The History of America

1.A Great Error in Navigation—Finding the New World（1492） 航海史上的偉大錯誤——發現新大陸

Christopher Columbus（1451-1506）was born in Genoa， Italy. He was the oldest of five children in his family.His father was a wool weaver[1] and he helped his father with the weaving， but he always wanted to sail the seas.He didn't go to school very much， but he learned to read and write Spanish during his travels.He also taught himself Latin because all the geography[2] books were written in Latin.

Some people thought he was trying to prove the world is round， but this is not true. At that time， most people already knew the earth is round.He just wanted to find a short way to get to the Indies by ship.He was a Christian and wanted to tell the story of Christ to the people he would find in the far-away lands.He also wanted wealth for himself and for Spain， and he wanted to be famous.He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money.Finally they agreed， but he made more demands.He wanted to be made a knight and admiral[3] of the Ocean Sea.He wanted to be the viceroy and governor of all lands he would discover.Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands.He even boldly told them he wanted all of this in writing.This was rather brave of him because they could have had him killed because of his demands.They finally agreed and he got three ships ready to sail； the Santa Maria and two smaller ships， the Pinta and the Nina.He took enough food for a year and four months later he was ready to sail.

They left Spain on August 3， 1492. Captain Christopher Columbus' ensign pictured a cross and the crown-topped initials F（for King Ferdinand of Spain）and Y（for Queen Isabella of Spain）.His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia（the Indies）where the riches of gold， pearls and spice awaited.His first stop was the Canary Islands where the lack of wind left his expedition becalmed until September 6.

Once underway， Columbus benefited from calm seas and steady winds that pushed him steadily westward. However， the trip was long-longer than anticipated by either Columbus or his crew.In order to mollify his crew's apprehensions， Columbus kept two sets of logs： one showing the true distance traveled each day and one showing a lesser distance. The first log was kept secret.The latter log quieted the crew's anxiety by under-reporting the true distance they had traveled from their homeland.This deception had only a temporary effect； by October 10， 1492，the crew's apprehension had increased to the point of near mutiny.The sailors were ready to turn around and start back home.

"Just three more days，" he said， "Then if we don't see land， we'll turn around and go back home." Two days later they saw land. Having landed， they saw green trees， and much water， and fruits of diverse kinds； Columbus named the island San Salvador.Shortly after landing， many of the island's inhabitants assembled on the beach and Columbus gave them gifts of red hats and beads.The natives reciprocated[4] with gifts of parrots， cotton and other goods.In describing the natives， Columbus wrote： "They go as naked as when their mothers bore them， and so do the women， although I did not see more than one girl.They are very well made， with very handsome bodies， and very good countenances." He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there "Indians".Actually， many of the local men were captured[5] by Columbus' men and later sold as slaves.

While exploring the islands in the area and looking for gold to loot[6]， Columbus' men traveled to the islands of Hispaniola（now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic），Cuba， and many other smaller islands. When they got to Cuba， he thought he was in China.But the world was a lot larger than he thought.On Christmas Eve， the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti.Columbus built a fort[7] and left 40 men to hunt for gold.Then he returned to Spain on the Nina.The Pinta also returned.The people of Spain welcomed him as a hero.He made three more voyages across the ocean later.His 13-year-old son， Ferdinand went with him on the fourth voyage.However， Columbus did not become rich as he had hoped.At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first one reach the New World.He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis[8].

As an explorer and navigator， the far-reaching impact of Christopher Columbus voyage is much higher than any previous expedition. Discovering the New World is the most egregious human history， the geographical discoveries of human challenge themselves and conquer the world a great victory.Columbus not only discovered a New World， but he also led the way for other explorers.

克里斯托弗·哥倫布（1451～1506）出生于意大利熱那亞。他是家里5個孩子中最大的。父親是羊毛織工，他經常幫助父親織布，但他一直渴望在海上航行。他沒怎么上過學，但他在旅行中學會了閱讀和寫作西班牙語。他還自學了拉丁文，因為所有的地理書籍都是用拉丁語寫的。

有些人以為他要證明地球是圓的，但事實并非如此。當時大多數人已經知道地球是圓的。其實他想找到一個乘船到印度最短的路程，因為他是一個基督徒，想把基督故事講給他將發現的遙遠國度的人。同時，他想為西班牙和自己謀得財富，也想出名。他用了8年的努力去說服國王費迪南德和王后伊莎貝拉為自己提供船舶和資金上的贊助。他們最終同意了，但他卻提出了更高的要求：他想成為騎士和印度洋海軍上將，想成為他將發現的所有土地上的總督，還想把新發現的土地上所有財富的1/10據為己有。他甚至還大膽地要求，他希望將這一切載入史冊。他相當勇敢，因為這可能引來殺身之禍。好在他們最終同意并給他3艘船準備開航：圣瑪麗亞和兩個較小的船舶——平塔和尼娜。他準備了足夠食用一年的糧食。4個月后，他準備啟航了。

他們于1492年8月3日離開西班牙。船長克里斯托弗·哥倫布的旗以十字架和和字母F， Y（迪南德和伊莎貝拉名字的首字母）組成。他的目標是要向西航行到達富有黃金、珍珠和香料的亞洲（印度）。艦隊的第一站是加那利群島，由于缺乏合適的風向，他的探險隊直到9月6日才再次啟程。

一開始航行，得益于平靜的海洋和穩定的海洋風，艦隊穩步向西進發。不過，此行是漫長的——比哥倫布和他的船員所預想的更漫長。為了安撫船員，哥倫布堅持寫兩本日志：他在一本日志中記載每天真實的航程，另一本則將里程數寫得很小；第一本日志是保密的。第二本瞞報里程數的日志則來向船員匯報他們與祖國的距離，以此來緩解船員的焦慮。這種欺騙只具有暫時的效果，1492年10月10日船員的擔心已臨近兵變點。船員紛紛準備掉頭返航。