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About


Explorers

Christopher Columbus

Columbus Arrives in America Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an explorer. He sailed from Spain to find a shorter way to the Indies (Asia). He claimed land for Spain. He met Native Americans and traded with them. Columbus called them Indians because he thought he was in the Indies. He and his men fought some of the Indians.

At the start of the trip things went fine. But this was a new place. They had never gone here before. They were exploring into places they did not know about. After 30 days at sea, the crew was getting worried. They were running out of food and supplies. The path they were taking was little known to them and the world. Finally, they spotted land. They were not stranded out at sea. Finding land was something that saved their trip.

Columbus' Route

Columbus and his sailors explored the new place they had found. They visited some of the nearby islands. It was in an area that today is the Bahamas. On Christmas the Santa Maria got caught on a reef. It was wrecked. Columbus decided to leave 40 men in America and return to Spain. He would come back for them later. When he came back all 40 men were dead.

The Native Americans were nice to Columbus and his men for a while. Then they got tired of them and were not so friendly.

Columbus took back to Spain and Europe what he learned. More trips were planned. Columbus and other explorers kept searching for a way to the Indies. They learned about more places in America. More maps were made. The news they brought back spread.

Columbus made four trips to the new world. He kept coming back to explore and expand on what they did before. He started colonies and kept trying to find a route to Asia. He was cruel to the Native Americans and made some of them slaves.

R-SSS

Reading resources

© Reading-SocialStudiesSolutions



Text Credits:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/christopher_columbus/


Image Credits:

Columbus by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio 1483-1561- Wikimedia Commons;
Columbus Lands in America by Prang Educational Company-Library of Congress- Wikimedia Commons;
Map of first voyage of Columbus – Molumen World Map- Openclipart.org


Text Readability:

ATOS- 4.1
Flesch-Kinkade- 4.74
SMOG- 8.08

Notes: