美国史-Christopher Columbus(全英)

Christopher Columbus

Out of all the many great explorers, most people think of Christopher Columbus as the greatest. He was regarded as the greatest because he was the first explorer to reach the American Continent. He was one of the few early believers that the world was round. Throughout Columbus's great life as an explorer, he went on four great voyages and made many great discoveries. Columbus had a great life and forever changed the world by his discoveries even though he had no idea where he really was.

Early Life

His name was Cristoforo Columbus, but mostly all people knew him as Christopher Columbus. He was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. He was the oldest of five children, and was an obedient son. He had little schooling, so he did not read or write as a young boy. One thing he did know from an early age was that he loved the sea. He vowed that as soon as he was old enough, he would go out to sea.

Columbus became a sailor by his early teens, and traveled to Greece and Portugal. In 1476, he was a crewman on the ship that was attacked by French pirates. He was very lucky and once the ship and everything in it was destroyed he found a piece of the ship and swam six miles to the nearest shore.

He then traveled to Lisbon, Portugal where his brother Bartholomew owned a

book and map store. From the books, he learned a lot about mapmaking and navigation. Then, Christopher became fascinated by Marco Polo’s accounts of his journey to Asia in 1271. Columbus believed that the quickest and most direct route to this fascinating place was to cross the waters which is called “Sea of Darkness” back then

From 1484, Columbus started trying to convince King John of Portugal to pay for his supplies, ships, and a crew for his voyage to Marco Polo’s amazing gold mine. King John did not accept simply because he thought Columbus would fail. After failing with King John, Columbus decided to ask King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. After his persistence of asking them, they finally agreed. (Washington Irving 1926)

Voyages

Between 1492 and 1503, Christopher Columbus completed four round-trip voyages between Spain and the Americas. These voyages marked the beginning of the European exploration and colonization of the American continents, and are of enormous significance in Western history.

on August 3rd, 1492, he and ninety men set sail on the flagship Santa Maria. Two other ships, the Nina and the Pinta, came with him. They sailed west. Three long months went by. His men became tired and sick, and threatened to turn the ships back. Columbus encouraged them, certain that they would find the spice trail to the East. On October 11th, ten o'clock at night, Columbus saw a light. The

Pinta kept sailing, and reported that the light was, in fact, land. The next morning at dawn they landed.Columbus called the first island they reached was San Salvador, but the natives called it Guanahani. (W. D. Phillips & C. R. Phillips 1992)

The people of the “new world” had no hostility towards Columbus and his men. They greeted Columbus and his men with open arms. The Indian peoples welcomed Europeans warmly, provided them with food, and taught them important new survival skills. In some cases, they perceived them as being divine, or at least spiritually powerful. (Bartolome De las Casas 1971)Native peoples were quickly disillusioned by treachery or mistreatment at European hands. Columbus used their ignorance to his advantage. We can prove this by his log:

They...brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned...They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance...They would make fine servants...With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.(Christopher Columbus 1990: 50)

On October 28th, Columbus explored the northeast coast of Cuba. They found the gold of plant--tobacco here. After that, the Spanish learned smoking quickly, and smoking spread all over the world only forty years later.

On January 6th in 1493, Columbus returned to Spain, the first voyage of exploration in human history which lasted 224 days finished.

Funded by Ferdinand and Isabella Columbus set sail from Cadiz on his 2nd voyage. He left on September 26th, 1493 and had 17 ships and almost 1,500 men. (M. K. Baccus 2000) First they stopped in the Canary Islands and then made landfall on November 3, 1493 near Dominica. The explorers went past Puerto Rico and reached the sited of Navadid, a settlement that Columbus started on, on November 27-28, 1493.(Howard Zinn 2009) The settlement had been destroyed, and the Indians had killed all the Spaniards who had seized gold and the women. Columbus started a new settlement named Isabella about 70 miles to the east of the Navadid’s site. He left in April 1494 and explored Cuba but never proved it to be an island. He returned to Isabella after 5 months. Columbus tried to govern the colony until he returned to Spain in 1496, but he was not a good governor. He left his brother Bartolome in charge with instructions to move the settlement to the south coast of Hispaniola.

After that , Columbus did his third voyage from 1498 to 1500 and the fourth voyage from 1502 to 1504.(W. D. Phillips & C. R. Phillips 1992 )

The Influence of Columbus’ Discovery

Firstly, Columbus set up the new road from Europe to America across the Atlantic Ocean and as a result, the new continent and the old continent connected together. Secondly, his successful voyage opened the door for European’s

expansion, invasion and colonization toward the new land. Thirdly, Columbus discovered the peculiar crops of America- tobacco, corn, potato which is of great importance to all of the world. What’s more, the discovery of Columbus laid an important foundation for Magellan’s sailing around the world. But at the same time, they made the American-Indians fall into endless abyss of bitterness. ( James W. Loewen, 1995)

上海师大外国语学院 秦奕雯