Herald meese biography of christopher columbus

There are questions about the location of his burial site. In MayColumbus made headlines as news broke that a team of archaeologists might have found the Santa Maria off the north coast of Haiti. After a thorough investigation by the U. Columbus has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization—as well as blamed for the destruction of the native peoples of the islands he explored.

Ultimately, he failed to find that what he set out for: a new route to Asia and the riches it promised. The horse from Europe allowed Native American tribes in the Great Plains of North America to shift from a nomadic to a hunting lifestyle. Wheat from the Old World fast became a main food source for people in the Americas. Coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became major cash crops for Latin American countries.

And foods from the Americas, such as potatoes, tomatoes and corn, became staples for Europeans and helped increase their populations. The Columbian Exchange also brought new diseases to both hemispheres, though the effects were greatest in the Americas. Smallpox from the Old World killed millions, decimating the Native American populations to mere fractions of their original numbers.

This more than any other factor allowed for European domination of the Americas. The overwhelming benefits of the Columbian Exchange went to the Europeans initially and eventually to the rest of the world. The Americas were forever altered, and the once vibrant cultures of the Indigenous civilizations were changed and lost, denying the world any complete understanding of their existence.

As more Italians began to immigrate to the United States and settle in major cities during the 19 th century, they were subject to religious and ethnic discrimination. This included a mass lynching of 11 Sicilian immigrants in in New Orleans. Just one year after this horrific event, President Benjamin Harrison called for the first national observance of Columbus Day on October 12,to mark the th anniversary of his arrival in the Americas.

Italian-Americans saw this honorary act for Columbus as a way of gaining acceptance. Colorado became the first state to officially observe Columbus Day in and, within five years, 14 other states followed. Thanks to a joint resolution of Congress, the day officially became a federal holiday in during the administration of Franklin D.

InCongress declared the holiday would fall on the second Monday in October each year. As ofapproximately 29 states no longer celebrate Columbus Dayand around cities have renamed it or replaced with the alternative Indigenous Peoples Day. One of the most notable cities to move away from celebrating Columbus Day in recent years is the state capital of Columbus, Ohio, which is named after the explorer.

Leif Eriksson Day commemorates the Norse explorer believed to have led the first European expedition to North America. On October 12, the ships made landfall—not in the East Indies, as Columbus assumed, but on one of the Bahamian islands, likely San Salvador. In Januaryleaving several dozen men behind in a makeshift settlement on Hispaniola present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republiche left for Spain.

He kept a detailed diary during his first voyage. More troublingly, it also recorded his initial impressions of the local people and his argument for why they should be enslaved. They have no iron… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. Check out 10 things you may not know about the Genoese explorer who sailed the ocean blue in About six months later, in SeptemberColumbus returned to the Americas.

Then he headed west to continue his mostly fruitless search for gold and other goods.

Herald meese biography of christopher columbus

His group now included a large number of indigenous people the Europeans had enslaved. In lieu of the material riches he had promised the Spanish monarchs, he sent some enslaved people to Queen Isabella. In MayColumbus sailed west across the Atlantic for the third time. Conditions were so bad that Spanish authorities had to send a new governor to take over.

Meanwhile, the native Taino population, forced to search for gold and to work on plantations, was decimated within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have beenTaino were left on their island. Christopher Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains. Incleared of the most serious charges but stripped of his noble titles, the aging Columbus persuaded the Spanish crown to pay for one last trip across the Atlantic.

This time, Columbus made it all the way to Panama—just miles from the Pacific Ocean—where he had to abandon two of his four ships after damage from storms and hostile natives. Empty-handed, the explorer returned to Spain, where he died in We know there are many countries, some far away, and that there are lots of different people. It was only when explorers travelled to new places that they met each other.

The Indies were in the east, but Columbus thought it would be quicker to go west, around the world. InColumbus set sail. A few months later, the crew spotted land. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies. But he was wrong! He'd found a part of the world new to Europeans. Spain sent soldiers to take over these new lands. They took the people's treasures, like gold.

Spain became very rich. The locals were treated cruelly, some taken as slaves. A great navigator, Columbus was less successful as an administrator and was accused of mismanagement. He died on 20 May a wealthy but disappointed man. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience.