at the mouth of La Plata. The following year, Cartier sailed to St. Lawrence Bay. In 1541 Orellana explored the Amazon River. Fernando de Soto - Mississippi, Philipp von Hutten - Inland South America. Thus, 50 years after the discovery of a new part of the world, the entire American mainland, in general terms, was known, with the exception of the northern and northwestern parts.
Conqueror of Mexico Hernan Cortes
With the discovery of Cape Horn by Lehmer and Schuten, the southern tip of the American mainland was determined (in 1616), but attempts to explore its northern shores remained fruitless. . On the West Coast of America Francis Drake, having passed through the Strait of Magellan, already in 1578 reached 45 ° north latitude, but only in 1648 the Cossack Dezhnev managed to cross the strait separating Asia from America. Subsequently, this strait in 1725 - 1728 was explored by Bering and named after him. Lassalle penetrated inside northern Canada to the Mississippi in 1682, who then went down the river to its very mouth. South America, explored Condamine, having traveled the entire Amazon to the very mouth.
The voyages of Burneby, Gerne, and Hutcheson (1747-1775), as well as the Red River expedition of the Frenchman de Page (1767), greatly expanded knowledge of the interior of North America. At the same time (1747 - 1751) Kalm and Löfling explored the Spanish possessions, and John Byron - Patagonia and Falkland Islands. Only at the end of the 1770s, Cook, during his third trip, traveled around the western coast of North America from 45 ° north latitude beyond the Bering Strait to the Cape Prince of Wales he discovered.
From the end of the 18th century, a number of scientific and very successful expeditions to America began. Alexander Humboldt and Bonpland explored (1799 - 1803) its equatorial regions; McKinair (1804) - the British West Indies; Michaud - Western Alleghenies; in 1806 Lewis and Clark - countries along the upper Missouri and Columbia. Kruzenshtern traveled in 1803 northwest coast. Spiks, Martius, Naterer and others accompanied Archduchess Leopoldina to Brazil in 1817 and, together with Eschwege, gave details about this country. In addition, many attempts were made to penetrate between the islands of the North Polar Sea, as well as to explore the eastern shores of Greenland. Expeditions undertaken by the British, Americans, Germans, and others penetrated to 83 ° north latitude .
In the 19th century, travel and new discoveries in America became extremely numerous, but now for the most part they have taken on the private nature of the study of certain narrow areas. Between studies of a general nature or covering major regions, should also be mentioned: the journey of the English Spies and Low in 1834 - 35 from Lima through the Andes along Ucayali and Marañon to the mouth of the Amazon; ethnological and meteorological studies of Gabels in Central America in 1864 - 1871; archaeological discoveries by Desire Charne (1880 - 1882) in Mexico, Yucatan and Guatemala. The most remote parts of South America between the headwaters of Paraguay and Parana served as the subject of study of many travelers and expeditions in 1882 - 1889, between which Fontana, Feilberg, Calvamonte and Beauvais had particular success, while Krevo died on the Pilcomaya River, and Tuara failed only to establish the right message, but even to penetrate from Paraguay to Bolivia through the desert of the Gran Chaco. This path was passed only in 1889 by Calvamonte and Arana. One of the largest studies (1868 - 1876) belongs to Reis and Stübel, who traveled in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Everyone from school knows the story of how in 1492 the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus reached the shores of America, mistaking it for India. Many believe that this historical moment is the discovery of America, however, everything was much more complicated.
First Europeans in North America
Modern archaeological data suggest that the real discoverers of America were the Scandinavian Vikings. Written sources telling about these travels are:
- "The Saga of the Greenlanders";
- "The Saga of Eric the Red".
Both works described the events of the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century. They told about the sea expeditions of the Icelanders and Norwegians to the west. The first person to decide long journey among the polar ice was the adventurer and navigator Eric the Red. Eric committed several murders for which he was expelled first from Norway, then from Iceland. After the second exile, Eric gathered a whole flotilla of 30 ships and set off west. There he discovered a huge island, which he named Greenland. The first Viking settlements appeared here, gradually turning into full-fledged colonies that existed for several centuries.
