 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUSBorn in 1451 - Died in 1506
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CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUSBorn in 1451 - Died in 1506
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Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa (JEN oh uh) ,Italy. He was the oldest of five children in his family. His father was a wool weaver. He helped his father with the weaving, but he always wanted to sail the seas.
He didn't get to go to school very much, but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin.
Some people thought he was trying to prove the world was round, but this is not true. Most people already knew the earth was round. He wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship.
He was a Christian and wanted to tell the story of Christ to the people he would find in the far-away lands. He also wanted wealth for himself and for Spain, and he wanted to be famous.
He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands.
He wanted to be made a knight * , admiral * of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy * and governor * general * of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands.
He even boldly told them he wanted all of this in writing. This was rather brave of him because they could have had him killed because of his demands.
They finally agreed and he got three ships ready to sail;
the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina. He took enough food for a year. In four months he was ready to sail.
They left Spain on August 3, 1492. They made one stop, then sailed on toward the west. After many days, the sailors were ready to turn around and start back home.
"Just three more days," he said. "Then if we don't see land, we'll turn around and go back home."
Columbus Taking Possession
Two days later they saw land; an island Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there "Indians".
When they got to Cuba, he thought he was in China. The world was a lot larger than he thought.
On Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti. Columbus built a fort and left 40 men to hunt for gold. Then he returned to Spain on the Nina. The Pinta also returned. The people of Spain welcomed him as a hero.
He made three more voyages across the ocean. His 13-year-old son, Ferdinand went with him on the fourth voyage.
Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis.
Columbus not only discovered a New World, but he led the way for other explorers.
A frequent question: "Who wrote this biography and when was it written?" Look on this Reference Citations Chart.
Christopher Columbus
at Bio 4 Kids
Columbus Navigation Homepage
Christopher Columbus Video
click on the link under "Interactive Media Files",
when the picture appears, right click anywhere on the page and select "Play".
The presentation will start. Be sure the volume is turned up.
The Round Earth and Christopher Columbus
Eye Witness to History
written accounts
Christopher Columbus
biography from The Hall of Explorers
Information about Columbus
(Look in the box top left) at Humanities Web
Columbus
story and quiz with cartoon pictures
Columbus, Fact vs Fiction
explores the two sides of Columbus
(You can also view the PDF version.)
Columbus
scroll down to find Classroom Activities
Famous People (BBC)
find Columbus in left-hand column
Christopher Columbus
biography from World of Biography
Christopher Columbus
at Wikipedia
The Age of Exploration
the voyages of Columbus from the Mariner's Museum, including maps
Christopher Columbus
from Hero History
Explorers
includes Columbus activities
Excellent Explorers
Webquest
The True Story of Christopher Columbus
online book by Elbridge Brooks for youngest readers
(choose HTML version 180KB)
Christopher Columbus and The New World of His Discovery
online book by Filson Young
HTML version (950KB) has color illustrations.
Admiral of the Ocean Sea - A Life of Christopher Columbus
book by Samuel Eliot Morison
selected pages
At biography.com search for Christopher Columbus.
Scroll the panel for the "Video & Audio Results".
(There is short ad before the video presentation.)
Columbus (Beautiful Feet Books)
By Ingri D'Aulaire / Beautiful Feet Books
In "Columbus," young readers will be swept up in the adventurous story of a man in quest of the treasures of the East. Not knowing what to expect on every turn, Columbus fearlessly sailed on across the Atlantic at a time when "civilized" people believed the world was flat. He and his brave team of sailors soon discovered many islands, people, and treasure, and opened up a strange new world. The beautiful illustrations enhance this fascinating tale of one of the world's most famous explorers. Recommended for ages 4 to 11.
Draw Write Now, Book 2: Christopher Columbus, Autumn Harvest, The Weather
By Marie Hablitzel / Barker Creek
Explore the world with, Draw Write Now, a collection of drawing and handwriting lessons developed by an elementary school teacher and tested by over 800 children. The contents include: Colorful easy to follow drawing lessons. Text for practicing handwriting. Theme related questions, answers and book lists. A child friendly format. And countless ideas to spark children's imagination and creativity! In Book Two children explore Christopher Columbus, The Autumn Harvest and The Weather. One of eight books in the Draw Write Now Series by Barker Creek Publishing.
Explorers, Thematic
By Teacher Created Resources
Thematic Units from Teacher Created Materials are literature based, cross-curricular, and ready to use. They provide activities, many of them hands-on, for all areas of the curriculum, including math, science, language arts, social studies, physical education, art, and music. Each book offers two or more literature-based units and lesson plans plus cross-curricular activities and worksheets, a culminating activity, management ideas, and a bibliography. Complete and comprehensive, these reproducible units are designed with student interest and teacher usability in mind. The planning is complete. The books used in "Explorers" (that will need to be purchased or borrowed)are: "The Log of Christopher Columbus' First Voyage to America" "The Usborne Book of Explorers"
Fandex Field Guide: Explorers
By Workman Publishing
From the Phoenicians to the present, this Fandex covers Columbus spying the New World, Balboa beholding the Pacific, Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon, and much more. 50 color Fandex cards.
Christopher Columbus Biography FunBook
By Carole Marsh & Sherry Moss(Editor) / Gallopade International
Everyone's favorite way to learn about brave explorers! Easy-to-read information, facts, trivia, humor and activities are all included in Biography Funbooks! Ages 7-12. paperback.
From Word Central's Student Dictionary
by Merriam - Webster
(Pronunciation note: the schwa sound is shown by ə)
knight
Pronunciation: 'nIt
Function: noun
1 a : a warrior of olden times who fought on horseback,
served a king, held a special military rank, and swore to behave in a noble way
b : a man honored by a sovereign for merit and in Great Britain ranking below a baronet...
admiral
Pronunciation: 'ad-mə-rəl, -mrəl
Function: noun
1 : a naval commissioned officer with a rank above that of captain; especially : an officer with a rank just above that of vice admiral...
viceroy
Pronunciation: 'vIs-"roi
Function: noun
1 : the governor of a country or province who represents the sovereign...
governor
Pronunciation: 'gəv(-ə)-nər also 'gəv-ər-nər
Function: noun
: one that governs; especially : an official elected or appointed to act as ruler, chief executive, or head of a political unit (as a colony, state, or province)...
general
Pronunciation: 'jen-(ə-)rəl
Function: noun
: a military officer with a rank above that of a colonel; especially : an officer with the rank just above that of a lieutenant general...
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