One can speak about the discovery of America rather conditionally, because the American continent was inhabited by Indians long before it became known to Europeans. For a long time, the inhabitants of the Old World did not suspect the existence of vast lands lying on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It was only thanks to the development of navigation that the way to new countries was opened and relatively quickly mastered. To whom does the palm in the discovery of America belong?
Christopher Columbus is traditionally considered the official discoverer of America. Back in 1486, he persuaded the Spanish monarchs to equip an expedition, the purpose of which was to open a new route to India. The confidence and enthusiasm of the thirty-five-year-old Genoese passed on to the king and queen. In addition, in the event of a successful outcome of the expedition, a serious replenishment of the royal treasury was expected. With the support of monarchs, Columbus began to implement his plan. In August 1492, three Spanish galleons - "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Niña" - with enthusiastic and hopeful crews set off on a long-awaited campaign in search of a shortcut to fabulous India. The expedition began unsuccessfully - in the Canary Islands it was necessary to make a stop to repair a rudder broken on one of the ships. But in general, the weather was favorable for the journey, so that already on October 12 of the same year, all three ships safely docked to one of the Bahamas, which, with the light hand of Columbus, was named San Salvador. This day is now considered the official day of the discovery of the American continent. It soon became clear that the open land had nothing to do with India. But the results of the trip, which opened access to untold riches, were so impressive that this fact did not bother anyone. In subsequent years, Columbus made three more expeditions to the newly discovered lands, now with the rank of admiral. Among other lands, he discovered the islands of Haiti and Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, and the island of Cuba. But until his death, Columbus did not know for sure that he had become the discoverer of a new continent. There is an alternative version of the discovery of the New World, according to which the Norwegian Vikings, led by Leif Erickson, landed on American soil long before Columbus. As the son of the famous navigator Eric the Red, Leif visited North America at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries with a group of tribesmen, first landing on the island of Newfoundland, after which he made a trip to the territory of modern Canada. Indirect confirmation of the "Norwegian" version is found on the island. Newfoundland in the 60s of the XX century, the remains of huts, household items and tools related to the culture of the Vikings of the time of Erickson. Be that as it may, it was only with the arrival of the Europeans on the American continent that the rapid and rapid development of a new center of civilization began.
