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Christopher Columbus

by Lisette from Grand Rapids

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus is one of the greatest examples of philanthropy. Christopher Columbus is some one who really wanted to do something different and because of this thought he made it possible for others to go and discover the new world with no fear. He was a great man with a lot of heart. Christopher Columbus had many different kinds of characteristics but to me there were three that stuck out the most. He was a reasonable man, which made him a courageous man. Though he was all these things he was a great leader, a leader of not only the people that were with him on that voyage but as well as in history alone. Through this great voyage that he made many other followed. Christopher Columbus was born in the year 1451 and died in the year 1506. His voyages mark the beginning of continuous European efforts to explore and colonize the Americans.

His voyages as opening the New World to Western civilization and Christianity. He was the first European since the Vikings to “discover” the New World! Christopher Columbus had many qualities that made him a man of his word. He was a man that lead and that many trusted in this voyage and there were many reasons why! All together he took three voyages. In those voyages he taught himself how to read Latin because most of the books were in Latin. His main mission on all of these voyages to spread the word of Christianity. He was a Christian and he wanted to tell the story of Christ to people he would find in the far-away lands. Some words from Christopher Columbus are, "I think that they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion." He thought that by this he could also be made a hero. He made it easy to be called a hero because of all the wonderful things he was part of and everything that he had to do with!

To lead you on a brief preview of his voyage and what happened during his voyages we will dive into what makes him so great. Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. He went to sea as a young boy, and spent most of his life at sea. Columbus knew the world was round. He believed that by sailing west, instead of current route east around the coast of Africa, he would the East and the Spice Islands. He moved to Portugal trying to get money to support his journey. He eventually got support from Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen of Spain. In 1492 Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Columbus was actually looking for America. He was looking for a shorter route to the Far East. There he would find valuable silks and spices. Columbus actually landed on a small island in the Bahamas which Columbus named San Salvador. Columbus thought he had landed on the Spice Islands near India. This is why he named the people he met Indians. Columbus died in 1506 still believing that he had found a new route to the East Indies. Through all these great things that he did he made it very easy for others to follow in his footsteps.

So in conclusion Christopher Columbus inspired me which made me see him as a hero. He was a man who was daring and ready to achieve the impossible. He made way for many others men and women to do the same. He was a man who had a dream and followed it! I saw him as some one that I could look to for any inspiring needs of my own. His voyages are something that you really need to look up as to what exactly happened but his accomplishments are so great that his story really just goes on! His journey from his relationship with his father to how and where he died is much too long to explain!

Here are some links that I used to gather some of my information!
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/ei/fact/columbus.html
http://metalab.unc.edu/expo/1492.exhibit/c-Columbus/columbus.html
http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/excolumbus.htm
http://www.nndb.com/people/033/000045895/

Page created on 5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

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