Question

1 Christopher Columbus's father was a businessman, a weaver. His mother's family were also weavers. Maybe they hoped
that one day Christopher would go into the weaving business too, but Christopher had ideas of his own. Growing up in the
seaport city of Genoa, Italy, he had watched ships coming and going all the time, and he began to dream of sailing out on a
great adventure of his own.
2 Lots of people dream of adventures when they are children, but Christopher didn't just dream, he did something about it.
He worked hard to get what he wanted. One thing that he did early in his life was

Answer 1

to get a good education. He didn't go to
school for long, but he continued his education on his own to be sure that he learned the things that he would need to know.
He taught himself Latin and Spanish, so that he could communicate with people from different places. When he was 14 years
old, he signed on as a deckhand on sailing ships to learn all about sailing. Christopher Columbus was a skilled business man
and explorer. He took risks most explorers were too afraid to take. Because of these risks, Christopher Columbus paved the
way for many other explorers to live out their dreams.
3 At that time, many ships were sailing off on adventures. Some of them sailed east around Africa to reach what they called
the Indies, which includes the modern countries of India, China, and Japan. Columbus, knowing that the world was round,
thought that he could get there by sailing west. He didn't know that there were whole continents, North and South America,
and the Pacific Ocean in his way!
4 The voyage west would be an expensive one, and Columbus's first job was to find someone rich to sponsor him. After
many tries, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain took an interest in his plan. Columbus had asked for a lot, and maybe
he was surprised when they agreed to everything he asked for, three ships, honors and titles, and a percent of the profit from
the trade.
5 His three ships were named the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. The Santa Maria was the largest; it was a
heavy cargo ship with three masts, two square sails, one triangular sail, and another little topsail. The Pinta was smaller
and faster, the kind of ship called a caravel. The Nina was a caravel too, and the smallest of the three. The ships were
made of wood and, of course, had no motors. Some of the officers had bunk beds; some of the other sailors didn't even
have that. They used wood to cook their food in fireboxes on the deck.
6 Columbus, who called himself Cristobal Colon in Spain, captained the Santa Maria. Two brothers, Martin and
Vincente Pinzon, were the captains of the Pinta and the Nina. Altogether, there were about 90 men on the three ships
that set sail in August of 1492.
7 Columbus kept a log, or a journal, that gives us information about his voyage. From his log, we know that they
sailed by "dead reckoning," which was their way of measuring their course. They used only a magnetic compass, and
measurements of distance and time, to keep them on track. The ships averaged a speed of about 150 miles per day,
but when the wind was good, they could go twice that fast. When the wind stopped, the ships sat still, too.
8 The trip turned out to take much longer than anyone on board expected. After many days and nights at sea, the
sailors were ready to return home. On October 10, Columbus talked them into sailing forward for just three more days.
On October 12, they sighted land, an island in the Bahamas. The same day they landed, not in the Indies, but in the
New World. Other explorers had made it to the New World first, but Columbus was the one explorer we can thank for
the changes set in motion. Because of his discovery and pursuit of business opportunity, America exploded with new

Answer 2

So, approaching land, they were met by the Arawak Indians, who swam out to greet them. The Arawak’s lived in village
communes, had a developed agriculture of corn, yams, cassava. They could spin and weave, but they had no horses or work
animals. They had no iron, but they wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears.
This was to have enormous consequences: it led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he
insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold. He then sailed to what is now Cuba, then to Hispaniola (the island
which today consists of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). There, bits of visible gold in the rivers, and a gold mask
presented to Columbus by a local Indian chief, led to wild visions of gold fields.
On Hispaniola, out of timbers from the Santa Maria, which had run aground, Columbus built a fort, the first European military
base in the Western Hemisphere. He called it Navidad (Christmas) and left thirty-nine crewmembers there, with instructions
to find and store the gold. He took more Indian prisoners and put them aboard his two remaining ships. At one part of the
island he got into a fight with Indians who refused to trade as many bows and arrows as he and his men wanted. Two were
run through with swords and bled to death. Then the Nina and the Pinta set sail for the Azores and Spain. When the weather
turned cold, the Indian prisoners began to die.

Answer 3

What do you need?

Answer 4

@Blake4560

Answer 5

@Blake4560

Answer 6

How does the author’s choice of facts influence how readers think about the topic?

Answer 7

@Blake4560

Answer 8

are you there?

Answer 9

How does the author’s choice of facts influence how readers think about the topic?

Answer 10

I am here. I was just reading through.

Answer 11

Just my thoughs: The author tells the reader that Columbus wanted an education; but we get the impression that he had trouble in a school (one of his time) because he did not finish. Instead, he self-educates himself on things that he feels that he needs. We as the readers see someone who wants to make his own path in life his own way. As the reader, we admire that facts that he worked or attempted to make a better life for himself. However, his last acts create disappoint because he kidnapped Indians for his own selfish gain.

Answer 12

*thoughts

Answer 13

What language is used to describe him?

Answer 14

boom clap! the beat goes on and on and on and boom clap!

Answer 15

He uses a lot of positive adjectives to describe him.. A hard worker, someone accomplished, persisted...

Answer 16

sorry i'm listening to music

Answer 17

Hehe it is perfectly alright. When I did homework, I almost always listened to music. :)

Answer 18

last one

Answer 19

How are the two articles different in how they present Christopher Columbus?

Answer 20

Hmmm.. one paints him as high and mighty as well as someone to admire. While the other does not show the same admiration and you are shown another side of Christopher.

Answer 21

thank you, you really helped me :D

Answer 22

hay, do you have a youtube acount?

Answer 23

You are welcome; and anytime for a friend. :)

Answer 24

my youtube name is musiclover2003, if you want look me up

Answer 25

Yes, I have one. Blake the hobbit:]

Answer 26

sweet, i don't have any videos, but you can be my first subscriber if you want

Answer 27

musiclover2003

Answer 28

i subscribed you

Answer 29

more questions

Answer 30

Feed me more questions :3

Answer 31

what????

Answer 32

Do you have any more questions? -.-

Answer 33

Yay! Thank you for subscribing! I will subscribing back! :)

Answer 34

*will be subscribing

Answer 35

would you like to watch some vids together?

Answer 36

Yes. :D

Answer 37

what are your intrists, cuz i have some videos in mind

Answer 38

oh good your back