1. 1492: Christopher Columbus sets sail
Replicas of the three ships, 1893
Photo: wiki
It was on this day in 1492 the Italian-born explorer Christopher Columbus set sail in command of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria from Spain. The purpose of the expedition was to find a western sear route to to the spice islands in Asia, China and India. Roughly two months later, the expedition spotted land and they assumed they had reached their destination so they went ashore and claimed it for Spain. It turns out they were most likely on one of the islands in the Bahamas. Shortly thereafter while out exploring, Columbus spotted another land mass he was certain was mainland China but ended up being Cuba. They also landed on Hispaniola thinking they had reached Japan. Columbus established a small colony with his 39 men during the time spent in this area. In march of 1493, the group returned to Spain with all kinds of riches from these islands; spices, gold, and even the “Indian” captives, and received a heroes welcome. Over his lifetime, Columbus had many exploring adventures, but he never achieved his goal of finding a new western ocean route to the spice islands.
