Questions tagged [christopher-columbus]
An Italian explorer active during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His 1492 AD voyage to the New World kicked off a wave of European exploration and settlement in the Americas.
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What does 'half-decked' mean?
I'm reading Washington Irving's Life of Christopher Columbus, where he writes:
Two of them were light, half-decked caravels; the Santa Maria, on
which Columbus hoisted his flag, was completely ...
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Where did the term "Indies" come from?
According to this Wikipedia article:
Exploration of the East Indies by European powers began in the last three years of the 15th century and continued into the 16th century, led by the Portuguese ...
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When did people learn that Columbus actually discovered a New World? [duplicate]
I know that Christopher Columbus never learnt that the land he discovered was actually a new continent. Until his death he thought that he reached Asia. There probably was a hypothesis in the very ...
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Columbus 1492 - how many years for news to reach all Europe (including Ottoman empire)? [duplicate]
After Columbus reached the Americas, how many years did it take for news to reach all of the capitals of Europe (including the Ottoman empire)?
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Was Ottoman control a factor in the voyage taken by Christopher Columbus? [duplicate]
I am reading A People's History of The United States by Howard Zinn and it says after the Ottomans conquered Constantinople they controlled the land routes to Asia, making sea routes necessary. But I ...
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Did Columbus really never know he reached a new continent?
A widespread knowledge is that Columbus died without knowing he reached a new continent.
But:
In Columbus Journal of the Third Voyage (1498) it is written:
"I have come to believe that this is a ...
MCW♦
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Were beaches red with lobsters upon arrival of Columbus?
I remember reading somewhere that upon arrival in Hispaniola, Columbus found beaches that were so plentiful with lobsters that they appeared red. It is possible I read this in a book by Bill Bryson, ...
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Why did Christopher Columbus think he had arrived near Japan?
This question came to our mind as a long discussion in chat between some users over ELU including me and we thought to post the question here. Wikipedia states he thought he had arrived Japan.
In ...
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Was Christopher Columbus Polish?
A Polish friend of mine stated that Columbus was of Polish heritage. Claims are made that he was a Polish immigrant to Italy, and that he came from a disgraced noble family in Poland.
MCW♦
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Why did Columbus cross the mid-Atlantic instead of exploring from Greenland?
Greenland was known to Europe since long before 1492. In fact, Leif Erikson reached modern Canadian lands around the year 1000, coming from Greenland. That journey was forgotten, but he chose a ...
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How quickly did the knowledge of the existence of the new world spread into the old world?
After Columbus's voyage to the new world, how quickly did this knowledge spread into the other parts of the old world? For example, when did the existence of the new world become "common knowledge" (...
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Did anyone in Europe predict the existence of the Americas?
According to the answer of this question, Columbus was pretty much unique in his belief that the world was small enough and Asia was big enough to make sailing west to Asia possible. Everyone else ...
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Do Columbus' letters reveal that he was a Marrano? [closed]
In this popular CNN article, the author raises many arguments to prove that Columbus was a Marrano (hidden Jew), I found none to be very compelling besides for the following one:
At the top left-...
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How did Columbus calculate the size of the Earth?
Eratosthenes' calculations of the size of the Earth were very precise and very accepted during Columbus' time. Still, Columbus was convinced that the world was significatively smaller and that getting ...
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Did Portuguese fisherman visit New England prior to 1492?
This might blow your mind a little bit, but one thing I notice, living in New England as I do, that there are the remnants of a tiny Portuguese community here going way, way back. For example, there ...
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