What difficulties did Columbus encounter when he discovered the New World? How did he solve it?

A successful maiden voyage

In early August, everything was ready to go to sea. One of the most famous fleets to sail on the ocean was anchored in Porto Palos, a small seaport in southwest Spain. It included Columbus's flagship, the Santa María, and two caravels, the Pinta and the Ni?a y la Santa María. The three ships were of different sizes and were equipped with cannons, items traded with the local indigenous people, and six months of grain and other food. The flagship "Santa Maria" weighs 130 tons, is about 35 meters long, has a deck length of 18 meters, has 3 masts, and is equipped with corner sails. Columbus is the captain. The second ship was the Pinta, captained by Martin Binson. It weighed 90 tons, was fast, and its hull length was only half the length of the flagship. The third Nina, weighing about 60 tons, was captained by Martin's brother Vicente Binson. The Binson brothers also participated in this expedition as investors, and their success was closely related to their vital interests.

The most difficult task was to recruit sailors. A considerable number of the team members were Columbus's friends, servants, and curious officials. A considerable number were prisoners who were pardoned on the condition of this voyage. This made up 88 people, including a linguist who knew Arabic. This was because at that time it was believed that the mother tongue of all languages ??was Arabic, so the linguist was intended to act as an interpreter when meeting the Chinese Khan.

On August 3, 1492, Columbus led the fleet to weigh anchor and set out to sea. There was no wind at that time, the sails hung limply, and the fleet slowly sailed out along the Tinto River at low tide.

On August 12, the fleet sailed to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. After replenishing firewood and supplies, the fleet left the Canary Islands on September 6. Since all the crew were in good spirits, no one escaped. The fleet sailed due west on the northeast wind that often rises near the Canary Islands. According to Columbus's experience in sailing in this area a few years ago, this northeast wind is the best wind direction for sailing across the ocean to Japan.

The fleet sailed non-stop day and night following the easterly wind, and sometimes could sail more than 150 miles westward in a day and night. But day after day, the empty sea surface is always displayed in front of people. The crew lived a monotonous life at sea. From morning to night, the boat boy reports the time according to the hourglass every 30 minutes. The crew changes shifts every four hours. Since on small ships in the late 15th century, only the captain and one or two senior officials had the right to enjoy comfortable cabins and sleeping berths, the crew who were not on duty could only lie lazily on the deck. Chat, or curl up in the shade for a good night's sleep.

Columbus had a very happy time at the beginning of the voyage. The fresh morning air, the warm afternoon and the tranquil sea brought him great joy. The only thing that made him anxious was the anxiety of the sailors. Columbus prepared two logbooks at the beginning. One book records his estimate of the actual distance covered each day, which is kept secret; the other records the voyage, which is much smaller than the actual voyage, and is made public so that the crew will not panic when the voyage is prolonged. And lose confidence. But because Columbus always overestimated his speed, his fake log was closer to the actual situation.

Although two weeks later, due to a change in wind direction, the fleet began to sail against the wind, but this comforted Columbus. He wrote in his diary: "I need this headwind, because the crew is worried that there will never be a suitable wind direction in this area of ????the sea to send them back to Spain."

Soon, they discovered Tufts of green seaweed floated on the sea. At this time, they had sailed to the Sargasso Sea in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which was covered by a large number of floating sargassum. After they successfully passed, they realized that their initial worry that the ship would hit the reef or become entangled in the surrounding seaweed was unnecessary. Later, a sailor found a sea crab attached to seaweed. Columbus believed that this was a sign that land was approaching, because in his opinion, crabs could not be found more than 80 miles away from land. In fact, this is just a small crab that thrives everywhere in the Sargasso Sea.

On the evening of September 25, the ship of the Pinta shouted that it had arrived on land, and the crew members also climbed up the mast. An island was vaguely visible where the sea and the sky met. Columbus was so excited that he knelt on the ground to thank God and ordered the entire crew to sing praises to God. But the island they discovered disappeared the next day. This had happened before and would happen again, and they mistook the low-hanging thunderclouds for land.

