Pre-Columbian voyages to America Gulyaev Valery Ivanovich
Columbus and the discovery of America (instead of introduction)
It was midnight on October 11, 1492. Another two hours - and an event will come true, which is destined to change the entire course of world history. On the ships, no one was fully aware of this, but literally everyone, from the admiral to the youngest cabin boy, was in suspense. Those who first saw the land were promised a reward of ten thousand maravedis, and now it was already clear to everyone that the long voyage was drawing to a close ... The day was running out, and in the bright starry night three boats, driven by a favorable wind, were rapidly gliding forward ... " ...
In such a solemnly upbeat tone, the American historian J. Bakles describes the exciting moment that preceded the discovery of America by Columbus.
Three small wooden ships - "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Niña" - set off from the port of Paloe (Atlantic coast of Spain) on August 3, 1492. About 100 people in the team, the very minimum of food and equipment. At the head of this expedition was an extraordinary man, possessed by a daring dream - to cross the Atlantic Ocean from east to west and reach the fabulously rich kingdoms of India and China. His name was Cristobal Colon (Spanish for Christopher Columbus). He was a native of Genoa and was in the Spanish service at the time.
Two months of the hardest sailing in the ocean. The last piece of land - the Canary Islands - remained astern exactly 33 days ago. It seemed that the sea desert would never end. The supplies of food and fresh water were running out. People are tired. The admiral, who had not left the deck for hours, more and more often heard exclamations of discontent and threats from the sailors.
But now the hardest part is over. All signs spoke of the proximity of the desired land: birds, floating green branches of trees and sticks, clearly cursed by the hand of a man.
That night Captain Martin Pinson marched in front of the small flotilla in the Pinta, and the sailor Rodrigo de Triana was in charge at the bow of the ship. It was he who first saw the earth, or rather, the reflections of the ghostly moonlight on the white sandy hills. "Earth! Earth!" shouted Rodrigo. And a minute later the thunder of a cannon shot announced that America was open.
The sails were removed on all ships and they began to look forward to dawn. Finally it came, a clear and cool dawn on Friday, October 12, 1492. The first rays of the sun illuminated the earth mysteriously dark in front. "This island," Columbus will write later in his diary, "is very large and very flat, there are many green trees and water, and in the middle there is a large lake. There are no mountains."
The boats were lowered from the ships. Stepping ashore, the admiral hoisted the royal banner there and declared the open land the possession of Spain.
The island turned out to be inhabited. It was inhabited by cheerful and good-natured people with swarthy, reddish skin.
“All of them,” writes Columbus, “walk naked, in which their mother gave birth, and women too ... And the people I saw were still young, all of them were no more than 30 years old, and they were well built, both bodies and faces they were very beautiful, and their hair was coarse, just like a horse, and short ... Their facial features are correct, their expression is friendly ... The color of these people was not black, but such as the inhabitants of the Canary Islands ... "The first meeting of Europeans with American aborigines. The first, most vivid impressions of the New World. Everything here seemed unusual and new: nature, plants, birds, animals and even people.
The Indians themselves, if they were correctly understood, called their island Guanahani. Columbus christened the newly discovered land with the name San Salvador (Holy Savior). There is no doubt that this was one of the Bahamas. Florida and the imposing land mass of the Greater Antilles are just a stone's throw from here.
The opening of the "West Indies" has begun. And although on that momentous morning of October 12, 1492, the life of the vast American continent was outwardly not disturbed, the appearance of three caravels in warm waters off the coast of Guanahani (San Salvador) meant that the history of America entered a new era full of dramatic events.
The return of Columbus to Spain in March 1493 on two surviving, but badly battered ships turned into a true triumph of the great navigator. He was showered with numerous honors and awards from the royal couple and received a firm promise of assistance in the implementation of future expeditions to "India".
Of course, the real acquisitions from the first voyage were small: a handful of pathetic trinkets of low-grade gold, a few half-naked natives, bright feathers of outlandish birds. But the main thing was done: this Genoese found new lands in the west, far beyond the ocean. In anticipation of future fabulous profits, the royal court and the Spanish moneybags gave the admiral a generous loan.
