CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Born in 1451 - Died in 1506 Enter your search terms Submit search form   Web gardenofpraise.com

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa (JEN oh uh) ,Italy. He was the oldest of five children in his family. His father was a wool weaver. He helped his father with the weaving, but he always wanted to sail the seas.

He didn't get to go to school very much, but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin.

Some people thought he was trying to prove the world was round, but this is not true. Most people already knew the earth was round. He wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship.

He was a Christian and wanted to tell the story of Christ to the people he would find in the far-away lands. He also wanted wealth for himself and for Spain, and he wanted to be famous.

He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands.

He wanted to be made a knight * , admiral * of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy * and governor * general * of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands.

He even boldly told them he wanted all of this in writing. This was rather brave of him because they could have had him killed because of his demands.

They finally agreed and he got three ships ready to sail;
the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina. He took enough food for a year. In four months he was ready to sail.



They left Spain on August 3, 1492. They made one stop, then sailed on toward the west. After many days, the sailors were ready to turn around and start back home.

"Just three more days," he said. "Then if we don't see land, we'll turn around and go back home."

Columbus Taking Possession

Two days later they saw land; an island Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there "Indians". When they got to Cuba, he thought he was in China. The world was a lot larger than he thought.

On Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti. Columbus built a fort and left 40 men to hunt for gold. Then he returned to Spain on the Nina. The Pinta also returned. The people of Spain welcomed him as a hero.

He made three more voyages across the ocean. His 13-year-old son, Ferdinand went with him on the fourth voyage.

Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis.

Columbus not only discovered a New World, but he led the way for other explorers.

Columbus Navigation Homepage Christopher Columbus Video click on the link under "Interactive Media Files", when the picture appears, right click anywhere on the page and select "Play". The presentation will start. Be sure the volume is turned up. The Round Earth and Christopher Columbus Eye Witness to History written accounts Christopher Columbus biography from The Hall of Explorers Columbus story and quiz with cartoon pictures Columbus, Fact vs Fiction explores the two sides of Columbus Columbus scroll down to find Classroom Activities Famous People (BBC) find Columbus in left-hand column Christopher Columbus biography from World of Biography Christopher Columbus at Wikipedia The Age of Exploration the voyages of Columbus from the Mariner's Museum, including maps Christopher Columbus from Hero History Video clips at Gigglepotz look for "Voyages of Columbus" Columbus Project by a third grade in Virginia Explorers includes Columbus activities The True Story of Christopher Columbus online book by Elbridge Brooks for youngest readers Christopher Columbus and The New World of His Discovery online book by Filson Young At biography.com search for Christopher Columbus. Scroll the panel for the "Video & Audio Results".

Columbus (Beautiful Feet Books) By Ingri D'Aulaire / Beautiful Feet Books In "Columbus," young readers will be swept up in the adventurous story of a man in quest of the treasures of the East. Not knowing what to expect on every turn, Columbus fearlessly sailed on across the Atlantic at a time when "civilized" people believed the world was flat. He and his brave team of sailors soon discovered many islands, people, and treasure, and opened up a strange new world. The beautiful illustrations enhance this fascinating tale of one of the world's most famous explorers. Recommended for ages 4 to 11.

Explorers, Thematic By Teacher Created Resources Thematic Units from Teacher Created Materials are literature based, cross-curricular, and ready to use. They provide activities, many of them hands-on, for all areas of the curriculum, including math, science, language arts, social studies, physical education, art, and music. Each book offers two or more literature-based units and lesson plans plus cross-curricular activities and worksheets, a culminating activity, management ideas, and a bibliography. Complete and comprehensive, these reproducible units are designed with student interest and teacher usability in mind. The planning is complete. The books used in "Explorers" (that will need to be purchased or borrowed)are: "The Log of Christopher Columbus' First Voyage to America" "The Usborne Book of Explorers"

Fandex Field Guide: Explorers By Workman Publishing From the Phoenicians to the present, this Fandex covers Columbus spying the New World, Balboa beholding the Pacific, Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon, and much more. 50 color Fandex cards.

