First Voyage to America: From the Log of the "Santa Maria"

by Christopher Columbus

Dramatic, revealing entries — including Columbus' own words — document epochal voyage, heavy seas, discouraged crew, first sighting of land, appearance of island natives, more. Translated into English, reset in large type. 44 illustrations, including a number from rare sources. Fascinating historical document. Publisher's note.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Medieval, American

96 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 1991

About the author

Christopher Columbus (c. 1451–1506) was a Genoese navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. Although not the first to reach the Americas from Europe—he was preceded by the Norse, led by Leif Ericson, who built a temporary settlement 500 years earlier at L'Anse aux Meadows — Columbus initiated widespread contact between Europeans and indigenous Americans. With his four voyages of discovery and several attempts at establishing a settlement on the island of Hispaniola, all funded by Queen Isabella of Spain, he initiated the process of Spanish colonization which foreshadowed general European colonization of the "New World." (The term "pre-Columbian" is usually used to refer to the peoples and cultures of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus and his European successors.)

His initial 1492 voyage came at a critical time of growing national imperialism and economic competition between developing nation states seeking wealth from the establishment of trade routes and colonies. In this sociopolitical climate, Columbus's far-fetched scheme won the attention of Queen Isabella of Spain. Severely underestimating the circumference of the Earth, he estimated that a westward route from Iberia to the Indies would be shorter and more direct than the overland trade route through Arabia. If true, this would allow Spain entry into the lucrative spice trade — heretofore commanded by the Arabs and Italians. Following his plotted course, he instead landed within the Bahamas Archipelago at a locale he named San Salvador. Mistaking the North-American island for the East-Asian mainland, he referred to its inhabitants as "Indios".

Academic consensus is that Columbus was born in Genoa, though there are other theories. The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. The original name in 15th century Genoese language was Christoffa Corombo. The name is rendered in modern Italian as Cristoforo Colombo, in Portuguese as Cristóvão Colombo (formerly Christovam Colom), and in Spanish as Cristóbal Colón.

The anniversary of Columbus's 1492 landing in the Americas is observed as Columbus Day on October 12 in Spain and throughout the Americas, except that in the United States it is observed on the second Monday in October.

Reviews

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fantastic book documents Columbus' log from his first journey to the Americas (which he thought was India). Not only this, the Introduction discusses the primary source material available about this momentous journey. A sepia map on pg 75-76 provides a visual of Columbus' voyage (teachers may want to print this out and ask children to follow along/ label as they read, or use a regular map). The later part accounts the first two days of the journey, and the book begins and ends with text of Columbus' letters to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that give insight into the myriad of motivations (religious, economic, and national) contributing to this daring endeavor.

The sometimes tedious log illustrates for children not only the boredom, but the building anxiety experienced by the sailors and Columbus' methods of leadership to minimize their fear and keep them sailing to the New World.

The encounter with native peoples is truly cross-cultural, not only in terms of Columbus' experience hundreds of years ago, but also in terms of our 'looking in' and realizing how differently people thought and communicated.

This book paired exceptionally well with the fictional "Morning Girl" which seeks to tell the same story of the initial encounter from the perspective of the native people. An excellent resource.

[K Comeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look into the 1st voyage of Cristopher Columbus. Impressed upon me the courage that was required to voyage into the unknown. Also, it was interesting how the sailors used evidence of birds and sea weed to indicate proximity to land.