In the second voyage of Columbus across the Atlantic, 17 ships and more than 1,500 people took part. New large islands were discovered - Jamaica and Haiti, inhabited by numerous Indian tribes. However, gold, spices, precious stones - everything that the participants of the expeditions and those who financed them so greedily aspired to - could not be obtained. Columbus's star plummeted downward. True, he managed to organize two more campaigns in the Western Hemisphere, discovered part of Central America (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama), where (mainly from the Panamanian Indians) he exchanged a significant amount of gold. But the royal court and the arrogant Spanish nobility did not receive the main thing - the treasures of the Chinese and Indian rulers.
The great navigator died in Spain on May 20, 1506 in complete oblivion and poverty. Contemporaries, which often happens in history, failed to appreciate the true significance of his discoveries. And he himself did not understand that he had discovered a new continent, considering until the end of his life the lands discovered by him as India, and their inhabitants as Indians.
Only after the expeditions of Balboa, Magellan and Vespucci did it become obvious that beyond the blue expanses of the ocean lies a completely new, unknown land. But they will call it America (by the name of Amerigo Vespucci), and not Colombia, as justice demanded. The subsequent generations of compatriots were more grateful to the memory of Columbus. The significance of his discoveries was confirmed already in the 20-30s of the 16th century, when, after the conquest of the rich kingdoms of the Aztecs and Incas, a wide flow of American gold and silver poured into Europe. What the great navigator had been striving for all his life, and what he so persistently sought in the "Western Indies", turned out to be not a utopia, not a madman's delirium, but a very real reality.
Columbus is revered in Spain to this day. His name is surrounded by no less glory in Latin America, where one, the northernmost country of the South American continent, is named Colombia in his honor. However, only in the United States, October 12 is celebrated as a national holiday - Columbus Day. Many cities, districts, mountains, rivers, universities and countless streets, cinemas and pharmacies are named after the great Genoese. So, albeit with some delay, justice was done. Columbus received his share of fame and gratitude from grateful humanity, and this could be the point.
But almost immediately after the epic voyages of the admiral, people appeared who disputed his right to the laurel wreath of the discoverer of America. And over the years, their number did not decrease at all, but grew. Whoever was not called the predecessors of the great navigator: the Phoenicians, and the Israelites, and the Greeks, and the Romans, and the Irish, and the Arabs, and, finally, the Vikings. In the United States, disputes on this basis became particularly acute, since there were many immigrants from Italy and Scandinavia.
In the 60s, after the Norwegian X. Ingstad discovered the remains of a Norman settlement of the 10th-11th centuries on the northern tip of Newfoundland, it was widely recognized that the Europeans (in this case, the Vikings) reached the northeastern coast of America and even tried to settle there. The arguments were weighty, and in the fall of 1964, US President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill on the recommendation of Congress on the annual celebration of October 9 Leif Erickson Day. Thus, the Norman was officially recognized as the discoverer of the New World.
True, the previous holiday has also survived - Columbus Day. But it so happened that the "Norman Bill" was signed on October 9, and, therefore, despite the indignation of the Americans of Italian descent, the holiday of Viking Leif was three days ahead of the holiday of the Genoese Columbus. Passions ran high. On October 12, 1965, violent demonstrations of supporters of Columbus began in many places. They were attended by Americans of Italian descent, protesting against the claims of the descendants of the Normans, who believed that America was discovered by their ancestor.
And it all started with the fact that two days before the holiday (Columbus Day) in the New York Times, not without intent, an article was published about the discovery of a 15th century map depicting a part of North America (the area called Vinland by the Normans), which excited the minds of the Italo-Americans, who did not want to give up the priority of their Columbus.
"Scientists at Yale University," the article said, "reported this morning (ie October 10, 1965. - VG) about the most striking cartographic discovery of the century - the find of the only pre-Columbian geographical map of those countries of the New World that were discovered in the XI century by Leif Eirikson ".
The map itself was placed next to the article. In the upper left corner the inscription "Vinland" stood out clearly. Experts have determined the time of creation of the map - about 1440, that is, more than 50 years before the first voyage of Columbus to the shores of America.
The fact that the very eve of Columbus Day was chosen to publish this sensational material especially angered the Italian-Americans, who saw in this not only an open challenge, but also tactlessness. True, some time later, serious doubts arose about the authenticity of the Vinland map. But the deed was done, and the Norman priority in the discovery of America received solid support.
In this whole story, of course, there is a lot that is ridiculous and far-fetched. The paradox is that at first, US citizens at school diligently memorize the postulate: North America was discovered by the Vikings 500 years before Columbus. And then 10-15 million Americans of Italian descent seem to forget about the daring Viking campaigns in Vinland and, declaring them to be mere legends, continue to zealously honor their great compatriot as the only discoverer of the New World.
