Christopher Columbus expeditions

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who is credited with the discovery of the Americas. In 1492, he embarked on a voyage sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, with the goal of finding a westward route to the East Indies. Instead, he landed in the Bahamas, which he named the "New World." On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. After several weeks at sea, they landed on an island in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. Columbus and his crew encountered the indigenous Taino people, who they called "Indians." From the Bahamas, Columbus and his crew explored other islands in the Caribbean, including Cuba and Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). They also encountered other indigenous peoples, including the Taíno and the Carib. Columbus returned to Spain in 1493, after his first voyage to the New World. He made three more voyages to the Americas, but he never found a westward route to the East Indies. Despite his role in the discovery of the Americas, Columbus's legacy is controversial due to the violence and exploitation that accompanied European colonization of the New World.