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Voyages of Christopher Columbus
In 1492 a Spanish transatlantic maritime expedition led by Christopher Columbus led to the Discovery of America, a new continent previously unknown in Europe. Columbus and his crew became the first Christian Europeans to make landfall in the Americas. Columbus was an Italian navigator sailing for the Spanish Crown. He sought a westward route to Asia, which led to the discovery of a New World. Believing they had arrived in Asia or the Indies, they coined the misnomer "West Indies" for the Antilles, where they arrived. Ultimately, the American continent and collection of islands of the Western Hemisphere became known as the Americas, after Amerigo Vespucci. The indigenous people in the New World, however, came to be called "Indians", and are still today often referred to as "Indians", because Columbus and others original idea that they could travel to the Indies by sailing directly west across the Atlantic Ocean.〔In many languages, there is a spelling difference regarding "Indians" because the mistake was corrected before the word had become widespread. In Sweden, as an example, people said "Indians" (about the Asians) and "Indianer" (about the indigenous people in America).〕 Vespucci, an Italian navigator, is credited with recognizing the Americas as newly discovered, previously unknown territory, as opposed to islands associated with Asia, as Columbus originally surmised. Over four voyages to the Americas between 1492 and 1492, Columbus set the stage for the European exploration and colonization of the Americas, ultimately leading to the Columbian Exchange. Considered an indicator of the start of Modern history, the great significance of his voyages to the History of the world is uncontested.
At the time of the voyages, the Americas were inhabited by natives, now considered to be the descendants of Asians who crossed the Bering Strait to North America in prehistoric times. Vikings were the first Europeans to reach the Americas, establishing a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland circa 1000. Columbus' voyages led to the widespread knowledge that a new continent existed west of Europe and east of Asia. This breakthrough in geographical science led to the exploration and colonization of the New World by major European sea powers, and is sometimes cited as the start of the modern era.〔Mills, Keneth and Taylor, William B., (), p.36, SR Books, 1998, ISBN 0-8420-2573-1〕
Spain, Portugal and other European kingdoms sent expeditions and established colonies throughout the New World, converted the native inhabitants to Christianity, and built large trade networks across the Atlantic, which introduced new plants, animals, and food crops in both continents. The search for a westward route to Asia continued in 1513 when Nuñez de Balboa crossed Central America, he became the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean. The search was completed in 1521, when the Spanish Magellan-Elcano expedition sailed across the Pacific and reached Southeast Asia.
==Background to the voyages==
Portugal had been the main European power interested in pursuing trade routes overseas. Their next-door neighbors, Castile (predecessor of Spain) had been somewhat slower to begin exploring the Atlantic due to the bigger surface to re-conquer in Spain. It was not until the late 15th century, following the dynastic union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon and the completion of the ''reconquista'' that Spain emerged and became fully committed to looking for new trade routes and colonies overseas. In 1492 the joint rulers of the Spanish nation conquered the Moorish kingdom of Granada, which had been providing Castile with African goods through tribute. After failing to convince the Portuguese king to open a new route, Columbus presented the idea to the new Kings of Spain and they decided to fund Christopher Columbus' expedition that they hoped would bypass Portugal's lock on Africa and the Indian Ocean reaching Asia by traveling west.〔Jensen, De Ladickmar (1992), ''Renaissance Europe 2nd ed.'' pg. 341〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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