But Columbus himself never set foot on the land of North America and did not even see it from afar. He discovered only islands in the Caribbean Sea and part of the eastern coast of Central America (Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama), and even then during his last, fourth voyage in 1502.
Therefore, there is every reason to consider another European, John Cabot from England, to be the discoverer of North America. On June 24, 1497, he landed at Bold Point on Newfoundland Island, and then explored Cape Reis on the same island. In honor of this event, the strait between the Nova Scotia Peninsula and the island of Newfoundland is named after him. But the Italians again won the palm: John Cabot was actually called Giovanni Caboto - he was an Italian sailor in the English service.
And yet Columbus earned his fame.
"Although Columbus never saw the North American continent and until the end of his days believed that he had discovered India, he at the same time remains the main figure of the era of the great geographical discoveries. His services to humanity are much higher than those of the Vikings."
The great Genoese not only discovered new lands unknown to "cultured humanity" in the west, but also laid the foundation for strong and regular ties between the Old and New Worlds.
At the same time, the role of the Vikings is not diminished.
“Today,” writes the famous German writer K. V. Keram, “we can only say one thing: the Viking landings in America are interesting from many points of view, but they did not change either the worldview or the economic conditions of life of both Europeans and the indigenous inhabitants of the American continent. Columbus did it. "
It seems to me that the trustee fathers of the old American city of Boston came to the wisest decision: they installed bronze monuments to both Columbus and Leif Erikson in the last century.
It is also important to understand the relationship of all known cases of pre-Columbian voyages to America with the discoveries of the great navigator. In my opinion, the famous American historian J. Fiske, the author of a fundamental two-volume work on the discovery of America, most objectively presented this most complicated problem. He's writing:
"The contact between the two worlds began, in fact, only in 1492. At the same time, I do not intend to deny that random visitors from the Old World could and did appear before this time. On the contrary, I am inclined to think that such random visits were more than we ever think. "
Speaking about the role of the discoveries of the Vikings who traveled from their colonies in Greenland and Iceland to the shores of North America, he notes:
"... All these ancient travels before Columbus had no important historical consequences. In the matter of colonization, they led only to the establishment of two unfortunate colonies on the Greenland coast, in other respects they did not make any real contribution to the treasury of geographical knowledge. They did not make any impact on the minds of Europeans outside Scandinavia ... travels to Vinland were forgotten by the end of the 14th century ... There was no real relationship between the eastern and western halves of our planet until the great voyage of Columbus in 1492. "
On the whole, one could agree with such an assessment. But let's not rush. Let us also speak out to one of Fiske's opponents - defender of the priority of Polynesian seafarers in the discovery of America F. Kuilichi. He is Italian by birth, which means that he is a fellow countryman of the great Genoese.
“In the Mediterranean,” he writes in his book “The Ocean”, “the descendants of the proud Phoenicians swam near the shores well known to them, and only occasionally the most daring of them crossed the entire enclosed sea, making a transition of no more than 200 miles. did not often dare to sail far from the coast.
Portuguese sailors have collected a lot of information about the Atlantic Ocean. But it took as much as 600 years before the Azores and Madeira Islands, located relatively close to the coast of Europe, were discovered. Some ships made it to the African coast. However, they did not dare to swim further - they knew that after crossing the equator they would lose sight of the Pole Star, and this would mean certain death: the mad travelers, according to the ideas of their contemporaries, would either boil alive in the boiling water of the ocean, or they would collapse into the abyss, falling off the edge of the earth.
At the opposite end of the Earth, Chinese junks swam from island to island, but they never lost sight of the mainland coast. Traders from Arabia and India made rather daring voyages, however, they did not go far into the open sea. Only in the north of Europe did the Vikings venture into campaigns that can be compared with the campaigns of the Polynesians ...
The latter had a difficult task - to enter into a one-on-one struggle with the Pacific Ocean and overcome it. Without maps, without more or less perfect instruments, guided only by the stars and relying only on the mercy of the gods, they performed genuine miracles. A good seven centuries passed before a native of Genoa, a Spanish citizen named Christopher Columbus, made his famous journey on three large stable ships, much less long and dangerous than the Polynesian canoe trips. "
There are a great many examples of such a confrontation of views and opinions. The origins of all these disputes go back to the hazy haze of centuries, to the historical moment when Columbus set foot on the sandy coast of Guanahani Island. Both experts and the general public have always worried about two questions, from the solution of which in one direction or another the view of the history of pre-Columbian America significantly changed: where does the culture of local Indians originate from and did Columbus have predecessors?
