Wake up anyone in the middle of the night with the question: “Who discovered America first?”, and without hesitation, they will immediately give you the correct answer, calling the name of Christopher Columbus. This is for everyone known fact, which no one seems to dispute. But was Columbus the first European to set foot on new land? Not at all. There is only one question: “So who?” But they didn’t call Columbus for nothing discoverer.

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How Columbus became a discoverer

In what century did such significant changes for the world take place? The official date for the discovery of a new continent called the Americas is 1499, 15th century. At that time, the inhabitants of Europe began to have speculation that the earth was round. They began to believe about the possibility of navigation on the Atlantic Ocean and the opening of a western route directly to the shores of Asia.

The story of how Columbus discovered America is very funny. It so happened that he randomly stumbled upon the New World, heading to distant India.

Christopher was an avid sailor, who from a young age managed to visit all those known at that time. Carefully studying a huge number geographical maps, Columbus planned to sail to India across the Atlantic without passing through Africa.

He, like many scientists of that time, naively believed that, having gone directly with Western Europe to the east, it will reach the shores of Asian countries such as China and India. No one could even imagine what was suddenly on his way new lands will appear.

It was the day when Columbus reached the shores of the new continent and is considered the beginning of American history.

Continents discovered by Columbus

Christopher is considered the one who discovered North America. But in parallel with it, after news of the New World spread throughout all countries, the struggle for the development of the northern territories the British entered.

In total the navigator accomplished four expeditions. The continents that Columbus discovered: the island of Haiti or, as the traveler himself called it, Spain Minor, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua and many other territories of North America. From 1498 to 1504, during his last expeditions, the navigator had already mastered lands of South America, where it reached the shores of not only Venezuela, but also Brazil. A little later the expedition reached Central America, where they were mastered coastlines Nicaragua and Honduras, all the way to Panama.

Who else explored America?

Formally, many sailors opened America to the world in different ways. History goes back many names related to the development of the lands of the New World. Columbus's case continued:

• Alexander Mackenzie;
• William Baffin;
• Henry Hudson;
• John Davis.

Thanks to these navigators, the entire continent was explored and developed, including Pacific coast.

Also considered another discoverer of America is an equally famous person - Amerigo Vespucci. The Portuguese navigator went on expeditions and explored the coast of Brazil.

It was he who first suggested that Christopher Columbus sailed far not to China and India, but to previously unknown. His speculations were confirmed by Ferdinand Magellan, after completing his first trip around the world.

It is believed that the continent was named precisely in honor of Vespucci, contrary to all the logic of what is happening. And today the New World is known to everyone under the name America, and not by any other name. So who really discovered America?

Pre-Columbian expeditions to America

In the legends and beliefs of the Scandinavian peoples you can often come across mention of distant lands called Vinland located near Greenland. Historians believe that it was the Vikings who discovered America and became the first Europeans to set foot on the lands of the New World, and in their legends Vinland is nothing more than Newfoundland.

Everyone knows how Columbus discovered America, but in fact Christopher was far away not the first navigator who visited this continent. Leif Erikson, who named one of the parts of the new continent Vinland, cannot be called a discoverer.

Who should be considered first? Historians dare to believe that he was a merchant from distant Scandinavia - Bjarni Herjulfsson, which is mentioned in the Greenlanders' Saga. According to this literary work, in 985 g. he set out towards Greenland to meet his father, but lost his way due to a strong storm.

Before the discovery of America, the merchant had to sail at random, since he had never seen the lands of Greenland before and did not know the specific course. Soon he reached the level shores of an unknown island, covered with forests. This description did not suit Greenland at all, which greatly surprised him. Bjarni decided not to go ashore, and turn back.

Soon he sailed to Greenland, where he told this story to Leif Erikson, the son of the discoverer of Greenland. Exactly he became the first of the Vikings who tried their luck to join to the lands of America before Columbus, which he nicknamed Vinland.

Forced search for new lands

Important! Greenland is not the most pleasant country to live in. It is poor in resources and has a harsh climate. The possibility of resettlement at that time seemed like a pipe dream for the Vikings.