However, the Vikings did not stop there and continued to move west. According to medieval evidence, at the end of the 10th century, the Vikings knew about the existence of a certain land called Vinland. The inhabitants of Vinland, according to the descriptions of the Scandinavians, were short, swarthy, with wide cheekbones and dressed in animal skins.
Similar legends existed among the natives of North America. Among the Indians who lived in Canada, there was a legend about the mythical kingdom of tall white-skinned and fair-haired people who had a lot of gold and furs.
For a long time, the fact that the Vikings were in North America remained unconfirmed. But in the 1960s, a real Scandinavian settlement was discovered on the island of Newfoundland. Presumably, it was founded by Eric the Red, and then headed by his followers, including the daughter and daughter-in-law of the navigator. However, this Scandinavian colony did not last long. Due to conflicts with the Indians, the Vikings had to leave Vinland.
Another indisputable fact in favor of the presence of the Vikings in North America was put forward by geneticists. Scientists studying the origins of the modern inhabitants of Iceland discovered the presence of Indian blood in their genes. And in 2010, anthropologists were able to study the remains of an Americanoid woman, which influenced the genetic structure of the Icelanders. Obviously, she was taken as a slave from North America to Iceland at the beginning of the 11th century.
Thus, the first people who discovered America for Europeans were undoubtedly the Vikings.
Activities of Amerigo Vespucci
Due to the fact that the Vinland colony existed for only a few years, specific information about it was gradually erased from people's memory. Once open America again ceased to exist for Europeans. When Christopher Columbus set off on his journey, only two continents were depicted on world maps - Eurasia and Africa. In 1498 to India through Pacific Ocean passed the Portuguese Vasco da Gamma. His journey ended successfully, and then it became known in Europe that the lands reached by Columbus were not India at all. All this had a negative impact on the authority of the Italian navigator. Columbus was declared a fraud and stripped of all his discoverer privileges.
The person who mapped the new lands and, later, gave them his name, was the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci. Initially, Vespucci was a financier. In 1493, he was approached by Christopher Columbus, who had recently returned from his first expedition and wanted to continue exploring open lands. Columbus decided that the land he discovered was some islands in Asia that required closer study. Vespucci agreed to finance Columbus' subsequent voyages. And in 1499, Vespucci decided to leave the banking chair for the sake of sea adventures and he went on an expedition to unknown lands.
Vespucci's path lay to the shores of South America, while the traveler used the maps that Columbus gave him. Vespucci carefully studied the coast and came to the conclusion that these were not separate Asian islands, but the whole mainland. Vespucci decided to call these lands the New World.
Many European monarchs became aware of the expeditions of the former banker. At the beginning of the 16th century, Vespucci served as a cartographer, cosmographer and navigator to the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs.
In total, Vespucci participated in three trips. In their course, he:
- explored the coasts of Brazil and Venezuela;
- explored the mouth of the Amazon;
- managed to climb the Brazilian Highlands.
From his travels, Vespucci brought slaves, sandalwood and travel notes to Europe, which were later published and sold in large numbers. Apart from their geographical discoveries, Vespucci described in his diaries the customs of the locals, the flora and fauna of the new lands.
Already in 1507, the first maps appeared, on which a new continent was applied. According to the tradition that developed during this period, the lands of the New World began to be called America - in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.
The question of who discovered America usually does not raise many questions. But here's the problem - when? Previously, for example, I simply assumed that somewhere in the middle of the last millennium. It's a shame... Such things, of course, you need to know. In this story, I will discuss this. :)
When America was discovered
The discovery of America by Europeans can be considered literally the most significant event in history. After all, after that, a huge number of Europeans rushed to the new continent, as a result of which success in trade was ensured for many years. After all, on this mainland there were many useful natural resources.
And now some numbers - 1492. This year is the official year of discovery of America. And this great event happened quite by accident, because Christopher Columbus was going to get to India in this way. He studied geography almost all his life and was going to find a western route to India, he believed that it could be much shorter than the eastern one.
Few people know, but Columbus's travels and discoveries did not end there. Since 1493, he led several more expeditions, during which many nearby islands were discovered, for example,.
However, at that time it was not yet clear where the navigators got to. There were versions that this is the eastern coast of India. Some have claimed that it is. And only Amerigo Vespucci, having explored the coast of Brazil, came to an unequivocal conclusion - this is a new continent. It was in his honor that this continent was named, although he did not discover it at all.
