Christopher Columbus (English)
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12 October 1492 marks an event which was to change life on both sides of the Atlantic forever; this date represents the discovery of America. In 1492, the navigator Christopher Columbus, funded by the Spanish Crown, sailed westward from Spain in hopes of finding a new sea route to South and Southeast Asia.
It is commonly said that "Columbus discovered America." It would be more accurate, perhaps, to say that he introduced the Americas to Western Europe during his four voyages to the region between 1492 and 1502. It's also safe to say that he paved the way for the massive influx of western Europeans that would ultimately form several new nations including the United States, Canada and Mexico. But to say he "discovered" America is a bit of a misnomer because there were plenty of people already here when he arrived.
So who were the people who really deserve to be called the first Americans? They came here from Asia probably "no later than about 15,000 years ago."
They walked across the Bering land bridge that back in the day connected what is now the U.S. state of Alaska and Siberia. Fifteen-thousand years ago, ocean levels were much lower and the land between the continents was hundreds of kilometers wide.
It is commonly said that "Columbus discovered America." It would be more accurate, perhaps, to say that he introduced the Americas to Western Europe during his four voyages to the region between 1492 and 1502. It's also safe to say that he paved the way for the massive influx of western Europeans that would ultimately form several new nations including the United States, Canada and Mexico. But to say he "discovered" America is a bit of a misnomer because there were plenty of people already here when he arrived.
So who were the people who really deserve to be called the first Americans? They came here from Asia probably "no later than about 15,000 years ago."
They walked across the Bering land bridge that back in the day connected what is now the U.S. state of Alaska and Siberia. Fifteen-thousand years ago, ocean levels were much lower and the land between the continents was hundreds of kilometers wide.