Stories about fertile lands covered with dense forests only spurred them on to move. Erickson gathered himself a small team and set off on a journey in search of new territories. Leif became the one who discovered North America.

The first unexplored places they stumbled upon were rocky and mountainous. In their description today, historians see nothing more than Baffin Island. Subsequent coasts turned out to be low-lying, with green forests and long sandy beaches. This reminded historians very much of the description coast of the Labrador Peninsula in Canada.

On the new lands they mined wood, which was so difficult to find in Greenland. Subsequently, the Vikings founded the first two settlements in the New World, and all these territories were called Vinland.

The scientist nicknamed "the second Columbus"

The famous German geographer, naturalist and traveler - all this is one great man, whose name is Alexander Humboldt.

This greatest scientist discovered America before others on the scientific side, having spent many years on research, and he was not alone. Humbaldt did not think long about what kind of partner he needed and immediately made his choice in favor of Bonpland.

Humboldt and the French botanist in 1799. went on a scientific expedition to South America and Mexico, which lasted five whole years. This journey brought scientists worldwide fame, and Humboldt himself began to be called the “second Columbus.”

It is believed that in 1796 The scientist set himself the following tasks:

• explore little-studied areas of the globe;
• systematize all received information;
• taking into account the research results of other scientists, comprehensively describe the structure of the Universe.

All tasks, of course, were successfully completed. After the discovery of America as a continent, no one dared until Humbaldt conduct similar studies. Therefore, he decides to go to the most little-studied area - the West Indies, which allows him to achieve colossal results. Humboldt created the first geographical maps discovered America almost simultaneously, but in world history the name of Christopher Columbus will always be first on the list of those who explored the territories of the New World.

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, which, according to some, bear the imprint of Phoenician, Greek and Egyptian culture, do not provide sufficient reason to assume that the western continent was already discovered by ancient sailors. An indication that already in the 5th century. n. e. from China there could be a connection with America through Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, was made back in 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. Researcher Neumann argued that in those days Chinese sailors actually went to Fuzang and that the description of this country only fits Middle America.

The Normans were the first to open the route to America from Europe. Erich the Red-Haired moved from Iceland to Greenland in 982 and founded a colony on its western shore, which later had 2 cities, 16 churches, 2 monasteries and 100 settlements and was under the authority 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 it in 1000. Helluland(stone ground), Markland(land of forests) and rich in grapes Vinland, which is believed to have been the present Labrador, a country near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and along Hudson Bay. This assumption is confirmed by the fact that rune stones of a Germanic character are found here. The discovery of such stones at almost 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 enmity with the Skrölingers, as the settlers called the Eskimo natives. Only from time to time did the Normans from Greenland visit Vinland and Markland, but in 1347 these visits stopped, and at the end of the 15th century. The once flourishing Greenland colony completely died out due to frequent attacks by the Eskimos and due to the appearance of the Black Death. Two Venetians, brothers Antonio and Niccolò Zeni, brought news to Europe that an expedition had been undertaken between 1388 and 1404. Faroe Islands(Friesland), who explored some places in north coast America. However, their stories, mixed with Greek fables, do not provide any reliable information. They say that Biscay fishermen also, long before Columbus, reached the shores of Newfoundland.

But the glory of the real discovery of the American mainland belongs to the Genoese Christopher Columbus . With three poorly 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, he landed at one of the Bahamas– Guanagani (now San Salvador). In the same year, Columbus discovered Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti), the following 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 continent to Florida, Columbus reached (1498) the Orinoco River and the banks of the Cumana, and thereby also entered the American mainland.

The discoverer of America, Christopher Columbus. Artist S. del Piombo, 1519

Brazil was discovered in 1500 by a Portuguese Cabral , which the storm brought here on the way to the cape Good Hope. Yucatan was discovered in 1507 by Piñon and Diaz de Salis. Pons de Leon discovered Florida in 1512, and Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and reached the opposite sea, which, coming from the north, he 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 Magellanic, and proved the fallacy of the opinion that it was new open lands none other than the eastern shores of Asia. From then on, they began to distinguish the West Indies (America) from the East Indies (India proper).

