Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506)

Explorer of the New World Although not the first European to set foot on American soil, Christopher Columbus was responsible for launching the mass exploration and exploitation of the New World that dominated Europe and the Americas for centuries. Born in Genoa of either Italian or Spanish origin, Columbus most likely spent his youth as a sailor. In 1484 he made a request to King John II of Portugal to finance an expedition to sail westward in hopes of reaching the Far East. His plan was rejected, so Columbus moved to Spain where he spent the next eight years trying to convince King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to fund his voyage. They finally agreed and in August 1492 Columbus, at the head of three ships, set sail, landing not in China but in the Bahamas, nearly three months later. Upon his return to Spain, he was generously rewarded. Columbus made three subsequent voyages to the west searching in vain for the straits that would lead to India and thus open up faster trade with the Far East. Failing at this, he died in Spain without ever realizing that he had encountered the Americas.