I have prepared a small selection interesting facts about the discovery of America:
- Few people know that Columbus barely managed to get permission to travel across the ocean. He decided to arrange an expedition back in 1485.
- On the ships of the Columbus expedition were not sailors, but all sorts of rabble. Ordinary sailors and residents of Spain did not want to travel across the ocean, no one knew what it would turn out to be. Columbus had to recruit a team of criminals in prison.
- Columbus had three small ships on which to travel across the ocean was a real suicide. But Columbus apparently drank champagne, as they say. :)
Year of discovery of America - 1492
The first discovery of America by the Normans
The voyage of the Normans to the shores of North America was unthinkable without their substantiation in Iceland. But the first Europeans to visit Iceland were Irish monks. Their acquaintance with the island took place approximately in the second half of the 8th century.
“30 years ago (that is, no later than 795), several clerics who were on this island from February 1 to August 1 informed me that there, not only during the summer solstice, but also on the previous and subsequent days, the setting sun seemed to only hides behind a small hill, so that it is not dark there even for the shortest time… and one can do whatever work one wants… If the clerics lived on the high mountains of this island, the sun might not hide from them at all… As long as they are there lived, days always gave way to nights, except for the period of the summer solstice; however, at a distance of one day's journey further north, they discovered a frozen sea ”(Dikuil - an Irish medieval monk and geographer who lived in the second half of the 8th century AD)
About 100 years later, a Viking ship accidentally washed up on the shores of Iceland
“They say that people from Norway are going to sail to the Faroe Islands…. However, they were carried west to the sea, and there they found big land. Entering the eastern fjords, they climbed high mountain and looked around to see if there was any smoke or any other signs that this land was inhabited, but they did not notice anything. In autumn they returned to the Faroe Islands. When they left for the sea, there was already a lot of snow on the mountains. Therefore, they called this country the Snow Land."
Over time, a large number of Norwegians moved to Iceland. By 930, there were about 25 thousand people on the island. Iceland became the starting point for further travels of the Normans to the West. In 982-983, Eirik Turvaldson, who became Eric the Red in the Russian tradition, discovered Greenland. In the summer of 986, Bjarni Herulfson, sailing from Iceland to the Greenland Viking settlement, lost his way and discovered land to the south. In the spring of 1004, the son of Eric the Red, Leyv the Happy, followed in his footsteps, discovering the Cumberland Peninsula (south of Baffin Island), the eastern coast of the Labrador Peninsula and the northern coast of Newfoundland Island. The northeastern shores of North America were then visited more than once by Viking expeditions, but in Norway and Denmark they were not considered important, since they were not very attractive natural conditions.
Prerequisites for the discovery of America by Columbus
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the fall of Byzantium under the blows of the Ottoman Turks, the birth of the Ottoman Empire in the east of the Mediterranean and in Asia Minor led to the cessation of overland trade links with the countries of the East along the Great Silk Road
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the critical need of Europe for the spices of India and Indochina, which were used not so much in cooking as as a hygiene item, for making incense. After all, Europeans washed their faces in the Middle Ages rarely and reluctantly, and a kintal (a measure of weight, 100 pounds) of pepper in Calicut or Hormuz cost ten times less than in Alexandria.
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erroneous idea of medieval geographers about the size of the earth. It was believed that the Earth evenly consists of land - the giant continent of Eurasia with an appendage of Africa - and the ocean; that is, the maritime distance between the extreme western point of Europe and the extreme eastern point of Asia did not exceed several thousand kilometers
Brief biography of Christopher Columbus
Born in Genoa in 1451. He was the first-born in a large weaver's family. Participated in the production and trade enterprises of his father. In 1476, by chance, he settled in Portugal. He married Felipe Moniz Perestrello, whose father and grandfather were actively involved in the activities of Henry the Navigator. He settled on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago. He was admitted to the family archives, reports on sea voyages, geographical maps and sailing directions. Frequently visited the harbor of Porto Santo Island
"in which nimble scurried fishing boats and anchored the ships going from Lisbon to Madeira and from Madeira to Lisbon. The helmsmen and sailors of these ships whiled away the long hours of stay in the port tavern, and Columbus had long and useful conversations with them ... (I learned from) experienced people about their voyages in the Sea-Ocean. A certain Martin Viseinte told Columbus that 450 leagues (2700 kilometers) west of Cape San Vicente, he picked up a piece of wood in the sea, processed, and at the same time very skillfully, with some kind of tool, obviously not iron. Other sailors met boats with huts beyond the Azores, and these boats did not capsize even on a big wave. We saw huge pine trees along the Azorean coast, these dead trees were brought by the sea at the time when strong western winds were blowing. Caught sailors on the shore Azores Fayal corpses of broad-faced people of "non-Christian" guise. A certain Antonio Leme, “married to a resident of Madeira,” told Columbus that, having passed a hundred leagues to the west, he came across three unknown islands in the sea ”(I. Light“ Columbus ”)
He studied and analyzed contemporary works on geography, navigation, travel notes of travelers, treatises of Arab scientists and ancient authors, and gradually drew up a plan to reach the rich countries of the East by the western sea route.
