Christopher Columbus (Junior World Biographies)

by Norman L. Macht Author

On August 3, 1492, three ships sailed out of the Spanish port of Palos, Christopher Columbus, the stubborn commander of the fleet, believed that by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean he would reach the Indies. There he would find glory for himself and treasures for the king and queen of Spain. After a little more than a month, Columbus ran across something completely unexpected - an island gateway to two continents that had previously been unknown to Europeans. On the island that Columbus named San Salvador, the explorer and his crew became the first Europeans to meet the native peoples of the Americas.