Christopher Columbus: The Four Voyages

In the book, Columbus: The Four Voyages, a story is told of Columbus on his journey to the New World. Christopher Columbus is one of the most important people known on this planet. Columbus was the founder of the New World. His discovery greatly affected European society. Columbus took 4 voyages to explore the new land.

The first voyage to discovery started from Palos, a city in Spain. Three boats went on this journey: The Santa Maria had 40 men, the Pinta with 26 men, and the Nina with 24 men. Compared to the smaller two, the Santa Maria was very slow during the long journey across the Atlantic. On October 12th, sailors saw land in the distance, and a party got dropped off. The pary met Indians and made peace with them. Columbus studied and notice how they lived. Landings were made on Cuba, named Juana and Española, also known as Hispaniola. The Santa Maria crashed but luckily the fellow natives helped them with it all. Columbus' ships went about 150 miles a day on the ocean. Columbus used not only navigational instruments but also his observational skills and prior experience to find where his ships were located. On March 15, 1493, the Nina and Pinta arrived back to Spain. Columbus told of his adventure and what he saw on the journey.

17 ships and 1200 sailors made what is known as The Grand Fleet so they can make a permanent Spanish colony. His destination was La Navidad, he had left 39 men in a fortress built from the Santa Maria wreckage. They arrived two months later, on November 28, 1493, where Columbus found the fortress burned and all his men dead, killed by the Indians who raided nearby settlements. Columbus met with the Indian tribe once again and had the men make a settlement. They had brought horses and building items to make houses. Columbus noticed the way the Indians treated each other at this time. He studied the land to a greater