For extra credit, how many times did he cross the Atlantic(and return back to Spain)?
For super extra credit, what was the distance that his ship traveled(1 way)
For super duper extra credit, what was he looking for? Hint, he accidentally stumbled on the America's.
Where did he land in the America's?
Columbus was looking for the Canadian Thanksgiving Day party...
Sans Googling, I believe he was looking for a quicker route to the indies … and boy, he did find a bunch of Indians.
Where did he land in the Amenrica's? A trick question ? He never landed on the mainland … somewhere in the islands.
seems like by now we would know exactly where he first landed. Some think San Juan others say some lesser known place. I'm just glad he made it.
Thanks for your responses silverspiker, carl and mcfarm!
For his most famous voyage, his first trip across the Atlantic, the dates are from August 3rd, 1492—March 15th, 1493.............that's over 6 months.........one way!
For extra credit, how many times did he cross the Atlantic(and return back to Spain)?
4 times. 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502.
For super extra credit, what was the distance that his ship traveled(1 way)?
A long way!!!!
For super duper extra credit, what was he looking for? Hint, he accidentally stumbled on the America's.
He was looking for a westward route to Asia, to access the sources of spices and other oriental goods.
Where did he land in the America's?
South of Florida but north of South America.
If you look at the map below and how far he would have had to go in order to get to Asia, if the New World didn't get in the way............there is no way he could have made it that far. It would have required close to 18 months of travel and they just didn't have enough supplies to survive that long.....probably not even for a year.
Who landed first on the mainland of N. America? (not counting Leif Ericson)
When?
I googled it but then remembered it from my elementary education.
Spelling check off . I recall Americus Vesputchi got the credit, although the Vikings (Eric the Red ? ) probably made it before him.
Great points.
And one wonders why this happened during a period so much earlier, then suddenly those early explorers/settlers vanished(Greenland) and slowly dwindled(Iceland)?
One should know that it was made possible by the Medieval Warm Period 1,000 years ago, when the planet, especially the higher latitudes were this warm or warmer(think about it Medieval WARM PERIOD).
This lasted several hundred years, then it got too cold again. Cold=Bad, Warm=Good in most places on our planet.
http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/vikings_during_mwp.html
Below
The Vikings in Iceland did not escape the negative impact of a rapidly cooling climate either. Although not completely wiped out like the Greenlanders, Icelandic Vikings were hit hard by the climate change.
"Lamb (1995) reports that the population of Iceland fell from about 77,500, as indicated by tax records in 1095, to around 72,000 in 1311. By 1703 it was down to 50,000, and after some severe years of ice and volcanic eruptions in the 1780's it was only 38,000. Average height declined from 5'8" during the tenth century to 5'6" in the eighteenth century. Lamb (1995) attributes much of the decline in population to the colder climate and increased ice flow. The harvest years were so cold that there was little hay to feed the livestock so thousands of sheep died. During the MWP, Icelanders grew grain over much of the island but by the early 1200's only barley, a short-season grain, was being grown. Lamb (1995) notes that there was also an increase in glacier growth and subsequent flooding from bursts due to volcanic activity under the ice. By the 1500's conditions were so bad that all attempts at grain growing were abandoned and Icelanders turned solely to the sea for their survival. The shellfish near the shores were destroyed by increasing amounts of ice so cod fishing became the Icelanders main source of food and trade. As the cooler waters moved southward, the cod were forced farther southward until they were too far offshore for the primitive Icelandic ships to reach.
As the warmer climate brought the Vikings in increasing numbers to Greenland and Iceland, the cooler climate was equal to the task of decreasing those numbers. By the time Columbus set sail in 1492, Greenland was "dead" and Iceland was struggling to survive its failing crops, starvation, and a collapsing fishing industry."
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15040888