In October, the fleet had been drifting on the ocean in isolation for three weeks, but the shadow of the land was still invisible. The sailors, whose faces were covered with stubble and whose clothes were caked with sweat from the seawater, began to complain openly. They said that this voyage was a stupid voyage, and some sailors wanted to throw Columbus into the sea and then return.

But Columbus, unwavering, still wanted to continue sailing westward. On October 7, they saw a small bird, certainly not a seabird, flying overhead to the southwest. This is the climax of the migration of large numbers of migratory birds from North America to the Caribbean islands and South America for the winter.

Therefore, Columbus led the entire fleet to sail west-southwest, using migratory birds as navigation marks.

On October 11, the waves brought a branch with leaves, a branch full of flowers, and a piece of wood that seemed to have been cut manually... These were signs that the land was approaching. Columbus led his crew in singing a song of blessing at sunset. He reminded everyone that the king had promised a huge annuity as a reward to the first person to discover land, and that Columbus also rewarded him with a silk doublet. At night, an open fire is lit on the boat and a lantern is hung at the stern of the boat to ensure that the boats do not get separated from each other. At 7 p.m., the crew began their first night shift.

In the night when the waves were rough, the fleet bumped on the waves under the flickering moonlight. The captains of each ship were intently searching the ocean far to the west, or pacing nervously back and forth on the deck. At 10 o'clock, Columbus finally spotted a faint fire in the distance. It was as if someone was holding a candle, lifting it up and then putting it down, and after a while it disappeared forever. According to later analysis, the fire Columbus saw may have been a wildfire set by Indians on the east coast of an island to drive away gnats from indoors.

The false alarm that made everyone happy in vain passed, everyone returned to calm, and under the quiet starlight, the fleet continued to sail forward. At two o'clock the next morning, a crew member of the Pinta shouted again:

"Land! Land!" This time they did find land, which shone gray and white in the moonlight. Sand and gravel form the cliff bank. This is just one of the islands in the Bahamas that arcs off the edge of Florida, but it is not part of the East Indies.

At this time, Columbus was no longer an explorer, but a discoverer of the New World. This can be said to be the greatest day in Columbus's life. Six miles ahead, a gently undulating island surrounded by a necklace of coral reefs and sparkling beaches rose. The island named San Salvador by Columbus is covered with lush green tropical forests. San Salvador means "Holy Savior" in Spanish. It is actually just a small island 13 miles long and 5 miles wide.

Columbus saw several naked people coming out of the woods from the ship, so he summoned the captains of the ships. The "Governor" Columbus put on garnet red clothes, and the green ones represented the king and queen. The "F" and "Y" flags were also carried by two other captains respectively. A ceremony was held, and then the two flags were raised on the wooden pole that had just been erected. Columbus declared this place to be Spanish territory. Then he led his people onto the earth and prostrated themselves on the ground to thank God for the good luck he had brought them. The residents with reddish-brown skin were very curious and confused watching the "performance" of this group of white-skinned uninvited guests.

Soon, the residents began to watch Columbus curiously. They were all naked and had very strong bodies. They thought they were Columbus who had arrived in the East Indies, and called these indigenous residents Indians. Thus, all Native Americans were called that from that time on. In fact, the people they met at that time were the Arawak people scattered on the islands on the north coast of South America.

Columbus made deals with these indigenous peoples, exchanging small items such as copper bells, red hats, and glass beads for gold trinkets, cotton yarn, parrots, etc. This trade is an absolutely unequal exchange. An ordinary Spanish coin can be exchanged for 25 pounds of cotton yarn. When Columbus later described these residents, he said: "All the people I saw were very young... and they did not carry or understand that iron weapons could hurt people. When I showed them the sword, they seized it. The sword blade, the fingers were injured due to ignorance. They didn't have any iron tools..."

The crew stayed in San Salvador for two days and also exchanged some cheap decorations for food and food from the Indians. freshwater.

The Arabic linguist brought here is of no use here. Columbus and others only relied on gestures and symbols to learn from the Arawaks that there was a king with a lot of gold in the south, and there were many such islands to the south and west.

