Why is it best that columbus sailed west to the indies? can u plz help?
83349
columbus sailed west to the indies instead of going around africa because he thought it would be faster. most people those days believed the world was flat, but columbus thought the world was round. he went west, but ended up in north america, but he didn't know that. he called the people he saw there indians because he believed he was in the indies.
375300
Asian peoples who later formed the native american tribes were the first.  hundreds of years later the vikings (anglo saxons) also arrived to explore the Americas.  Hundreds of years after that in 1492, A spanish Explorer Christopher Columbus, was paid by the Queen of Portugal to find a new route to India.  He choose to sail west rather than east and landed in what is now South America.  He then went on to India.  After Columbus returned to Portugal, he reported what he found to the Queen.  After the news of his adventures spread Spain and Portugal both began sending expiditions to the Americas and formed a few colonies in South and Central America.  \n\nIn the late 16th Century, France and Britain were exploring North America and Britain formed the James town settlement.  The first British Colony in the Americas.  France was also sending convicts to work the land in eastern Canada.  \n\nDuring the 17th century, many British and a few Dutch groups came to the New World for religious freedom.  By the early 18th century young British men were braving the new world in hopes of making their fortunes and some adventurous intellectuals also made the journey.  \n\nIt was not until the 19th century that significant numbers of non-Brits (Eastern Europeans, Italians, Germans, etc.) came to the United States.
48825
really if you think about it. the natives found the americas. they were here long before anyone else.
200106
In Pre-Columbian times, the archipelago known as the British Virgin Islands was settled by tribal groups migrating from South America in ocean-going dugout canoes. First came the Arawakan-speaking Taino Indians, followed by the Caribs from whose name the word Caribbean is derived. These islanders lived as subsistence fisherman and farmers; they had strong community structures and highly developed skills in pottery and other handicrafts. \n\nColumbus discovered the islands in 1493 on his second voyage to the West Indies and named them "Las Once Mil Virgines," from the legend of St. Ursula and her 11,000 martyred virgins. Over the centuries that followed, Europeans all but exterminated the tribal people, leaving only the handful that survive today.  \n\nhttp://www.guana.com/natural-history/history.htm
979135
The proclamation closed off the frontier to colonial expansion. It was meant to calm the fears of the Indians, who felt that the colonists would drive them from their lands as they expanded westward. However the colonists could not help but feel a strong resentment when what they viewed to be their prize was snatched away from them. The proclamation stated that "all lands west of the heads of all rivers which flowed into the Atlantic Ocean from the west or northwest were off-limits to the colonists." I think the colonists would have been really upset to hear that. The url below is where i found my answer... after alot of reading
122279
Christopher Columbus did not go anywhere to try and be free. He got lost.
620907
Both continents of the Americas were fully populated by Native Americans in 1492.  Columbus was only the first Spaniard to find the New World.  The Vikings had settled for a short time in Newfoundland in the 11th century.
477215
Well, he discovered it for Europe, even though there were people there, they had no contacts with people other than themselves. The funny thing is, Leif Erickson, a viking, had landed in America before Christopher, but he wasn't given the credit. Amerigo Vespuchi was the first to ever make a map of America, and so for some reason America was named after him. Columbus was funded by the royal family, therefore, his dicovery was noted and the others weren't.\nHope this helps! \n\nJesus loves you! :D
442142
500 years ago would be 1506 AD\n\nconsider \n*who would be paying for the exploration, \n*how he would carry or get money\n*where he would be starting from\n*where he would be going\n*his mode of transport (on foot, by horse, sailing ship etc)\n*his instruments of exploration (compass, star charts etc)\n*food and drink \n*length of voyage (years?) \n*disease and hardships\n*what he would be interested in finding (gold, silver or valuable commodities for trade)\n*what sort of people he would meet\n\nuse your imagination and make it up. \n\nexample\ntuesday 1st may 1506 in the year of our lord\nThe ships are still becalmed off the coast of a wild godforsaken country, many of the crew are sick from a strange disease. I tried to buy fresh water but the natives laughed at my gold coins and we were forced to return to our boats at arrowpoint. I saw many natives wearing pearls as big as hens eggs, but we have nothing to give them in exchange. the king will be very cross if we return empty handed. fish and rum again for lunch, yuk.
343339
A while back we (the Brits and other Europeans) rounded up all the people who didn't have a sense of humour, loaded them onto ships and sent them across the Atlantic to colonise the New World.  It's true - nowehre in the history books are there references to the jokes that Christopher Columbus made because he didn't make any.\n\nAnyway, since then they've been colonising the country quite nicely even though they've messed up a bit of late.\n\nAfter 500 years a sense of self-humour has been genetically bred out of them.\n\nThere is hope though - Africans and Caribeans have a great sense of humour so maybe they'll introduce some back into the population.\n\nBy the way, this answer isn't meant to be taken seriously.  If you're from the US and take it seriously then I guess it proves Geoff The Plank's point.
244034
At first, they thought they were going to Asia. The Spanish soon found that the islands could be used as a staging post in conquering Latin America and its empires. The ycould also grow cash crops there. They ended up working the Amerindian population to near extinction before starting to import slaves. The French, English and Dutch came to the Carribbean to claim lands of their own.
92249
Columbus was challenged by the Spanish government, specifically the Queen, to disprove the commonly accepted  notion that the world was flat.  Conceptually, the formulation of his proof that the world was indeed "round" (spherical, or possible cylindrical - it's not specified in history texts what "round" meant to Columbus) was that if he could set some starting point and then sail around the world in a constant direction, should he return to his starting point then his theory would be proved.\n\nHe ended up in the Indies, which has ever since been named the "West Indies", but thought he was elsewhere.  As far as Columbus was concerned, he was sure that he had found some one of the outermost islands of Cipango or Japan. So he dropped his anchors, ordered out his rowboat, and prepared to take possession of the land in the name of the queen of Spain, who had helped him in his enterprise.\n\nOf course, he wasn't in Japan or Cipango...if you want a full text detail of the story, follow the link in references...this was the short version.\n\nI hope this helps you!!
138326
Vespucci didn't get to America until 1497.  He was not the first.  It is possible, I suppose, That the Japanese made it, but there is no evidence to support that.  Some say that St. Brenden the Navigator may have been the first to land on America.
221251
no one "discovered" america. people just came here a really long time ago. i think the vikings came. and there was also columbus.
754703
What would my being an atheist have anything to do with the existence of Christopher Columbus?  It's documented history that he landed his ship in the Americas.  It's a common misconception that he discovered them as well.  Understanding history has no bearing on whether or not I believe in God...
612142
In Panama in 1573, he captured a fortune in silver and gold that the Spanish had seized from the Indians, and became the first Englishman to see the Pacific. He was also the first Englishman to sail all the way around the world. Because of this, he was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth I. Later, he was second in command of the English fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.
1152148
He did make a mistake --- he was looking for the Indies(Asia) and discovered a new country ---