Some authorities vehemently denied any possibility of any transoceanic contacts of the inhabitants of the American continent with the outside world in ancient times. Others, on the contrary, tried to prove that it was not difficult for a person of past eras to cross the ocean, and therefore all the cultural achievements of the Indians are rooted in the civilization of the Old World.
Over the years, not only scientists, but also diplomats, officials, writers, religious leaders and even entire states have become involved in this dispute. The upholding of national prestige and the inviolability of the dogmas of faith, vanity and thirst for wealth, the pursuit of sensation at times made the polemics too acute. However, this polemical intensity, which has not abated up to the present day, serves, in my opinion, as an excellent proof of the great scientific and universal significance of this topic.
The literature on pre-Columbian connections has accumulated over the past four centuries. The arguments of the parties are often very confusing and incomprehensible. Often, old, long ago exposed and rejected by science, hypotheses acquire new shiny clothes thanks to the efforts of interested persons and again rush to take a place in the discussions. It is far from easy to understand this sea of facts without special skills and training.
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For the first time the idea of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to find a direct and quick way to India, presumably visited Columbus as early as 1474 as a result of correspondence with the Italian geographer Toscanelli. The navigator made the necessary calculations and decided that the easiest way would be to sail through the Canary Islands. He believed that there were only about five thousand kilometers from them to Japan, and from the Land of the Rising Sun it would not be difficult to find a way to India.
But Columbus was able to fulfill his dream only after a few years, he repeatedly tried to interest the Spanish monarchs in this event, but his demands were recognized as excessive and costly. And only in 1492, Queen Isabella gave on a trip and promised to make Columbus admiral and viceroy of all open lands, although she did not donate money. The navigator himself was poor, but his companion, the ship owner Pinson, gave his ships to Christopher.
Discovery of America
The first expedition, which began in August 1492, involved three ships - the famous Niña, Santa Maria and Pinta. In October, Columbus reached land and ashore, it was the island he named San Salvador. Confident that this is a poor part of China or some other undeveloped land, Columbus, nevertheless, was surprised by many things unknown to him - he first saw tobacco, cotton clothes, hammocks.
Local Indians told about the existence of the island of Cuba in the south, and Columbus went in search of him. During the expedition, Haiti and Tortuga were discovered. These lands were declared the property of the Spanish monarchs, and the fort of La Navidad was created in Haiti. The navigator set off back together with plants and animals, gold and a group of natives, whom the Europeans called the Indians, since no one had yet suspected of the discovery of the New World. All the lands found were considered part of Asia.
During the second expedition, Haiti, the Jardines de la Reina archipelago, the island of Pinos, Cuba were surveyed. For the third time, Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad, found the mouth of the Orinoco River and the island of Margarita. The fourth voyage made it possible to explore the shores of Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua. The path to India was never found, but South America was discovered. Columbus finally realized that to the south of Cuba lies a whole - a barrier to rich Asia. The Spanish navigator initiated the exploration of the New World.
The lands were the most common: the founding of cities, the discovery of deposits of gold and wealth. In the 15th century, navigation was actively developing, and expeditions were equipped in search of an unknown continent. What happened on the mainland before the arrival of the Europeans, when Columbus discovered America, and under what circumstances did this happen?
History of the great discovery
By the 15th century, European states were distinguished by a high level of development. Each country tried to expand its sphere of influence, looking for additional sources of profit to replenish the treasury. New colonies were formed.
Before the discovery, tribes lived on the continent. The aborigines were distinguished by a friendly character, which favored the rapid development of the territory.
Christopher Columbus, while still a teenager, discovered such a hobby as cartography. A Spanish navigator once learned from the astronomer and geographer Toscanelli that if you sail westward, you can reach India much faster. It was 1470. And the idea came just in time, as Columbus was looking for another way that would allow him to get to India in a short time. He assumed that it was necessary to make a route through the Canary Islands.
In 1475, the Spaniard organizes an expedition, the purpose of which is to find a fast route by sea to India across the Atlantic Ocean. He reported this to the government asking for support for his idea, but received no help. The second time Columbus wrote to King João II of Portugal, however, he was refused. Then he again turned to the Spanish government. On this occasion, several meetings of the commission were held, which lasted for a year. The final positive decision on funding was made after the victory of the Spanish troops in the city of Granada, liberated from the Arab occupation.