Ferdinand Magellan

In 1524, the Florentine Giovanni Verazzani explored, 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 the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1541, Orellana explored the Amazon River. Fernando de Soto - Mississippi, Philipp von Hutten - inland countries of South America. Thus, 50 years after the discovery of a new part of the world, the entire American continent, 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 Lemaire and Schouten, the southern tip of the American continent 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, reached 45° northern latitude already in 1578, but only in 1648 did the Cossack Dezhnev manage to swim across the strait separating Asia from America. Subsequently, this strait was explored by Bering in 1725 - 1728 and named after him. Lassalle penetrated into northern Canada as far as the Mississippi in 1682, and then descended the river to its very mouth. South America, explored the Condamine, traveling the entire Amazon to the very mouth.

The travels of Burnaby, Herne and Hutcheson (1747 - 1775), as well as the Red River expedition of the Frenchman de Pages (1767), significantly expanded knowledge of the interior countries of North America. At the same time (1747 - 1751) Kalm and Löfling explored Spanish possessions, and John Byron explored Patagonia and Falkland Islands. Only in the late 1770s did Cook, during his third voyage, travel around the western shores of North America from 45° north latitude beyond the Bering Strait to Cape Prince of Wales, which 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; MacKinair (1804) - British West Indies; Michaud - Western Allegans; in 1806 Lewis and Clark - countries along the upper Missouri and Columbia. Krusenstern traveled around the northwestern coast in 1803. Spix, 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 Arctic Sea, as well as to explore the eastern shores of Greenland. Expeditions undertaken by the British, Americans, Germans and others penetrated to 83° northern latitude .

In the 19th century, travel and new discoveries in America became extremely numerous, but now, for the most part, the study of certain narrow areas took on a private character. Between studies of a general nature or covering large regions, should also be mentioned: the journey of the Englishmen Spies and Lowe 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 of Desire Charnay (1880 – 1882) in Mexico, Yucatan and Guatemala. The most remote parts of South America between the upper reaches of Paraguay and Paraná served as the subject of study by many travelers and expeditions in 1882 - 1889, among which Fontana, Feilberg, Calvamonte and Beauvais had particular success, while Crevo died on the Pilcomaya River, and Tuar failed only to establish the correct message, but even to penetrate from Paraguay to Bolivia through the Gran Chaco desert. This path was completed 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.

What Christopher Columbus did, you will learn from this article.

What did Christopher Columbus discover? Discoveries of Christopher Columbus

The navigator is the most mysterious person of the era of Great Geographical Discoveries and travels. His life is full of mysteries, dark spots, inexplicable coincidences and actions. And all because humanity became interested in the navigator 150 years after his death - important documents had already been lost, and Columbus’s life remained shrouded in speculation and gossip. Plus, Columbus himself hid his origin (for unknown reasons), the motives of his actions and thoughts. The only thing that is known is the year 1451 - the year of his birth and the place of birth - the Genoese Republic.

He made 4 expeditions, which were supplied by the Spanish king:

• The first expedition - 1492-1493.
• Second expedition - 1493-1496.
• Third expedition - 1498 - 1500.
• The fourth expedition - 1502 - 1504.

During four expeditions, the navigator discovered many new territories and two seas - Sargasso and Caribbean.

Lands discovered by Christopher Columbus

It is interesting that all the time the navigator thought that he had discovered India, and beyond it he would find rich Japan and China. But that was not the case. He is responsible for the discovery and exploration of the New World. The islands discovered by Christopher Columbus are the Bahamas and Antilles, Saman, Haiti and Dominica, Lesser Antilles, Cuba and Trinidad, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe and Margarita. He is the pioneer of the lands of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, as well as the northern coast of South America and the Caribbean part of Central America.

Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus

But the most important thing is that during his expedition, Christopher Columbus discovered America. This happened on October 12, 1492, when he landed on the island of San Salvador.

And it all started like this: on August 3, 1492, the expedition of a European navigator consisting of the ships “Santa Maria”, “Nina” and “Pinta” set out on a long journey. In September the Sargasso Sea was discovered. They walked through Germany for three weeks. On October 7, 1492, Columbus's team changed its course to the southwest, believing that they had missed Japan, which they so wanted to discover. After 5 days, the expedition came across an island named San Salvador by Christopher Columbus in honor of the savior Christ. This date, October 12, 1492, is considered the official day of the discovery of America.

