... on the American continent. He achieved fame by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a sea route to Asia. But he did not accomplish this goal. Instead, he encountered islands in the Caribbean Sea. At that time, the people of Europe and the Americas did not know of each other's existence. ... He became a naval officer in 1492 and commanded ships along the coast of Portugal. In 1497, King Manuel I of Portugal asked Da Gamma to find a sea route to India by sailing around Africa. The kind wanted Da Gamma to establish trade with India. Da Gamma's father had been chosen to lead t...

• Word Count: 2327
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... 1451. He received very little formal schooling, but taught himself Portuguese, Spanish, and Latin. He never learned to read or write Italian. As a teenager he took particular interest in the sea, and believed he could reach the East Indies in a few weeks, although at this time the world was believed to be flat, and to risk sailing out to the horizon ... , for saying Columbus did discover America, and that he was a hero. The many wrong-doings of Columbus are all overlooked. To start with, he took the rewards for discovering the Caribbean for himself, when it was indeed the Pinta that kept...

• Word Count: 1228
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... bringing Spain gold and spices, Columbus was promised 10% of the profits, governorship over new-found lands, and the fame that would go with a new title: Admiral of the Ocean Sea .But they found no gold fields nor spices, so his disastrous alternative was to go on a slave raid. Columbus and his men rounded up 1500 Arawak men, women, and children ... goods and good sources. Within a decade of Christopher Columbus's arrival the native population decreased from one million to thirty thousand. Christopher is a far cry from a hero. When he reached the Caribbean in 1492 he had little interest...

• Word Count: 901
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School