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The story of Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage and his goal of finding a shortcut to Asia.
Imagine you are trying to find a shortcut to your favorite pizza shop, but you accidentally discover a whole new neighborhood you didn't even know existed!
In the late 1400s, people in Europe loved spices, silks, and gold from Asia (also called the Indies). However, the land route to Asia was long and dangerous. Christopher Columbus had a bold idea: since the Earth is a sphere, he could sail West across the Atlantic Ocean to reach the East! In 1492, the King and Queen of Spain gave him three ships—the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María—to find this shortcut.
Quick Check
In what year did Columbus set sail on his first voyage to find a shortcut to Asia?
Answer
1492
Columbus and his crew sailed for over two months. They were crossing the Atlantic Ocean, a body of water that Europeans had not fully explored. They didn't realize that two massive continents—North and South America—were standing in their way! Columbus calculated the distance using basic math, but he thought the Earth was much smaller than it actually is.
If Columbus thought the trip was only miles, but the actual distance to Asia was miles, how many miles was he missing? 1. Start with the real distance: 2. Subtract his guess: 3. He was off by miles!
Quick Check
Which ocean did Columbus sail across to reach the Americas?
Answer
The Atlantic Ocean
On October 12, 1492, the sailors finally saw land. They arrived at an island in the Caribbean (near modern-day Florida). Columbus was so convinced he had reached the Indies in Asia that he called the local Taino people 'Indians.' Even though he was actually in a 'New World' to the Europeans, he believed until his death that he had found the shortcut to Asia.
The voyage took about days. If a modern airplane can fly the same distance in days, how many times faster is the plane? 1. Divide the ship time by the plane time: 2. The plane is times faster than Columbus's ships!
What was the main reason Columbus wanted to sail West?
Where did Columbus actually land in 1492?
Columbus called the people he met 'Indians' because he knew he was in North America.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, try to remember the names of the three ships and the specific year Columbus arrived in the Americas.
Practice Activity
Draw a simple map showing Europe on the right and the Caribbean islands on the left. Draw a dotted line across the Atlantic Ocean to show Columbus's route.