Good morning kids!
And this is the story.
After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus
sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His
expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella
and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western
ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of
Asia.
Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. Little is known of his early life, but he worked as a seaman and then a maritime entrepreneur. He became obsessed with the possibility of pioneering a western sea route to Cathay (China), India, and the gold and spice islands of Asia. At the time, Europeans knew no direct sea route to southern Asia, and the route via Egypt and the Red Sea was closed to Europeans by the Ottoman Empire, as were many land routes. Contrary to popular legend, educated Europeans of Columbus' day did believe that the world was round, as argued by St. Isidore in the seventh century. However, Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world's size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed).
With only the Atlantic Ocean, he thought, lying between Europe and the riches of the East Indies, Columbus met with King John II of Portugal and tried to persuade him to back his "Enterprise of the Indies," as he called his plan. He was rebuffed and went to Spain, where he was also rejected at least twice by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. However, after the Spanish conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Granada in January 1492, the Spanish monarchs, flush with victory, agreed to support his voyage.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. On October 12, the expedition reached land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas. Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba, which he thought was mainland China, and in December the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which Columbus thought might be Japan. He established a small colony there with 39 of his men. The explorer returned to Spain with gold, spices, and "Indian" captives in March 1493 and was received with the highest honors by the Spanish court. He was the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century.
During his lifetime, Columbus led a total of four expeditions to the New World, discovering various Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainlands, but he never accomplished his original goal—a western ocean route to the great cities of Asia. Columbus died in Spain in 1506 without realizing the great scope of what he did achieve: He had discovered for Europe the New World, whose riches over the next century would help make Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth.
How are you today?
Tomorrow will be "Columbus´ day" o "día de la hispanidad". Fijaros, que curioso, en
inglés, este día recibe el nombre del personaje histórico (Cristobal
Colón) que llegó a tierras americanas el 12 de octubre 1492.
Para celebrar tal acontecimiento os cuelgo una sopa de letras con el
nombre de países donde se habla español. Hay muchos ¿verdad?
Look for them on the map.
Después de divertiros un ratito, vamos a leer y conocer el porqué de este día:
Día de la Raza es el nombre que reciben en la mayoría de los países
hispanoamericanos las fiestas del 12 de octubre en conmemoración del
avistamiento de tierra por el marinero Rodrigo de Triana en 1492, luego
de haber navegado más de dos meses al mando de Cristóbal Colón
a lo que posteriormente se denominaría América. La denominación fue
creada por el ex-ministro Faustino Rodríguez-San Pedro como Presidente
de la Unión Ibero-Americana que en 1913 pensó en una celebración que
uniese a España e Iberoamérica eligiendo para ello el día 12 de octubre.
Este mismo día en 1935 ya fue celebrado en Madrid el día de la
Hispanidad a la española hora de las cinco de la tarde Ramiro de Maeztu
pronunció un elocuente discurso en la Academia Española, sobre el
descubrimiento y la colonización de América. Y con el título El día de
la Hispanidad publicó un artículo en el número inaugural de Hispanidad, revista quincenal cuyo primer número está fechado precisamente el 12 de octubre de 1935.
La fecha marca el nacimiento de
una nueva identidad producto del encuentro y fusión de los pueblos
originarios del continente americano y los colonizadores españoles. El
Día de la Raza fue establecido en la Argentina en 1917 por decreto del
presidente Hipólito Yrigoyen, como reafirmación de la identidad
hispanoamericana frente a los Estados Unidos y la Doctrina Monroe.
En
España, esa fecha también se celebró como Fiesta de la Raza,
oficializándose entre 1918 y 1958, año en que mediante un decreto se
cambia su denominación oficial por la de Fiesta de la Hispanidad,
confirmada en 1981.
Bueno, ahora que
ya tenéis mucha información sobre el día de la Hispanidad, sólo me
queda presentaros al protagonista que hizo posible tal día: Cristobal
Colón.
CRISTÓBAL COLÓN (Génova, 1451 – Valladolid, 20 de mayo de 1506).
Fue un navegante y cartógrafo de origen incierto (italiano,
portugués o español) al servicio de la Corona de Castilla, famoso por
haber realizado el denominado descubrimiento de América el 12 de
octubre de 1492. Era hijo de un matrimonio de humildes tejedores:
Diego, Doménico o Domingo Colombo y Susana Fontanarrosa fueron sus
padres. Se interesó desde niño por la navegación y, desde muy joven,
trabajó como grumete.
En 1477, cuando vivía en Lisboa (Portugal), se casó con Felipa Muñiz de
Perestrello, con quien tuvo a su hijo Diego (en 1482). Interesado por
la geografía, leyó tratados y conoció los mapas que circulaban en su
época. Deseaba llegar a las Indias Orientales, tierra en las que suponía
que iba a encontrar grandes riquezas. En 1484, al fallecer su esposa,
viajó con su hijo a España y residió en el Convento de la Rábida. Allí,
los monjes aceptaron sus teorías y proyectos.
Su llegada a América impulsó decisivamente la expansión mundial de
Europa y la colonización por varias potencias europeas de gran parte
del continente americano y de sus pobladores. Su personaje inspiró el
nombre de un país: Colombia. Cristóbal Colón fue un marino que, al
servicio de la Corona de Castilla, encontró una ruta segura desde
Europa hasta América (hasta entonces desconocida o indocumentada en
Europa, Asia o África), arribando a ella el 12 de octubre de 1492.
And this is the story.
Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. Little is known of his early life, but he worked as a seaman and then a maritime entrepreneur. He became obsessed with the possibility of pioneering a western sea route to Cathay (China), India, and the gold and spice islands of Asia. At the time, Europeans knew no direct sea route to southern Asia, and the route via Egypt and the Red Sea was closed to Europeans by the Ottoman Empire, as were many land routes. Contrary to popular legend, educated Europeans of Columbus' day did believe that the world was round, as argued by St. Isidore in the seventh century. However, Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world's size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed).
With only the Atlantic Ocean, he thought, lying between Europe and the riches of the East Indies, Columbus met with King John II of Portugal and tried to persuade him to back his "Enterprise of the Indies," as he called his plan. He was rebuffed and went to Spain, where he was also rejected at least twice by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. However, after the Spanish conquest of the Moorish kingdom of Granada in January 1492, the Spanish monarchs, flush with victory, agreed to support his voyage.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. On October 12, the expedition reached land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas. Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba, which he thought was mainland China, and in December the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which Columbus thought might be Japan. He established a small colony there with 39 of his men. The explorer returned to Spain with gold, spices, and "Indian" captives in March 1493 and was received with the highest honors by the Spanish court. He was the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century.
During his lifetime, Columbus led a total of four expeditions to the New World, discovering various Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainlands, but he never accomplished his original goal—a western ocean route to the great cities of Asia. Columbus died in Spain in 1506 without realizing the great scope of what he did achieve: He had discovered for Europe the New World, whose riches over the next century would help make Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth.