The main sources of knowledge on the issue of interest were five books for Columbus
- Historia Rerum Gestarum by Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini
- "Imago Mundi" by Pierre d'Ailly
- "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
- The Book by Marco Polo
- Parallel Lives of Plutarch
1492, April 30 - the royal couple approved a certificate of awarding Columbus with the titles of Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all the lands that will be opened to them in navigation along the named Sea-Ocean. Titles complained forever “from heir to heir”, at the same time Columbus was elevated to a noble rank and could “name and title himself Don Christopher Columbus”, had to receive a tenth and an eighth of the profits from trade with these lands, had the right to resolve all litigations. The city of Palos was approved by the expedition preparation center
“He talked heart to heart with the inhabitants of Palos and everywhere said that the expedition needed brave and experienced sailors and that its participants would get great benefits. “Friends, go there, and we will go on this campaign all together; you will leave poor, but if, with God's help, we manage to open the land for us, then, having found it, we will return with gold bars, and we will all get rich, and we will get a big profit. Soon, volunteers were drawn into the harbor of Palos, wishing to take part in the voyage to the shores of an unknown land.
Columbus ships
Discovery of America. Briefly
- 1492, September 16 - Diary of Columbus: "We began to notice many bunches of green grass, and, as could be judged by its appearance, this grass had only recently been torn off the ground."
- 1492, September 17 - Diary of Columbus: “I found that from the time of sailing from canary islands there was not so little salt water in the sea.”
- 1492, September 19 - Diary of Columbus: “At 10 o'clock a dove flew into the ship. We saw another one last night."
- 1492, September 21 - Diary of Columbus: “We saw a whale. A sign of land, because the whales swim close to the shore.
- 1492, September 23 - Diary of Columbus: "Since the sea was calm and warm, people began to grumble, saying that the sea is strange here, and the winds that would help them return to Spain will never blow."
- 1492, September 25 - Diary of Columbus: “The earth appeared. I ordered you to go in that direction."
- 1492, September 26 - Diary of Columbus: "What we took for the earth turned out to be the sky."
- 1492, September 29 - Diary of Columbus: "Sailed their way to the West."
- 1492, September 13 - Columbus noticed that the compass needle does not point to the North Star, but 5-6 degrees northwest.
- 1492, October 11 - Diary of Columbus: “Sailed west-south-west. For all the time of the voyage, there had never been such excitement at sea. We saw "pardelas" and green reeds near the ship itself. People from the caravel "Pinta" noticed a reed and a branch and fished out a hewn, possibly iron, stick and a piece of reed and other herbs that would be born on earth, and one plank
1492, October 12 - America is discovered. It was 2 a.m. when on board the faster, slightly ahead of the Pinta, there was a cry of “Earth, earth !!!” and a shot from a bombard. IN moonlight the contour of the coast appeared. Boats were lowered from the ships in the morning. Columbus with both Pinsons, a notary, a translator, a royal controller, landed on the shore. “The island is very large and very flat and there are many green trees and water, and in the middle there is big lake. There are no mountains,” wrote Columbus. The Indians called the island Guanahani. Columbus designated it San Salvador, now Watling Island, part of the Bahamas.