This news is exciting. On the map with a lot of imagination at that time, there were indeed many islands scattered on the sea in eastern Asia, including the so-called Japan. According to records in "The Travels of Marco Polo", gold was so abundant there that even the roofs and floors of the palaces were made of gold. So Columbus made up his mind to look for this treasure to the southwest. After capturing six Arawaks as translators and guides, the fleet headed southwest for more than two weeks. On the way, they discovered some new islands, and tasted sweet potatoes, corn, and cassava for the first time in this area. What they also admired was the Indians' peculiar sleeping berths-network-shaped hammocks. Shortly thereafter, European sailors adopted the hammock.

However, after searching the Bahamas, they did not find a lot of gold, so according to the rumors of the Indians, they continued to look south for a larger island called Cuba. The scenery to the east is very beautiful, with towering green mountains everywhere. Therefore, Columbus said that Cuba was the most beautiful island he had ever heard of. However, they also found no merchant ships or gold-roofed palaces there. All they saw were some canoes and some villages composed of round huts.

When Columbus showed a piece of gold to the local indigenous people, they pointed to a place inland and said: "Cubanacan." "Cubanacan?" "...Can?" …Khan?” That’s it, Columbus thought they must have meant: “The Great Khan of China.” Therefore, he thought that he was now in China, not Japan.

A diplomatic mission was soon sent by Columbus, carrying official letters from Ferdinand and Isabella to meet the Khan. Obviously, it is impossible to see the Great Khan of China or find any gold treasures here, but we discovered a peculiar habit of the local residents-that is, rolling up a leaf called tobacos and stuffing it into the nostrils. Inhale smoke from ignition. They did not expect that this weed would one day become as valuable as gold. This is tobacco.

After sailing along the north coast of Cuba for 5 weeks, the fleet still did not find gold. Because he listened to the opinions of the Arawaks, one day the captain of the Pinta took it upon himself to weigh anchor and sail eastward to find gold on an island called Babik. He did not return for six weeks.

On December 5, Columbus only led the Nina and the Saint Mary to the easternmost point of Cuba. As he continued eastward, another coast with a large population and beautiful scenery appeared. Everyone thinks that this is an island as beautiful as Spain. Spanish Island was named after Columbus. This is now Hispaniola, which belongs to the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

After another two weeks, Columbus and the others surveyed about 1/3 of the northern coast of Hispaniola and drew a fairly accurate map of this area. Sometimes they visited large tribes of Avaks and went together in search of gold. They discovered that the further east they went, the more likely they were to find gold.

On December 20, the fleet anchored in Akure Bay, surrounded by mountains. Friendly local residents donated some gold ornaments to them. A piece of finely embroidered cotton inlaid with gold was given to Columbus as a gift. It was specially sent by a tribal chief a few miles to the east, so Columbus decided to return immediately. On the way, the St. Mary unfortunately ran aground. Columbus learned from the chief that there was a place in the interior called Civao that was very rich in gold. Zibao was misunderstood by Columbus as possibly the country of Japan, so he believed that endless treasures had finally been discovered on this Spanish island, and he also believed that the Spanish island was the country of Japan located in the sea east of China. They built a fort on the shore, using wood from the wreckage of the Santa Maria ship, and named it Navidad, which means "Christmas" in Spanish. As the first colonization activity in the New World, Columbus left 40 people to mine the gold mines of Hispaniola. Subsequently, they weighed anchor on January 4, 1493, and began their long voyage back to Spain, taking various specialties obtained from the island, a large amount of gold, and the six Indians as evidence of the discovery.

Two days later, Columbus's Nina rejoined the Pinta, which was sailing westward ashore. Two expedition ships fearlessly sailed towards the vast Atlantic Ocean. Two weeks later, the mountains of Hispaniola were no longer visible. The return journey was also thrilling. They also experienced rough seas and violent storms. Near the Azores, the two ships were washed apart by huge waves. On March 4, the Nina, which had gone through many ups and downs, finally arrived in Lisbon. On March 15, the ship sailed into the Port of Palos where it had set out. The Pinta also entered the port a few hours later. After 7 months and 12 days, these tired explorers finally returned.

The happiest days in Columbus's life were the few months after he came back. In mid-April, he was summoned to the palace and received the title of general. The grand reception was beyond Columbus's expectations. . Columbus thus became a hero of the moment.

