Christopher Columbus Argumentative Essay

Quaranta 1

Christian Quaranta

Mrs. Knox

7th ELA

8 May 2015

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer. He was born in Genoa, Italy, 1451. His name was translated in English for Christoforo Colombo. Columbus had two brothers, two children, and two wives. “In Columbus’s twenties, he made his first trip out of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. During that trip, Columbus’s boat was set on fire. The only way to safety was to swim; Columbus swam six miles to shore by clinging on to wreckage.”

When Columbus set off to find Asia, he thought that if he sailed westward he would eventually land in Asia. He actually landed more than 8,000 miles away in the Bahamas. Also, Columbus was not the first across the Atlantic

Ocean. He was beat to it by a Viking named Leif Eriksson.

Quaranta 2
On Columbus’s voyages, he had three ships: the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

The Pinta was a nick name for “the painted one” and the Nina was called the “Santa Clara.” The Santa Maria was called the same. On one of these voyages, the Santa Maria wrecked on to a coral reef near present day Haiti. Because this happened, Columbus had to 40 crew mates here so they could start a settlement. But when he came back, there was no sign of anyone ever being there.

Christopher Columbus also discovered America and brought back large amounts of gold’s and riches to Spain. On Columbus’s last trip, he set off to find gold’s, riches, and spices. When he returned he got ill and had developed rheumatism.

Before he set off on his voyages, he had to get approved. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand allowed Christopher Columbus to sail on his voyage, but when he would find and bring back all the riches, he would only get 10% of it. Columbus seemed okay with this and made many voyages to the new world. When he got to the new world, he found many things like: gold, riches, and spices.

In February 1504, Columbus was stranded in Jamaica with no food or crew mates. The islanders that were there did not like him and denied him

food.
Quaranta 3
Knowing that an eclipse was going to appear that night, he told the islanders that his god would get angry at them. That night when the eclipse rose; the islanders were frightened and gave him food. Some even begged his “god” for mercy.
Christopher Columbus has gone on four voyages (with the fourth being the last). The first voyage was to San Salvador, then to Cuba, and finally to Hispaniola. This voyage lasted for one year. The second voyage was long; it was from 1493-1496. He went to eight different places: Dominica, Guadalune, Antillies Hispaniola, La Navidad, Isabella, Cuba, and Jamaica. The third voyage was from 1498-1500. Here he went to four places: Doldrums, Trinidad, Hispaniola, and South America. On his fourth and final voyage, he visited Hispaniola again, his ships were in a hurricane, and while exploring Central America; he encountered Native Americans, went to Jamaica, and sailed home only to never sail again when he died in May 20th, 1506.

Quaranta 4
Works Cited
Christopher Minister “The First New World Voyage of Christopher Columbus
(1492).” < https://www.latinamericanhistory.com >.
Christopher Klein “10 Things You May Not Know About Christopher Columbus.”
October 5, 2012 < https://www.History.com >.
Admin “Christopher Columbus Essay” June 26, 2009
< https://CustomWritings.com >.