If a new path to India was discovered, Columbus was promised not only wealth, but also a noble title: Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of the lands that he would open. Since the Spanish ships were forbidden to enter the waters on the west coast of Africa, the government of this step was beneficial in order to conclude a direct trade agreement with India.
What year did Columbus discover America?
1942 is officially recognized as the year of America's discovery in history. Having discovered undeveloped lands, Columbus did not assume that he had discovered a continent that would be called the "New World". In what year the Spaniards discovered America, we can say conditionally, since a total of four campaigns were undertaken. Each time the navigator found new lands, believing that this is the territory of Western India.
Columbus thought that he was following the wrong route after the Vasco de Gama expedition. The traveler arrived in India and returned at short notice with rich goods, accusing Christopher of deception.
Later it turned out that Columbus discovered the islands and the continental part of the Americas.
Which traveler discovered America earlier?
It is not entirely true to say that Columbus became the discoverer of America. Before that, the Scandinavians landed on the land: in 1000 - Leif Eriksson and in 1008 - Torfinn Karlsefni. This is evidenced by the historical records "The Saga of the Greenlanders" and "The Saga of Eric the Red". There is also other information about travel to the "New World". The traveler Abu Bakr II, a resident of the Celestial Empire Zheng He and a nobleman from Scotland Henry Sinclair arrived from Mali to America.
There is historical evidence that the Normans visited the New World in the 10th century after the discovery of Greenland. However, they failed to master the territory due to severe weather conditions unsuitable for agriculture. In addition, the journey from Europe was very long.
Visits to the mainland by the navigator Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.
23.03.2016
The name of the American continent is strongly associated with the name of Christopher Columbus, the famous discoverer of the New World. There is evidence that even before the 15th century, Europeans were able to reach the shores of America. These were the Vikings who sailed to the coast of the Labrador Peninsula in the 10th century. However, their travels were not of great practical importance for Europe, they were generally unknown to their contemporaries. Therefore, the honor of being the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach a new continent began to belong to Columbus. Although the question is still sometimes asked: "Who was the first to discover America - Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci?" So, first things first ...
In 1492, Christopher Columbus, trying to get to India by a short route from the eastern side, discovered the islands of Central America. The project of the expedition to the west of Columbus was hatched for ten years, and it took about eight more to find organizers and sponsors. He proposed the idea to Genoese merchants, Portuguese, French, English rulers, and, more than once, to the Spanish royal couple.
Ultimately, it was the Catholic monarchs - Isabella and Ferdinand, who agreed to patronize Columbus, gave him a title of nobility and promised a monopoly on income from the territories that he could find. On his first voyage in 1492-1494, this Spanish citizen (although he was an Italian by origin) discovered the islands: Haiti (Hispaniola), Cuba, San Salvador (one of the Bahamas).
Columbus returned to his homeland fully confident that he had reached East Asia, mistaking Cuba for the peninsula of China. In the next sea voyage to the shores of the still unexplored islands, several thousand people went on 17 ships. In search of gold and other treasures, the Europeans began to seize the islands and subjugate the natives, who were called Indians.
Dominica, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Montserrat, Antigua, Puerto Rico and other names were marked on the maps. But the mainland of "India" was still not discovered, as well as the gold promised to the king. Learning about the dissatisfaction of his patrons, Columbus was forced to return to Spain in order to somehow justify himself. He managed to regain the favor of the rulers and obtain the right to solely explore the lands of the West Indies.
The third expedition in 1498 turned out to be more modest, it was possible to raise funds to send only six ships. But it was this time that Columbus was able to explore about 300 km of the mainland of Central America. Once at the mouth of the Orinoco River, he realized that such a large river must flow from a large land mass. But he could not continue the expedition due to illness.
In 1499, Vasco da Gama triumphantly returned to Portugal, opening the sea route to real India. Columbus, after such news, completely lost the confidence of the Spanish monarchs and was even imprisoned. He was soon released under the patronage of influential friends who financed the expedition. However, the monopoly on land development was taken away from Columbus. And the supply of settlers in the West Indies (as this region was still called) was entrusted to the new financial manager of the Florentine trading house - Amerigo Vespucci.