- 1492, October 28 - Columbus discovered the island of Cuba
- 1492, December 6 - Columbus approached big island, called the Borgio Indians. Along its coast "the most beautiful valleys stretch, very similar to the lands of Castile," the admiral wrote in his diary. apparently that's why he called the island Hispaniola, now Haiti
- 1492, December 25 - "Santa Maria" ran into reefs off the coast of Haiti. The Indians helped to remove valuable cargo, guns and supplies from the ship, but the ship could not be saved.
- January 4, 1493 - Columbus set off on his return journey. He had to sail back on the smallest ship of the Niñe expedition, leaving part of the crew on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), since even earlier the third ship Pinta separated from the expedition, and the Santa Maria ran aground. Two days later, both surviving ships met, but on February 14, 1493 they parted in a storm
- 1493, March 15 - Columbus returned to Palos on the Nina, with the same tide, the Pinta entered the harbor of Palos
Columbus made three more voyages to the shores of the New World, discovered islands and archipelagos, bays, bays and straits, founded forts and cities, but he never found out that he had found a way not to India, but to a world completely unknown to Europe
In school textbooks around the world, you can find information that Columbus crossed the Atlantic and was the one who discovered America first. The only thing that can not be doubted is that he really overcame a long route across the ocean. In addition, Columbus landed on the continent only in 1498. This was the third expedition of the navigator. During the first trip, he could only get to the Bahamas and the Antilles.
Theories and hypotheses about who discovered America
The very term "discovery" in relation to the whole part of the world requires clarification, since America was not deserted. Indigenous tribes have lived on the mainland for over 15,000 years. Columbus opened the door for Western civilization to colonize the continent, nothing more. So did Columbus discover America or did he not?
The first who could actually get on their ships to the continent were the Phoenicians and Egyptians. There is no evidence to support this theory. A more convincing version is the Romans' voyage across the Atlantic. Some ships of the mighty empire were not inferior to the frigates of the XVIII century.
The only evidence that the Romans really were in America is only part of the statuette, a small terracotta head of a bearded man. It was discovered by archaeologists in the Tuluca Valley, 65 km from Mexico City. Thanks to new technologies, scientists were able to calculate: the find dates back to 200 BC. e. At this time in Ancient Rome made such things in large quantities.
Viking sea voyages
Scandinavian navigators really were on the American continent, which is beyond doubt among modern scientists. The discovery of America is attributed to them. Much has been written about this in the Norwegian and Danish sagas. This is confirmed by many archaeological finds. There is a generally accepted theory about how exactly the Normans got to the continent.
In 986, Bjarn Herulfson traveled to Greenland via Iceland. A victim of strong winds and thick fog, Bjarn lost his way. For a long time, his team swam almost blindly, until a new earth. Herulfson did not dare to leave the drakkars and step on land and ordered to go further along coastline. A few days later he again saw the wooded coast, but Bjarne continued to sail north until he reached Greenland.
Stories about this journey interested the navigator Eirik the Red. The Scandinavian colonists needed a tree, so the story of the land covered with forests was very interesting for them, as it could solve some of their problems. In 1004, Eirik set off with a small team along the route of Kherulfson. The Vikings landed in America in several places. After wintering, they returned to Greenland with a large load of wood. And in what year did Columbus discover America to all Western civilization? This happened only after 500 years. Impressive, isn't it?
Amerigo Vespucci and Christopher Columbus
From the very beginning of the Columbus expedition, the discovery of America was perceived as a shortcut to India. That is why the indigenous inhabitants of the new continent were called Indians. Four countries actively participated in the seizure of new lands:
- Spain.
- England.
- Portugal.
- Holland.
Gold was exported from North and South America, new settlements were built here. The name "America" comes from the name of the famous traveler Amerigo Vespucci (pictured). The Medici trading house in Seville, which Vespucci was in charge of, took part in equipping the second and third expeditions of Columbus. It was at this time that Amerigo met the navigator.
After a joint voyage with Columbus, Vespucci was engaged in compiling maps and globes, using materials from Spanish expeditions. The idea to perpetuate the name of the great explorer Amerigo Vespucci came from the famous cartographer Martin Waldseemüller. He published a book where the new part of the world was called America.
Later world maps also used this name for new continents. Thus, the name of the Italian merchant remained forever on the geographical map, despite the fact that many scientists protested against it.