[Edit this paragraph] Second Expedition

The king and queen, eager to take possession of the land and wealth they discovered, ordered Columbus to return to Hispaniola immediately. A huge fleet of 17 ships and 1,200 crew members was assembled in less than 5 months. This colonial expedition was the largest among the expeditions sent by local Europeans. Columbus brought his younger brother Diego as his assistant. The purpose of this expedition was to allow Columbus to establish a permanent colony there, to convert the local indigenous people, and to find out whether Cuba was really a part of Asia.

The departure of this voyage was different from the first time. The fleet set off from the good port of Cadiz in a grand manner, accompanied by trumpets. The first time we set out from a small town along the river. It was September 25, 1493. In order to find some large islands located southeast of Hispaniola that the Indians tipped off, the fleet set its course further south than last time after setting off from the Canary Islands. November 3rd was Sunday, and Sunday in Spanish is Dis Dominica (meaning Lord’s Day). Because they discovered an island with beautiful scenery on that day, Columbus named the island Dominica. The island that marked the beginning of Columbus's Caribbean cruises is located in the middle of the Lesser Antilles.

After stopping briefly on an island called Mali Galante, named after Columbus’s flagship, the fleet continued to sail north, and soon docked at the lush volcanic island of Guade. Ropp.

Here, the crew discovered that the local Caribbean people had the habit of cannibalism, and it was here that they tasted delicious pineapples for the first time.

As it continued sailing north, the fleet passed a series of islands - St. Kitts, Redonda, Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, and many of these islands. The names were all given by Columbus. On November 13, the fleet stopped at St. Croix, and on the 14th, the first armed conflict occurred between them and the Caribbean people. The fleet passed through the long stretch of Virgin Islands and traveled along the southern coast of Puerto Rico. On November 22, the fleet passed the Mona Strait, and Hispaniola, the place where they landed last time, appeared in front of them.

On November 28, the fleet arrived at Danavidad, and they found that the fort had been burned down, and the people who stayed here were gone. It turned out that the people Columbus sent to dig gold mines here did not go out to mine gold but went around plundering, robbing, and seizing women. This angered the indigenous people on the island and killed them all. So Columbus did not dare to station here. Instead, he led his fleet to Isabella, an estimated 100 miles east, and established a new colony there. They then conducted several months of investigation into the interior of the island, and finally confirmed that this was not Japan. At the end of April, Columbus's brother stayed to garrison, while Columbus himself led three sailing ships to survey the south coast of Cuba. Still no gold was found there, so they decided to set out to the tropical island of Jamaica on May 5 to look for it. About a week later, they returned to Cuba from Jamaica disappointed. In the next month, under the leadership of Columbus, the fleet cautiously and slowly passed through the long and curved bay on the southern coast of Cuba, which was full of reefs and small islands.

During the voyage, Gebu's superb skills as a navigator were fully revealed. At that time, Columbus only had a compass, various charts, a pair of two-foot compasses, a ruler and an hourglass, the most basic navigation instruments. Since the ship was in constant motion, his one astrolabe and quadrant were of no use. Columbus sailed only by dead reckoning, a method commonly used by experienced navigators at the time. At intervals, they estimate the ship's general position based on its estimated speed, course and duration of travel. With only rudimentary instruments at that time, such results were very imprecise. In the 16th century, sailors used a rope with a knot tied at a certain distance to calculate the speed of the ship. They counted the number of knots every half an hour to know the speed of the ship. The "knot" as the unit of speed has been used to this day. However, in Columbus's time, because people did not know this method at all, there was a large error in calculating the speed. Because the timing hourglass must also be adjusted regularly according to changes in the region, or based on the local noon sun altitude angle. Sailors often use the Little Big Dipper to rotate around the North Star once a day like an hour hand as a way to tell time at night. Specifically, this method assumes that the human body is at the center of the North Star, and the surrounding radiation lines are used to represent the date. In this way, a star measuring clock is formed. For example, on April 15, when it is midnight, one of the brightest stars will appear overhead. Columbus used this timing method. The seafarer's own experience is an important factor in mastering dead reckoning. In terms of experience, according to sailors at the time, no one had more experience observing the waves and the sky than Columbus. He can often predict future weather based on the stars and clouds in the sky. The islands he discovered on his first voyage were scattered across the then-unknown vastness of the Caribbean Sea, and Columbus could easily find them on his subsequent voyages. This all shows that Columbus was a great navigational genius.

