Christopher Columbus
Also called: Columbus · Topic: The Making of a Global World · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Changing Traditions"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Changing Cultural Traditions"
Meaning
Christopher Columbus was a navigator from Genoa in Italy who sailed for the rulers of Spain. He wanted to reach India and Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1492 he landed instead on islands in the Caribbean, which Europeans wrongly called the West Indies. His voyages opened the Americas to European conquest and settlement. They also began a large two-way movement of crops, animals and germs between the Americas and the rest of the world.
Example
After Columbus's voyages, crops first grown by the original peoples of the Americas reached Europe and Asia. These included the potato, maize, tomato, chilli, groundnut, soya and sweet potato. Chilli and groundnut later became everyday foods in India.
Don't confuse with
- Vasco da Gama: he found the sea route to India by sailing around Africa and reached Calicut in 1498. Columbus sailed west and reached the Americas, not India.