Vespucci was an employee of a trading house who sponsored Columbus's second and third expeditions. The navigator's successes aroused curiosity in the Florentine, and when the opportunity arose, he himself set off on a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean. In the voyage of 1499, he received the position of navigator on the ship of Admiral Alonso de Ojeda. Using maps compiled by Columbus, Ojeda easily led his crew to the coast of the mainland.
They went on land on the territory of modern Suriname. Moving along the coast, the travelers reached the Maracaibo Bay, where Vespucci saw houses on stilts in the water. He called this country "Little Venice" - Venezuela. In 1500, a map of the West Indies was published, where, among others, all the names given to Amerigo Vespucci during the expedition of Alonso de Ojeda were inscribed. The author of the map was the pilot Juan de la Cosa.
Vespucci, returning from his first trip, moved from Spanish Cadiz to Lisbon, from where, already under the auspices of the Portuguese king, twice visited the shores of the new continent. Information about Vespucci's travels was preserved in letters to his patron Lorenzo Medici and the Gonfalonier (guardian of justice) of the Florentine Republic and longtime friend Pietro Soderini. These texts aroused keen interest in Europe and were translated into French, German, Italian and Spanish (the originals were written in Latin).
The German cartographer and publisher Martin Waldseemüller published his book "Introduction to Cosmography", where he also published Vespucci's letters, in which he called the open lands the New World. The publisher himself was so delighted with the travels described that he suggested that the mainland be named after Amerigo. The public supported this idea. This is how America acquired its modern name.
Columbus's achievements quickly faded into the background among his contemporaries, because after him much larger discoveries began to occur in the continental regions of the New World. However, when looking at events more than five hundred years ago, the primacy of Christopher Columbus in the study of America is no longer in doubt.
Driven by the storm far west of Africa, they found a fertile, well-watered, wooded country. But these stories, as well as the remains of ancient American monuments, which, according to some, bear the imprint of Phoenician, Greek and Egyptian culture, do not give sufficient reason to assume that the western continent was already discovered by ancient seafarers. An indication that already in the V century. n. NS. from China, there could have been a communication with America through Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, it was made back in 1761 by the author of the history of the Mongols, de Guin. He tried to prove that the Chinese knew America under the name of Fuzanga. The scientist Klaproth thinks that Japan was called Fusang. Researcher Neumann argued that in those days, Chinese sailors did indeed go to Fusang and that the description of this country only applies to Central America.
The Normans were the first to open the way to America from Europe. Erich the Red-haired in 982 moved from Iceland to Greenland and founded a colony on its western coast, which later had 2 cities, 16 churches, 2 monasteries and 100 settlements and was under the authority of a special bishop. On the way to these settlements, Bjarni Herjulfson (986) was blown aside by the storm and was the first to see the New World. Erich's son Leif discovered in 1000 BC. Helluland(stone ground), Markland(land of forests) and rich in grapes Vinland, which is believed to be present-day Labrador, a country near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and over Hudson's Bay. This assumption is confirmed by the fact that runestones of a Germanic character are found here. The discovery of such stones at nearly 73 ° N indicates how far the Greenlandic Normans had penetrated. The Vinland colonies, however, did not last long, partly due to internal strife, partly due to enmity with the Skrelingers, as the settlers called the Eskimo natives. Only from time to time the Normans from Greenland visited Vinland and Markland, but in 1347 these visits stopped, and at the end of the 15th century. the once flourishing Greenland colony has completely died out due to the frequent attacks of the Eskimos and thanks to the appearance of the "black death". Two Venetians, brothers Antonio and Niccolò Zeni, brought to Europe the news that between 1388 and 1404 an expedition was undertaken from the Faroe Islands (Friesland), exploring some places along the northern coast of America. However, their stories, mixed with Greek fables, do not provide any reliable information. It is said that the Biscay fishermen also, long before Columbus, reached the shores of Newfoundland.
But the glory of the real discovery of the American mainland belongs to the Genoese Christopher Columbus . With three poorly equipped ships, he went west to find the shortest route to India and China, and, having sailed from the harbor of Palos on August 3, 1492, on October 12 of the same year, he landed in one of the Bahamas - Guanagani (now San Salvador ). In the same year, Columbus discovered Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti), the next year the islands of Dominica, Maria Galante, Guadeloupe, Antigua, Puerto Rico, and a few years later all the islands, later called the West Indies, became known. Only after Giovanni (John) Cabot (1497) discovered Newfoundland, Labrador and the coast of the North American mainland to Florida, Columbus reached (1498) the Orinoco River and the banks of the Cumana, and thus also entered the American mainland.
