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Columbus Day Q&A! |
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What is Columbus Day?
In the United States, Columbus Day is a holiday celebrated in honor of the explorer Christopher Columbus landing his ship in the Americas in 1492. The reason why this event is so significant is that prior to his journey, most people living in Europe did not know that this huge body of land existed! Although there were other people already living in what is now South and North America, it was unknown in places like England and Spain.
Columbus, in fact, had not
set sail looking for America… he’d actually hoped to go to India! But, his
arrival in America became a very significant day in history – what is now the
U.S. might not exist if he had never arrived!
Why don’t some people celebrate Columbus Day?
In many parts of Europe, after it was discovered that Columbus had found new continents, Columbus was seen as a hero! The Americas offered the Europeans new land and resources to claim as their own.Native Americans and many others did not share the same view. Europeans who came to the Americas arrived to a place that was already inhabited by a group of people, the Native Americans. They captured some of the Native Americans, and others were just kicked off of their land. These Europeans also brought diseases to the Americas, which the Native Americans were not immune to.
There are always different
ways to look at a situation. Whether people think that Columbus was a good guy,
a bad guy, or somewhere in between, he was certainly an excellent navigator who
played a huge role in shaping the world as it is today!
Why did people want to settle in North America?
North America has been a home to many different people at many different times. The earliest North Americans were the ancestors of Native Americans, who came here following food. Over 11,000 years ago, they crossed over a land bridge that used to connect what are now Russia and Canada.
Starting around the year 1000, settlers (like the Vikings) began to come to the Americas from Europe. Then, in 1492 Columbus sailed to North America and throughout the following centuries many more explorers came from places like Spain, England and France. They came to find new land for their home countries. You might know that the first 13 colonies of the United States used to belong to England!
Other groups like the
famous pilgrims
who came to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 came to find religious freedom. Many other people came to find jobs and as cities grew, more and more people came to
work and live in them!
Christopher Columbus ranks pretty high up among famous explorers, although around the time he set sail in 1492, there were lots of other explorers making journeys and discoveries, too!
A lot of the most famous explorations we learn about were from “The Age of Exploration,” when European explorers set out in the 15th and 16th centuries to find things such as exotic spices, gold or jewels, rumored lands, or new and shorter routes to their destinations. It might be hard to think about now, but there was a time when there were no maps that showed all of the land on our planet. Part of an explorer’s job was to discover our world! At the time, there was also no way to get from one place to another except by foot or by sea! Explorers discovered cultures, people, and land beyond their own regions, and brought their knowledge back to their home countries!
The job of an explorer was exciting and challenging. It’s because of the discoveries of many brave individuals that history as we know it came to pass!!