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Columbus Day
During Columbus' life, Portugal was considered the greatest seafaring nation in the world.?Portugal's prince was nicknamed "Henry the Navigator" because of its sponsorship of many expeditions. Columbus sought aid from Portugal from King John II, but was denied assistance due to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope sea route by Bartholomew Diaz. It was because of this occurrence that Columbus approached Queen Isabella of Spain for help in 1486. It was many years before she agreed to help, but she did so with stipulations that the discovered lands would be claimed for Spain and that the receive one-tenth of the riches that came from his discoveries.
On August 3, 1492, Christoper Columbus and 90 other men sailed on the flagship Santa Maria along with the other known ships, the Nina and the Santa Maria.?They sailed west for two long months and when the men became sick and exhausted, threatened to turn the ship around.??It was on October 12th that Columbus discovered the first of five islands in the Bahamas, and christened it San Salvador and claimed it for Spain.?Other islands that he named in order prior to reaching Cuba, were Santa Maria de la Concepcion, Fernandina, Isabela and Las Islas de Arena.?There is some controversy as to whether San Salvadore is really the first island, as some claim it was Conception Island.?Though Columbus died a rich and famous man, he never knew the true implication of his finds.
There is one final note and that is that there has been some controversy over Columbus Day as a whole. For example, there are groups such as the Venezuelan government that have renamed the day to D?a de la Resistencia Indigena (meaning "Day of Indigenous Resistance").?Native Americans in the United States are also sensitive to this holiday since they believe European colonization exploited native people and the slave trade.??We acknowledge these controversies, but maintain that it is beyond the scope of this historical portrayal.?Extremely educational and insightful web sites such as those below by Keith Pickering, attempt to stick to historical records of Columbus' navigational voyages and discoveries.
The Columbus Navigation Home Page offers an in depth look at the history, navigation and landfall of Christopher Columbus.
During Columbus' life, Portugal was considered the greatest seafaring nation in the world.?Portugal's prince was nicknamed "Henry the Navigator" because of its sponsorship of many expeditions. Columbus sought aid from Portugal from King John II, but was denied assistance due to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope sea route by Bartholomew Diaz. It was because of this occurrence that Columbus approached Queen Isabella of Spain for help in 1486. It was many years before she agreed to help, but she did so with stipulations that the discovered lands would be claimed for Spain and that the receive one-tenth of the riches that came from his discoveries.On August 3, 1492, Christoper Columbus and 90 other men sailed on the flagship Santa Maria along with the other known ships, the Nina and the Santa Maria.?They sailed west for two long months and when the men became sick and exhausted, threatened to turn the ship around.??It was on October 12th that Columbus discovered the first of five islands in the Bahamas, and christened it San Salvador and claimed it for Spain.?Other islands that he named in order prior to reaching Cuba, were Santa Maria de la Concepcion, Fernandina, Isabela and Las Islas de Arena.?There is some controversy as to whether San Salvadore is really the first island, as some claim it was Conception Island.?Though Columbus died a rich and famous man, he never knew the true implication of his finds.
There is one final note and that is that there has been some controversy over Columbus Day as a whole. For example, there are groups such as the Venezuelan government that have renamed the day to D?a de la Resistencia Indigena (meaning "Day of Indigenous Resistance").?Native Americans in the United States are also sensitive to this holiday since they believe European colonization exploited native people and the slave trade.??We acknowledge these controversies, but maintain that it is beyond the scope of this historical portrayal.?Extremely educational and insightful web sites such as those below by Keith Pickering, attempt to stick to historical records of Columbus' navigational voyages and discoveries.
The Columbus Navigation Home Page offers an in depth look at the history, navigation and landfall of Christopher Columbus.