Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus 

Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) was a Genoese trader, explorer, and navigator. He was born in Genoa, Italy, in the year 1451. "Christopher Columbus" is the English version of Columbus's name. His real name in Italian was Cristoforo Colombo; his name in Spanish was Cristóbal Colón.

In 1492, Columbus landed on the modern day island of the Bahamas, the first European to do so. His initial goal was to find a quicker route to Asia from Europe. He is credited with the discovery of the New World because his voyage started an era of European colonialism in the Americas and was an important moment in European history. While Leif Erikson was the first European to land on the soils of America it was not well documented and did not lead to sustained contact between Europe and the New World.

When the Spanish learned that Columbus had found a New World, many other people, called conquistadors, went there too. This led to the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Columbus died on May 20, 1506, in Valladolid, Spain.