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From Word Central's Student Dictionary
by Merriam - Webster
(Pronunciation note: the schwa sound is shown by &)

knight
Pronunciation: 'nIt
Function: noun
1 a : a warrior of olden times who fought on horseback,
served a king, held a special military rank, and swore to behave in a noble way
b : a man honored by a sovereign for merit and in Great Britain ranking below a baronet...

admiral
Pronunciation: 'ad-m&-r&l, -mr&l
Function: noun
1 : a naval commissioned officer with a rank above that of captain; especially : an officer with a rank just above that of vice admiral...

viceroy
Pronunciation: 'vIs-"roi
Function: noun
1 : the governor of a country or province who represents the sovereign...

governor
Pronunciation: 'g&v(-&)-n&r also 'g&v-&r-n&r
Function: noun
: one that governs; especially : an official elected or appointed to act as ruler, chief executive, or head of a political unit (as a colony, state, or province)...

general
Pronunciation: 'jen-(&-)r&l
Function: noun
: a military officer with a rank above that of a colonel; especially : an officer with the rank just above that of a lieutenant general...

Biographies in this Series

Presidents of the United States	George Washington 1st U.S. President	John Adams 2nd U.S. President	Thomas Jefferson 3rd U.S.President
	James Monroe 5th U.S. President	Andrew Jackson 7th U.S. President	Abraham Lincoln 16th U.S.President
	Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd U.S. President	John F. Kennedy 35th U.S. President	James Madison 4th U.S. President
	Theodore Roosevelt 26th U.S. President
American Patriots	Benjamin Franklin patriot and statesman	Francis Scott Key Star Spangled Banner	Deborah Sampson woman soldier in the Revolutionary War
World Leaders	Constantine Roman Emperor	Alexander the Great conqueror	Winston Churchill British Prime Minister
Inventors	Alexander Graham Bell telephone	Johann Gutenberg printing press	Cyrus McCormick mechanical reaper
	The Wright Brothers first airplane	Henry Ford Automaker	Thomas A. Edison electric light bulb
	Sequoyah Cherokee alphabet	Nikola Tesla 700 patents	.
Explorers	Christopher Columbus explorer	Meriwether Lewis explorer	Robert Peary Arctic explorer
	John Muir Naturalist	Matthew Henson Arctic Explorer	Sir Edmund Hillary Mr.Everest
	Kit Carson Indian agent	"Johnny Appleseed" orchardist	.
Women who made a difference	Clara Barton founder of the Red Cross	Helen Keller overcame blindness & deafness	Florence Nightingale founder of nursing profession
	Joan of Arc religious and military leader	Amelia Earhart Aviator	Annie Oakley sharpshooter
	Susan B. Anthony Suffragette	Elizabeth Keckly Seamstress	Harriet Tubman deliverer of slaves
	Anne Frank Diarist	Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian	.
Scientists	George Washington Carver botanist and educator	Sir Isaac Newton explained gravity and properties of light	Marie Curie scientist, physicist
	Louis Pasteur Biologist	Albert Einstein physicist, genius	Galileo Astronomer, physicist
Educators	Noah Webster writer of dictionary	Booker T. Washington leader and educator	Aristotle Greek philosopher
Physicians	Hippocrates father of medicine	Walter Reed discovered cause of yellow fever	Albert Schweitzer humanitarian
Religious Leaders	Increase Mather Salem witch trials	.
Athletes	Lou Gehrig baseball player	Wilma Rudolph Olympic gold medal winner	Tiger Woods golfer
Civil Rights Leaders	Martin Luther King civil rights leader	Rosa Parks bus desegregation	Sojourner Truth Former slave
	Frederick Douglass Abolitionist	Mary Ann Shadd Cary Civil rights leader	James Forten Inventor, abolitionist
Composers	Beethoven composer
Artists	John James Audubon artist and naturalist	Gutzon Borglum sculptor, Mount Rushmore	Ansel Adams photographer

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