Christopher Columbus
Wikimedia CommonsChristopher Columbus.
Not much is certain about Christopher Columbus‘ early life. He was likely born in Genoa sometime around 1451.
In his youth, Columbus worked as a merchant and sailed to far-off lands bringing back goods to sell in Europe.
But with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, many European merchants like Columbus began to wonder if there might be a more direct route to the riches of Asia that didn’t involve going through their traditional Muslim enemies.
For many, that meant sailing west instead of east. So in 1485, Columbus began shopping the idea around to European kings and asking for help financing such a voyage.
Wikimedia CommonsChristopher Columbus lands in America.
He finally got permission from the King and Queen of Aragon and Castile in 1492 and set off with three ships.
A popular myth is that Columbus was one of the few people who thought the Earth was round at the time. In fact, most people in Europe accepted that the Earth wasn’t flat at that point. But most assumed that it was far too big to reach Asia from Europe.
Columbus disagreed and it would actually be he who was wrong. Had Columbus not stumbled upon the Bahamas in a stroke of amazing luck, he likely would have perished along with his crew.
While Columbus never reached Asia, his good fortune meant that North and South America were now open for trade and colonization by European powers, and subsequently, this famous explorer had changed the course of history forever.
