Christopher Columbus

As a sailor, sea captain, trader, and explorer, what Christopher

Columbus lacked in navigation tools, he made up for with courage,

daring, and perseverance as he headed straight west across an

unknown ocean.

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A lot of people think that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. However, by the
time he made his first voyage, in 1492, aboriginal peoples had been living in North
America for tens of thousands of years. Even the Vikings, who were also Europeans, had
landed in Canada hundreds of years before Columbus was born. Furthermore, Columbus
himself never actually set foot on mainland North America, but landed in the Caribbean
Islands.
Overall, Columbus was wrong about where he was going (Asia), how long the journey
was (he thought it was 3,700 km, but it was more than 19,000 km), and where he landed
(aboriginal American people became known as “Indians” because Columbus thought he
had landed in India).
So, why is Columbus the most famous explorer of all time?
Partly because what Columbus accomplished was amazing for the time. In those days,
Europeans trading with Asia had to sail all the way south around the tip of Africa, then
east across the Indian Ocean. Columbus had the daring idea to take a short cut - straight
west across the empty ocean, into the complete unknown.
It took tremendous determination for a man who was known as a trader - not an explorer