I don't know about you, but I have always thought that Christopher Columbus discovered America, and by America, I mean the North American continent where the United States of America is situated today. However, today I learnt that even though he made numerous voyages to the Americas, he never actually landed on the North American continent, he landed primarily in the Caribbean islands and Central and South America. My discovery was sparked by a conversation I had with a friend of mine from work, who was born in the Dominican Republic. He was telling me that Christopher Columbus landed in the Dominican Republic when he discovered America, and that the house where he used to live is still there on the island.
This revelation sparked a wider Google search which revealed that my previous conceptions were incorrect, and that although Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas, his voyages never actually took him to the North American continent. He did however settle the first permanent European settlement in the Americas which was located on the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti occupy this island today), on the part of the island that is the present day Dominican Republic. Columbus governed this island from the colony that he set up, which is why the house where Columbus used to live is located in the Dominican Republic. So really Columbus didn't discover the present day United States of America, as I have always assumed, but he is credited with discovering the Americas, which includes the North and South American Continents as well as the Caribbean islands.
If you would like to read more about Columbus, check out Wikipedia.
No comments:
Post a Comment