Discoverer of America Christopher Columbus. Painter S. del Piombo, 1519
Brazil opened in 1,500 Portuguese Cabral whom the storm brought here on the way to the Cape of Good Hope. Yucatan was discovered in 1507 by Pignon and Diaz de Salis. Pons de Leon discovered Florida in 1512, and Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and reached the opposite sea, which he, coming from the north, called the "South Sea". In 1515 Grijalva arrived in Mexico, and Fernand Cortez conquered it in 1519. In 1520 Fernando Magallans ( Magellan) passed the strait, named after him by Magellanov, and proved the erroneous opinion that the newly discovered lands are nothing more than the eastern shores of Asia. From that time on, they began to distinguish the West Indies (America) from the East Indies (India proper).
Fernand Magellan
In 1524, the Florentine Giovanni Verazzani explored, on behalf of France, the eastern coast of North America. In 1527, Pizarro discovered Peru in South America, and Cabot discovered Paraguay. In 1529, Betzerr and Grihalva sailed from Mexico to California; in 1533 Welser landed in Venezuela, Cartier - in Canada, Diego de Almagro - in Chile, Pedro de Mendos - at the mouth of La Plata. The following year, Cartier sailed to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1541 Orellana explored the Amazon River. Fernando de Soto - Mississippi, Philip von Hutten - inland countries of South America. Thus, 50 years after the discovery of a new part of the world, the entire American continent was generally known, with the exception of the northern and northwestern parts.
Conqueror of Mexico Hernan Cortez
With the discovery of Cape Horn by Lemer and Schuten, the southern tip of the American mainland was identified (in 1616), but attempts to explore its northern shores remained fruitless. . On the west coast of America Francis Drake having passed through the Strait of Magellan, already in 1578 reached 45 ° north latitude, but only in 1648 the Cossack Dezhnev managed to swim across the strait separating Asia from America. Subsequently, this strait in 1725 - 1728 was explored by Bering and named after him. Inland northern Canada penetrated to the Mississippi in 1682 Lasalle, who then went down the river to its very mouth. South America was explored by Condamine, having traveled all the way to the mouth of the Amazon.
The travels of Burneby, Gerne and Hutcheson (1747 - 1775), as well as the expedition to the Red River of the Frenchman de Pages (1767), significantly expanded knowledge of the interior countries of North America. At the same time (1747 - 1751) Kalm and Löfling explored the Spanish possessions, and John Byron explored Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. Only in the late 1770s, during his third voyage, Cook traveled around the western shores of North America from 45 ° north latitude beyond the Bering Strait to the Prince of Wales Cape that he discovered.
From the end of the 18th century, a number of scientific and highly successful expeditions to America began. Alexander Humboldt and Bonpland explored (1799 - 1803) its equatorial regions; McKineair (1804) - British West Indies; Michaud - Western Allegheny; in 1806 Lewis and Clark - the countries of Upper Missouri and Columbia. Kruzenshtern traveled in 1803 to the northwest coast. Speaks, Martius, Naterer and others escorted Archduchess Leopoldina to Brazil in 1817 and together with Eschwege gave detailed information about this country. In addition, many attempts were made to penetrate between the islands of the North Polar Sea, as well as to explore the eastern shores of Greenland. Expeditions undertaken by the British, Americans, Germans, etc., penetrated to 83 ° north latitude .
In the 19th century, travel and new discoveries in America became extremely numerous, but now, for the most part, they have acquired a private character of the study of certain narrow areas. Between studies of a general nature or covering large regions, more should be mentioned: the journey of the Englishmen Spies and Lowe in 1834-35 from Lima through the Andes along Ucayali and Maranyon to the mouth of the Amazon; ethnological and meteorological research of Gabels in Central America in 1864 - 1871; archaeological discoveries by Desiree Sharne (1880 - 1882) in Mexico, Yucatan and Guatemala. The most remote parts of South America between the upper reaches of Paraguay and Parana were the subject of study of many travelers and expeditions in 1882 - 1889, among which Fontana, Feilberg, Calvamonte and Beauvais were especially successful, while Krevo died on the Pilcomaya River, and Tuar did not succeed only to establish the correct communication, but even to penetrate from Paraguay into Bolivia through the Gran Chaco desert. This path was traversed only in 1889 by Calvamonte and Arana. One of the largest studies (1868 - 1876) belongs to Reis and Stübel, who traveled to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.