Due to Columbus's calculation error, by June 12, the fleet had traveled about 650 miles along the south coast of Cuba. All the sailors said that the island could not be so long, so Columbus mistakenly named Cuba again. Seen as an extension of Asia, the destination of their westward journey.

Before returning to Isabella on September 29, Columbus investigated and mapped the southern coast of Jamaica and Hispaniola. After returning to Isabella, Columbus found that during the five months they went to sea, the newly established new colony was in chaos again. Groups of Spaniards wandered back and forth on the island, frightening the local indigenous people from time to time, stealing their gold, and arresting people for hard labor. Therefore, an open war soon broke out. Due to the situation, Columbus had to He led his troops into the war and massacred the indigenous people. In the 50 years starting in 1492, hundreds of thousands of the Arawak people on the island of Hispaniola were nearly exterminated.

Due to accusations of poor management and self-indulgence, a Spanish prosecutor visited the colony in October 1495. In March 1496, Columbus had to leave Isabella and return to Spain to defend himself. 30 Indians and 250 disappointed colonists also returned to Spain with Columbus's two small boats. Due to the large number of people in the small boats and the hunger along the way, when they arrived in Cadiz on June 11, they embarked on a difficult journey. When they walked down the gangway, these sallow and thin people were almost like skeletons.

[Edit this paragraph] The third exploration

Two years later, Columbus, who had regained his strength, set out to explore the New World again.

At that time, the king and queen were preoccupied with other matters, so the enthusiasm they had shown before for the adventure was gone this time. The expedition took a group of immigrants, including some women and a group of prisoners who had been convicted of hard labor, to go overseas in a fleet of only 6 ships. Although the main purpose of this voyage was to bring supplies and people to Hispaniola, Columbus still intended to discover new lands, especially the islands he had discovered last time.

Columbus's fleet set out on May 3, 1498. After arriving at the Canary Islands, only three ships were still heading towards Hispaniola, and the other ships were led by Columbus. Then we changed to the southwest towards Cape Verde, which was a more southerly direction than we had ever sailed before.

On July 31, Columbus discovered land, and three peaks connected at the bottom miraculously appeared. Columbus called this island Trinidad, in gratitude to the Holy Trinity. The next day, in the south where the sea and the sky meet, the vague shadow of another island appeared again. In fact, the land that Columbus saw was South America, and the island that only saw a vague silhouette was Sanqueta Island.

Columbus conducted a two-week expedition in the Gulf of Paria between Trinidad and South America, in what is now Venezuela. During his investigation, Columbus discovered that the Indians living in Venezuela wore strings of pearls and large gold and copper alloy ornaments, and all of them were skilled craftsmen of cotton textiles. As a result, the very profitable pearl farming industry was developed in less than a year.

Fearing that the wine and food on board would spoil in the high temperatures, Columbus decided to sail back to Hispaniola on August 15. From the evidence that the water in the Gulf of Paria was fresh water, Columbus deduced that Sanqueta was much larger than an island. An expedition team sent ashore also discovered four large rivers, which are actually tributaries of the current Orinoco River that flows into the ocean. Columbus, who was so fanciful, actually regarded this place as the Garden of Eden, and the rivers he discovered became the four rivers of paradise. This was not surprising in those days, when many scholars believed that somewhere in southeastern Asia lay an earthly paradise.

On August 19, 1498, Columbus's fleet returned to Santo Domingo, the capital founded by another of his brothers on the island of Hispaniola. When we arrived, the situation was a mess. Columbus had to deal with Spanish settlers and local indigenous people who disobeyed him. He also hanged some of his crew members who refused to obey him, and some settlers and crew members who returned to Spain accused him and his brothers in the Spanish courts of mismanaging the viceroyalty. Some Spaniards believed that Hispaniola, as part of Spain, should not be governed by an Italian. Many people accused him of running his domain like a tyrant. At that time, Columbus was extremely tired both physically and mentally, and also suffered from arthritis and other diseases. In October 1499, he sent two ships back to Spain and asked the court to appoint a royal commissioner to assist him in governing Hispaniola.