A day later, Columbus landed and planted the Castilian banner. Thus, he formally became the owner of the island. Having explored the nearby islands, the navigator sincerely believed that these were the environs of Japan, India and China. At first, the open lands were called the West Indies. Christopher Columbus returned to Spain on March 15, 1493 on the ship Niña. As a gift to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, he brought gold, natives, plants unknown to Europeans - potatoes, corn, tobacco, as well as bird feathers and fruits.

We hope that from this article you learned how the discoveries of Christopher Columbus became famous throughout the world.

Columbus discovered America

The year when this Spanish navigator discovered a new land is indicated in history as 1492. And by the beginning of the eighteenth century, all other areas of North America, for example, Alaska and the regions of the Pacific coast, had already been discovered and explored. It must be said that travelers from Russia also made an important contribution to the exploration of the mainland.

Development

The history of the discovery of North America is quite interesting: it can even be called accidental. At the end of the fifteenth century, a Spanish navigator and his expedition reached the shores of North America. At the same time, he mistakenly believed that he was in India. From this moment begins the countdown of the era when America was discovered and its exploration and exploration began. But some researchers consider this date inaccurate, arguing that the discovery of a new continent occurred much earlier.

The year Columbus discovered America - 1492 - is not an exact date. It turns out that the Spanish navigator had predecessors, and more than one. In the middle of the tenth century, the Normans arrived here after they discovered Greenland. True, they failed to colonize these new lands, since they were repelled by the harsh weather conditions of the north of this continent. In addition, the Normans were also frightened by the remoteness of the new continent from Europe.

According to other sources, this continent was discovered by ancient sailors - the Phoenicians. Some sources call the middle of the first millennium AD the time when America was discovered, and the Chinese as the pioneers. However, this version also does not have clear evidence.

The most reliable information is considered to be about the time when the Vikings discovered America. At the end of the tenth century, the Normans Bjarni Herjulfson and Leif Eriksson found Helluland - “stone”, Markland - “forest” and Vinland - “vineyards” of land, which contemporaries identify with the Labrador Peninsula.

There is evidence that even before Columbus, in the fifteenth century, the northern continent was reached by Bristol and Biscay fishermen, who called it the island of Brazil. However, the time periods of these expeditions cannot be called the milestone in history when America was truly discovered, that is, it was identified as a new continent.

Columbus - a true discoverer

And yet, when answering the question of what year America was discovered, experts most often name the fifteenth century, or rather its end. And Columbus is considered the first to do this. The time when America was discovered coincided in history with the period when Europeans began to spread ideas about the round shape of the Earth and the possibility of reaching India or China along the western route, that is, through Atlantic Ocean. It was believed that this path was much shorter than the eastern one. Therefore, given the Portuguese monopoly on control of the South Atlantic, obtained by the Treaty of Alcázovaz in 1479, Spain, always eager to gain direct contacts with eastern countries, warmly supported the expedition of the Genoese navigator Columbus in a western direction.

Honor of opening

Christopher Columbus was interested in geography, geometry and astronomy from an early age. From a young age, he took part in sea expeditions and visited almost all the then known oceans. Columbus was married to the daughter of a Portuguese sailor, from whom he received many geographical maps and notes from the time of Henry the Navigator. The future discoverer carefully studied them. His plans were to find a sea route to India, but not bypassing Africa, but directly across the Atlantic. Like some scientists - his contemporaries, Columbus believed that, having gone west from Europe, it would be possible to reach the Asian eastern shores - those places where India and China are located. At the same time, he did not even suspect that on the way he would meet an entire continent, hitherto unknown to Europeans. But it happened. And from this time the history of the discovery of America began.

