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The AmericasChristopher Columbus was looking for a new trade route to the Orient in 1492 when he unexpectedly came upon the Americas. Underestimating the world’s size, he thought he had somehow missed Japan after having sailed 3,000 miles, and that the islands he found belonged to the East Indies south of Japan. Columbus died believing he had found new areas of the Orient rather than a new continent, and he never profited from his discoveries in the way he had hoped. What makes his find "serendipitous" is the development of civilization in the New World, which came long after the explorer’s historic discovery.
Last Updated: 02/16/03 |