The court appointed Francesco de Bovadia. The scope of his powers, however, extended far beyond Columbus's request, and Bovadia was granted full power during his term. As soon as he arrived in Santo Domingo, he listened to the locals' complaints about the Columbus brothers. With this evidence, Columbus was handcuffed and shackled without being allowed to defend himself, and thrown into prison, waiting to return to Spain. He was 53 years old at the time.

On October 1, 1500, Columbus and his brothers were escorted back to Cadiz, Spain. They spent six weeks in prison before the busy King Fernando released them. Soon after, the king and queen summoned them at the Alhambra in Granada and restored their freedom, honor, and wealth. And under Columbus's persuasion, he agreed to his fourth voyage plan, but Columbus could no longer be the governor of the West Indies Territory. Nicholas Obando was appointed as the new governor.

[Edit this paragraph] Returned without success for the fourth time

Columbus, who regained his dignity a few months later, was already an old man in his 50s, and his eyesight was declining. Suffering from arthritis, despite this, in early 1502, he once again asked the king to let him explore, and got the king's approval.

On May 1, a fleet of four caravels set off from the port of Cadiz again under the leadership of Columbus. This time Columbus planned to pass between the southern coast of China (actually Cuba) and the paradise on earth he discovered (actually South America), with the destination being India, and then return to Spain from the other side of the world.

On June 29, the fleet temporarily docked in Santo Domingo after passing through Martinique. Columbus regarded the place blocking the road ahead as Indochina. In the following months, Columbus tried to break through this barrier. The fleet faced strong counterwinds and huge waves, starting from Honduras and passing through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and now Panama. On December 6, a big storm broke out on the sea that lasted for a month, with thunder and lightning and heavy rain. The sea was churning like crazy. It was the biggest storm Columbus had ever experienced in his life. The fleet had no choice but to let nature control it. The fleet could not move forward and could not find a safe haven. There was a danger of annihilation at any time.

The hot and humid weather encouraged the growth of maggots. The cakes brought on the ship were full of maggots. People had to wait until dark to eat them together with the maggots. Some people were so used to eating that they were too lazy to remove the maggots. In this case, if you are picky about your food, you are likely to starve to death. This is something everyone knows.

Even in the midst of this difficult adversity, Columbus remained optimistic. In order to find a strait through which he could pass to another ocean, he explored bay after bay and river after river, but in the end he failed. Perhaps because he learned from the Indians near Panama that there was no waterway or strait connecting the two oceans, Columbus gave up his exploration of finding a passage and began to look for gold again.

But the situation of the fleet became worse and worse. It started in mid-April when a caravel ran aground on a sandbar. Then, another ship was infested with shipworms, and in such tropical heat, the other two ships were also in danger of being infested with shipworms. In this desperate situation, Columbus ordered the ship to be docked on a sheltered beach, and the crew barely survived, because it was completely impossible to return to Hispaniola in such a ship. Afterwards, Columbus also sent two people to paddle canoes back to Santo Domingo to ask for help, but they left without any news. Columbus was bedridden due to arthritis, and about half of the crew who couldn't bear the wait got up to make trouble. In early January 1504, they left without Columbus's permission and wanted to return to Hispaniola. But how could their canoes withstand the strong winds and waves on the sea? Soon they were all blown back to Jamaica by the strong winds.

On June 29, 1504, the ship that had been waiting for more than a year finally arrived, and Columbus and his crew returned to Hispaniola. Columbus, who narrowly escaped death, returned to Spain on a rented ship with his son, brother and 22 other members. The date of arrival in Spain was November 1504.

On May 20, 1506, Columbus passed away. Until his death, he still believed that the place he had visited was Asia. Later, another explorer, the Italian American, confirmed that the place Columbus visited was not Asia, but a New World. This continent was also named after America, called America, or America for short. The islands that Columbus first discovered were called the West Indies to distinguish India in the east. Columbus's goal of traveling westward to Asia could only be left to others.