First expedition

For the first time, Columbus's ships sailed from Palos harbor on August 3, 1492. There were three of them. Before Canary Islands The expedition proceeded quite calmly: this section of the journey was already known to the sailors. But very soon they found themselves in a vast ocean. Gradually the sailors began to become despondent and begin to grumble. But Columbus managed to pacify the rebellious, maintaining hope in them. Soon signs began to appear - harbingers of the proximity of land: unknown birds flew in, tree branches floated up. Finally, after six weeks of sailing, lights appeared at night, and when dawn broke, a green, picturesque island, all covered with vegetation, opened before the sailors. Columbus, having landed on shore, declared this land to be the possession of the Spanish crown. The island was named San Salvador, that is, the Savior. It was one of the small pieces of land included in the Bahamas or Lucayan archipelago.

The land where there is gold

The natives are peaceful and good-natured savages. Noticing the greed of those who sailed for the gold jewelry that hung in the noses and ears of the aborigines, they told with signs that in the south there was a land literally abounding in gold. And Columbus moved on. In the same year, he discovered Cuba, which, although he mistook it for the mainland, or rather, the eastern coast of Asia, he also declared it a Spanish colony. From here the expedition, turning east, landed in Haiti. Moreover, along the entire route the Spaniards met savages who not only willingly exchanged their gold jewelry for simple glass beads and other trinkets, but also constantly pointed to the southern direction when asked about this precious metal. Which Columbus named Hispaniola, or Little Spain, he built a small fortress.

Return

When the ships landed in Palos harbor, all the inhabitants came ashore to greet them with honors. Columbus and Ferdinand and Isabella received him very graciously. The news of the discovery of the New World spread very quickly, and those who wanted to go there with the discoverer gathered just as quickly. At that time, Europeans had no idea what kind of America Christopher Columbus discovered.

Second trip

The history of the discovery of North America, which began in 1492, continued. From September 1493 to June 1496, the second expedition of the Genoese navigator took place. As a result, the Virgin and Windward Islands were discovered, including Antigua, Dominica, Nevis, Montserrat, St. Christopher, as well as Puerto Rico and Jamaica. The Spaniards firmly settled in the lands of Haiti, making them their base and building the fortress of San Domingo in its southeastern part. In 1497, the British entered into competition with them, also trying to find northwestern routes to Asia. For example, the Genoese Cabot, under the English flag, discovered the island of Newfoundland and, according to some reports, came very close to the North American coast: the peninsulas of Labrador and Nova Scotia. Thus, the British began to lay the foundation for their dominance in the North American region.

Third and fourth expeditions

It began in May 1498 and ended in November 1500. As a result, the mouth of the Orinoco was also opened. In August 1498, Columbus landed on the coast already on the Paria Peninsula, and in 1499 the Spaniards reached the shores of Guiana and Venezuela, after which - Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon. And during the last - fourth - voyage from May 1502 to November 1504, Columbus had already discovered Central America. His ships sailed along the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua, reaching from Costa Rica and Panama all the way to the Gulf of Darien.

New continent

In the same year, another navigator, whose expeditions took place under the Portuguese flag, also explored the Brazilian coast. Having reached Cape Cananea, he put forward the hypothesis that the lands that Columbus discovered were not China, or even India, but a completely new continent. This idea was confirmed after the first trip around the world by F. Magellan. However, contrary to logic, the name America was assigned to the new continent - on behalf of Vespucci.

True, there is some reason to believe that the new continent was named in honor of the Bristol philanthropist Richard America from England, who financed the second transatlantic voyage in 1497, and Amerigo Vespucci after that took his nickname in honor of the continent named so. To prove this theory, researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the shores of Labrador two years earlier, and therefore became the officially registered first European to set foot on American soil.

In the mid-sixteenth century, Jacques Cartier, a French navigator, reached the shores of Canada, giving the territory its modern name.

Other contenders

Development of the continent North America continued by such navigators as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Baffin. It was thanks to their research that the continent was studied right up to the Pacific coast.

However, history knows many other names of sailors who landed on American soil even before Columbus. These are Hui Shen, a Thai monk who visited this region in the fifth century, Abubakar, the Sultan of Mali, who sailed to the American coast in the fourteenth century, the Earl of Orkney de Saint-Clair, the Chinese explorer Zhee He, the Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.

But, in spite of everything, Christopher Columbus is the person whose discoveries had an unconditional impact on the entire history of mankind.

