Happy Columbus Day!

Ask almost any American elementary student why the Country celebrates Columbus Day and they will immediately recite “In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Historically, this is true. Christopher Columbus did set sail in 1492 in order to discover new lands for the King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. The sailing party consisted of three ships: the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria. Columbus had sailed to far away lands before including Guinea and Iceland. In this trip, it was the aspiration of Columbus to discover the East Indies. When Columbus spotted the new lands, Columbus thought that he had, in fact, reached the East Indies; which are a group of islands located off of the coast of Southeast Asia. Instead, Columbus had came ashore in the Bahamas, and later Cuba and Hispaniola (now known as Haiti); all of which are off of the coast of the Americas – a long way from his original target.

However, as a direct result of Columbus’ attempt to discover the East Indies, scholars were able to gain a better understanding of just how large the Earth really was. Additionally, Europe and Spain became exposed to the Americas which resulted in trade opportunities and colonization of the new world – opportunities that still act like a beacon that draws people from all over the world to the Americas today.