Christiphor Columbus

Born: August-October ,Italy

Died: May 20, 1506 outside Valladolid, Spain

Jobs:Became a business, trading agent for the Centurione, Di Negro and Spinola families of Genoa.

In May 1476, he took part in an armed convoy sent by Genoa to carry a valuable cargo to northern Europe.

In 1479 Columbus reached his brother Bartolomeo in Lisbon, keeping on trading for the Centurione family.

He married Filipa Moniz Perestrello, daughter of the Porto Santo governor, Bartolomeo Perestrell.

On the evening of August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships; one large Santa Maria, and two smaller caravels, Pinta (the Painted) and Santa Clara, nicknamed Niña (the Girl). They were property of Juan de la Cosa and the Pinzón brothers (Martin Alonzo and Vicente Yáñez), but the monarchs forced the Palos inhabitants to contribute to the expedition. Columbus first sailed to the

Canary Islands, which were owned by Castile, where he restocked the provisions and made repairs, and on September 6, he started what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the ocean. Land was sighted at 2 a.m. on October 12, 1492, by a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermejo) aboard Pinta. (Columbus would claim the prize.) Columbus called the island (in what is now The Bahamas) San Salvador, although the natives called it Guanahani. The prime candidates were Samana Cay, Plana Cays, or San Salvador Island (named San Salvador in 1925 in the belief that it was Columbus's San Salvador)

So mainly his first voyage was from 1492-1493

1492/8/3 Departs from Palos, Spain (near Huelva)

1492/9/6 Departs Gomera (Canary Islands) after repair and refit.

1492/10/12 New world sighted at 2:00 a.m. by Rodrigo de Triana, somewhere in the Bahamas.

1492/10/29 Arrives at Cuba.

1492/11/22 Martín Alonso Pinzón, captain of the Pinta, deserts the expedition off Cuba.

1492/12/5 Columbus arrives at Hispaniola.

1492/12/25 Flagship Santa Maria sinks off Hispaniola. Columbus founds La Navidad.

1493/1/6 Pinzón rejoins Columbus.

1493/1/16 Columbus departs Hispaniola for Spain in the Niña.

1493/2/14 Niña and Pinta are separated again in a fierce storm.

1493/2/15 Sights Santa Maria Island in the Azores.

1493/3/4 Arrives at Lisbon, Portugal.

1493/3/15 Niña and Pinta return separately to Palos, Spain.

1493 September Grand Fleet of 17 ships departs Cádiz.

1493/10/13 Departs Hierro (Canary Islands)

1493/11/3 The island of Dominica sighted at dawn; Guadeloupe shortly after.

1493/11/22 Arrives at Hispaniola.

1493/11/28 Returns to Navidad, finds fort destroyed.

1493/12/8 Founds new colony of La Isabela.

1494/4/24 Sails from Isabela in search of mainland.

1494/4/30 Arrives at Cuba.

1494/5/5 Arrives at Jamaica.

1494/5/14 Returns to Cuba

1494/6/13 Starts the return to Hispaniola.

1494/8/20 Returns to La Isabela on Hispaniola and takes up his role of governor.

1494-1495 Open warfare breaks out between the colonial Spaniards and the Taino.

1496/3/10 Departs from La Isabela for Spain.

1496/6/8 Reaches the coast of Portugal.

1498/5/30 Departs from Sanlucar, Spain, with six ships.

1498/6/19 Arrives at Gomera (Canary Islands); splits fleet into two squadrons. While one squadron makes for Hispaniola, Columbus heads for the Cape Verde Islands and a more southerly route across the Atlantic.

1498/7/4 Departs from the Cape Verde Islands.

1498/7/31 Arrives at Trinidad.

1498/8/13 Leaves the Gulf of Paria, arrives at Margartia.

1498/8/19 Arrives at the new city of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola. Columbus resumes his role as governor of the colony.

1500 October Columbus is arrested and sent home in chains.

1502/5/11 Departs from Cádiz, Spain, with four ships.

1502/6/29 Arrives at Santo Domingo, Hispaniola.

1502/7/30 Arrives at the Mosquito Coast, modern Nicaragua.

1503/1/9 Establishes garrison at Rio Belen.

1503/4/6 Garrison attacked by Indians and abandoned.

1503/4/16 Leaves Rio Belen for home.

1503/6/25 Sinking ships beached and abandoned at Jamaica, marooning crew.

1504/6/29 Crew rescued from Jamaica after more than a year on the island.

1504/11/7 Columbus returns to Spain.

1506/5/20 Columbus dies at Valladolid

Christopher Columbus is one of the best-known of all explorers. He is famous for his voyage in 1492, when he "discovered" America while he was looking for a way to sail to Asia.

He made several voyages to the New World, which he thought was Asia. His first voyage took place in 1492. On October 12, 1492, the expedition landed on a small island in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus was sure that he was close to Asia.

His second voyage was from 1493 to 1496. This time, he took 17 ships and 1200 sailors and colonists looking for riches in the New World and a quick route to Asia. On this trip, he explored Cuba and discovered the islands of Jamaica, Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico. He went again to the New World from 1498 to 1500. His final voyage was in 1502-1504. Christopher Columbus died in 1506.

He was not the first European to find North America. The Vikings had come to northern North America hundreds of years earlier. However, Columbus is important because his explorations made Europeans much more aware of the New World and helped to encourage more exploration of North and South America in the 1500s.