Fifteen years after the time when America was discovered by the ships of this navigator, the very first geographical map of the continent was compiled. Its author was Martin Waldseemüller. Today it, being the property of the United States, is stored in Washington.

When and who discovered America? The issue remains controversial to this day. Because first we need to decide: what is considered the discovery of America? The first proven visit of Europeans to the New World? This happened half a millennium before Christopher Columbus (remember the Normans). The first European settlement on the new continent arose at the same time. Although, the Vikings did not appreciate their discovery...

But so does Columbus! The discovery of America at the end of the Middle Ages is of particular importance: it was from this time that Europeans began colonizing the new continent, and then exploring it. However, uncertainty remains. Let's take into account: in the first two expeditions, Columbus explored only the islands adjacent to the New World. Only in the summer of 1498 did he set foot on the soil of South America.

A year earlier, members of an English expedition led by John Cabot, an Italian by birth, reached North America. And in this case, it was assumed that the “Kingdom of the Great Khan” (China) had been opened. The voyage was repeated in the spring of next year. But the lack of economic benefit and income from such enterprises cooled the British interest in developing new territories. Scientific achievements must be recognized and associated with expanding the horizons of knowledge. And here there is a complete misunderstanding of the essence of what has been achieved. It is more logical to determine the moment when the truth was first revealed. And then the name of Amerigo Vespucci comes to the fore.

But we must pay tribute to the feat of Columbus and his contribution to the knowledge of the Earth. It was he who obtained evidence (albeit later significantly clarified), obtained facts confirming the idea of ​​​​the sphericity of the Earth. It's no coincidence that he thought trip around the world and tried to implement it. Let Columbus imagine the Earth to be much smaller than it actually is. More importantly, he not only speculatively, in his imagination, but also realistically, thanks to his travels, became convinced of the spherical, closed nature of earthly space.

And yet, the oceans have turned from a great barrier into great connecting links connecting all continents and all peoples of the planet. Conditions have arisen for the creation of a single all-terrestrial civilization (“oceanic”, according to L.I. Mechnikov’s idea). In subsequent centuries all that remained was to develop vehicles and make contacts.

A significant fact: almost at the same time as Columbus entered South America and Cabot entered North America, the Portuguese flotilla under the command of Vasco da Gama reached India for the first time by sea. Tens of years later, the Spanish conquistador Vasco Balboa with a military detachment, having overcome mountain slopes and dense thickets, crossed the Isthmus of Panama and was the first European to visit the shores of the unknown “South Sea”.

The world's oceans somehow immediately, almost overnight, conquered people. Why did this happen? First of all, as a consequence of the emergence of navigation instruments that make it possible to navigate the open sea, as well as geographical maps of lands and oceans. Even if the instruments and maps were imperfect, they made it possible to navigate in space, outline specific goals and pave the way to them.

Christopher Columbus

Amerigo Vespucci was a fairly experienced helmsman and cartographer and knew navigation; the last years of his life he served as the chief pilot of Castile (he checked the knowledge of ship pilots, supervised the compilation of maps, and was involved in drawing up secret reports to the government about new geographical discoveries). He took part in one of the first expeditions to reach " Southern mainland” (as South America was called at first) and, perhaps, was the first to realize the essence of achievement. To put it another way, he made a scientific theoretical discovery, while Columbus practically discovered new lands.

During the time of Amerigo, a letter from him was allegedly published, in which he reported his visit to the Southern continent back in 1497, that is, before Columbus. But this is not documented. It looks like nothing like this simply happened. But Amerigo’s innocence in this kind of misunderstanding is beyond any doubt. He did not claim the laurels of the discoverer and did not try to assert his priority. The popularization of knowledge and the spread of printing had an impact here.

In Europe, messages about new lands and peoples were in great demand. People understood the greatness of the deeds being performed, their enormous significance for the future. Printing houses quickly printed messages about travel to the west. One of them appeared in 1503 in Italy and France: a small pamphlet entitled “The New World”. The preface says that it has been translated from Italian into Latin, “so that all educated people will know how many wonderful discoveries have been made these days, how many unknown worlds have been discovered and how rich they are.”

