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Christopher Columbus

by Daji from Taipei Fuhsing School

The Great Explorer Who Discovered the America
Christopher Columbus (Wikipedia (Wikipedia))
Christopher Columbus (Wikipedia (Wikipedia))

Christopher Columbus was born before 31 October 1451 in the territory of the Republic of Genoa (now part of modern Italy), though the exact location remains disputed. His name in Italian is Cristoforo Colombo and, in Spanish, it is Cristobal Colon. His father was Domenico Colombo, a middle-class wool weaver who worked both in Genoa and Savona and who also owned a cheese stand at which young Christopher worked as a helper. His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo were his brothers. He also had a sister named Bianchinetta.

Wikipedia (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia (Wikipedia)

Young Christopher was fond of navigation. Europe in the past needed gold and spices from the East pretty much. However, the road on land toward Asia was cut by the Ottoman Empire. The only way to get there was to go by boat and the way may cross the Cape of Good Hope to get to Asia. Christopher believes that he could get to the Southern-East Asia by travelling all the way west. He asked the leader of Spain, Portugal, England, and France for help. After travelling all around the countries for ten to twenty years, Queen Isabella, the queen of Spain, decided to give him a hand in 1492.

Wikipeia (Wikipedia)
Wikipeia (Wikipedia)

After leaving Spain with 90 sailors on three boats, they stayed at an island for about one month for the fixing for one of their boats. After that, they began the trip across the Atlantic Ocean which last for five weeks. They arrived at an island named Guanahani which is part of the Lucayan Archipelago. People there were pretty friendly and they were still living in the "Neolithic", a period of time while people use animal bones or wood for their main material of living or weapons. Christopher thought that he had arrived at an island near modern Japan, while some others said that he thought he arrived at China or India. After arriving at Cuba later, Christopher went all the way back to Portugal in 1493. Then he arrived in Spain and wrote something called the Columbus Letter on the First Voyage. He then travelled toward North and South America for three more times, but he just thought that the places he had gone to was Asia during his entire life.

Wikimedia Commons (Wikimedia Commons)
Wikimedia Commons (Wikimedia Commons)

As a successful explorer, Christopher Columbus had discovered a place where the U.S, where might be the strongest country of the world, is in. He may be more important for the American than he is for us, the Asian. The world map may be totally different if Christopher hadn't discovered the Americas. America had benefited the world a lot, and the person who discovered it, Christopher Columbus, will always be the hero in our mind.

Page created on 3/10/2017 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 3/10/2017 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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