The book was a great success among readers. It is written vividly, interestingly, truthfully. It reports (in the form of a letter from Vespucci) about the voyage in the summer of 1501 on behalf of the King of Portugal across the stormy Atlantic to the shores of the Unknown Land. It is not called Asia, but the New World.

A little later, another message was published about the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci. And in the end, a collection appeared, including stories from various authors about the voyages of Columbus, Vasco da Gama and some other travelers. The compiler of the collection came up with a catchy title that intrigues readers: “The New World and New Countries Discovered by Alberico Vespucci from Florence.”

Thousands of readers of the book could decide that both the New World and new countries were discovered by Amerigo (Alberico), although this does not follow from the text. But the title is usually better remembered and makes a greater impression than any paragraphs or chapters of the book. In addition, the descriptions written by Amerigo were written vividly and convincingly, which, without a doubt, strengthened his authority as a discoverer.

A little later, Vespucci’s “New World” was published in Germany under the title “On the Antarctic Belt.” And then this same work, already under the guise of a letter to the ruler of one small German kingdom, appeared as an addition to the famous and now classic “Cosmography” of Ptolemy. The whole work was called: “Introduction to cosmography with the necessary fundamentals of geometry and astronomy.

Amerigo Vespucci

In addition, 4 voyages of Amerigo Vespucci and, in addition, a description (map) of the Universe both on a plane and on a globe of those parts of the world that Ptolemy did not know about and which were discovered in modern times" About the discovery of America it is said this way: “Amerigo Vespucci, truly speaking, notified humanity more widely about this.” The authors of the addition were sure that Amerigo was the first to set foot on the new continent back in 1497. Therefore, it was proposed to name the discovered land “after the name of the wise man who discovered it.”

Quite fantastic contours of the New World were put on the world map with the inscription: “America”. The sound of this word turned out to be attractive to many people. They willingly put it on maps. The opinion of Amerigo as the discoverer of the New World spread - spontaneously. And among specialists, the image of a clever rogue, an ambitious swindler who appropriated his name to an entire continent, was increasingly emerging.

Thus, a sincere fighter for justice, Las Casas, in his writings angrily exposed Amerigo. But not a single document was found confirming such accusations. Vespucci himself never proposed naming the discovered lands after himself. He quite definitely wrote: “These countries should be called the New World” and referred to facts obtained in travels and research.

The Austrian writer Stefan Zweig said well about Vespucci: “And if, in spite of everything, a sparkling ray of glory fell on him, then this happened not because of his special merits or special guilt, but because of a peculiar combination of circumstances, mistakes, accidents, misunderstandings... A person who talks about a feat and explains it can become more significant for descendants than the one who accomplished it. And in the incalculable play of historical forces, the slightest push can often cause the strongest consequences...

America should not be ashamed of its name. This is the name of an honest and brave man, who, already at the age of fifty, set sail three times on a small boat across an unknown ocean, like one of those “unknown sailors,” hundreds of whom at that time risked their lives in dangerous adventures... This mortal name has been transferred to immortality not by the will of one person - it was the will of fate, which is always right, even if it may seem that it is acting unfairly... And we use today this word, which was invented by the will of blind chance, in a fun game, as a matter of course, the only conceivable and the only correct one - the sonorous, light-winged word America.”

True, there is reason to believe that the New World was named after the Bristol philanthropist Richard America (England), who financed John Cabot's second transatlantic voyage in 1497, and Amerigo Vespucci after that took a nickname in honor of the continent named so. To prove this version, researchers cite the facts that Cabot reached the shores of Labrador two years earlier, and therefore became the officially registered first European to set foot on new land.

Such navigators as John Davis, Alexander Mackenzie, Henry Hudson and William Baffin continued to explore the continent of North America. And thanks to their research, a new continent was explored all the way to the Pacific coast. But history also knows many other names of navigators who visited the new land even before Amerigo Vespucci and Columbus. These are Hui Shen, a Thai monk who visited there in the 5th century, Abubakar, the Sultan of Mali, who sailed to the American coast in the 14th century, the Earl of Orkney de Saint-Clair, the Chinese explorer Zhee He, the Portuguese Juan Corterial, etc.