why do people say christopher columbus discovered america when there was already peopl e here?
477215
Well, he discovered it for Europe, even though there were people there, they had no contacts with people other than themselves. The funny thing is, Leif Erickson, a viking, had landed in America before Christopher, but he wasn't given the credit. Amerigo Vespuchi was the first to ever make a map of America, and so for some reason America was named after him. Columbus was funded by the royal family, therefore, his dicovery was noted and the others weren't.\nHope this helps! \n\nJesus loves you! :D
671903
I especially enjoyed the answer from Captain Redbeard, who thought that Columbus was English. I think most homeschooled students are better educated than that. Unfortunately, I think we have our public school system to thank for the abysmal ignorance some people show. Too much political correctness, not enough content.
73839
I think the messy business of the European colonization of the American Continents is pretty much common knowledge.  Who, exactly, are you trying to incite then?  Is it the millions of North & South Americans who now lead comfortable, modern lives, or the two or three other people -- like yourself -- stuck in 1492?  Besides, people are solid believers in something that was made 'by man', but they are also free to choose not to believe, or to not be 'solid' believers.  Let it go, no one appriciates the people like you who have mistaken this service as a soapbox (though your ranting does help make the rest of us feel better about ourselves, so thanks for that public service) ;)
961478
His voyages to the Americas began a European effort at exploration and colonization of the continent. While history places great significance on his first voyage of 1492, he did not actually reach the mainland until his third voyage in 1498.
403560
Jesuits were generally expelled in the 19th century from Latin American missions.\n\nAs to what year was the discovery and conquest of America, this is a really poor question.  It is true that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but the conquest took a lot longer than that.  As to the discovery, there are a lot of historical arguments that show that the Old World had met the New World on many occasions prior to Columbus.\n\nWhen were the independent wars against Spain? Well, again this depends on the country, but most were in the first 50 years of the 19th century.\n\nWhat century did the first democracies start to arise? Are you talking about democracy as we know it today, or are you talking about the roots of it in Greece?  Democracy is a conglomeration of a lot of political ideas from many countries and it comes in a lot of forms.  So it's very hard to say when it arose unless you are more specific.  Some argue that the US, in 1776, was the first "democracy."\n\nWhen did the indigenous people live in America? Well, that would be about 15,000 BC until the present.  But the 15,000 BC date is quite obscure and there are a lot of arguments for dates before and after that.
745991
"Christopher Columbus!"
556159
Lewis and Clark found what was in the Lousiana Purchase. They found the Pacific Ocean.\n\nOcian in View! O! the Joy"\n~William Clark, Nov. 7, 1805
48312
The first European to reach the Americas was Christopher Columbus in 1492 but the continent were already populated by indeginious population before then when the land bridge formed between Asia Europe and America during the ice age and prehistoric people moved there.
163551
Well I love the chance to answer a history question, expecially one about Columbus who in 1492 sailed the ocean blue.  \n\nHe acutally went on his voyage from the direction of Queen Isabella of Spain who wanted to have the first chance to get a Walmart franchise in her country., but alas when Columbus arrived here he found out the Walmart did not franchise, so he talked Isabella into a K-mark which is now bankrupt.\n\nShe also wanted him to bring back the recipe for turkey burgers and fishsticks for she wanted to open fast food resturants in Spain.\n\nNow what did he get:\n\nA holiday named after him\n\nA city in Ohio named after him\n\nHerpes\n\nThe love and devotion of millions of italians (why I don't know)\n\nA song about his voyages\n\nWhoops, I goofed up I am not sure that I gave four reasons, I may have given less or maybe more, but considering the fact that they are not really true who gives a sh...t....\n\nHave a nice day, keep smiling and have a sense of humor...
186463
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_of_america\nNothing is known for absolute certain, but there are lots of theories
540105
if the "undefeatable" armada hadn't been defeated, the english would never have had enough control over the seas to have traveled so freely to colonize the americas. the spanish would have gotten there first and claimed those areas for their own.
141287
*Chuckling for this sounds familiar* After the success of Columbus's first voyage, he had little trouble convincing the Spanish Sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabela, to follow up immediately with a second voyage. Unlike the exploratory first voyage, the second voyage was a massive colonization effort, comprising seventeen ships and over a thousand men. The second voyage brought European livestock (horses, sheep, and cattle) to America for the first time.
707766
If you believe the landbridge story connecting Asia to America, then Asian nomads first approached onto America and became the Native Americans after settling down.\n\nIf not, then the vikings were the first people to come to America with evidence. There are remains of a settlement up on Newfoundland which ceased to survive. Christopher Columbus (who was looking for the India in Asia), winded up landing in one of the Carribean islands and made that contineant famous in Europe.
156792
Columbus never came to the area now known as the US. He was in the Caribbean. The Caribbean was inhabited by the Carib Indians and the Arawak Indians, and other indigenous peoples. \n\nThroughout the New World there were indigenous peoples already living here before Columbus. Some of the people living in the Americas have ancestors who were among these aboriginal peoples, but most do not.
92249
Columbus was challenged by the Spanish government, specifically the Queen, to disprove the commonly accepted  notion that the world was flat.  Conceptually, the formulation of his proof that the world was indeed "round" (spherical, or possible cylindrical - it's not specified in history texts what "round" meant to Columbus) was that if he could set some starting point and then sail around the world in a constant direction, should he return to his starting point then his theory would be proved.\n\nHe ended up in the Indies, which has ever since been named the "West Indies", but thought he was elsewhere.  As far as Columbus was concerned, he was sure that he had found some one of the outermost islands of Cipango or Japan. So he dropped his anchors, ordered out his rowboat, and prepared to take possession of the land in the name of the queen of Spain, who had helped him in his enterprise.\n\nOf course, he wasn't in Japan or Cipango...if you want a full text detail of the story, follow the link in references...this was the short version.\n\nI hope this helps you!!
138326
Vespucci didn't get to America until 1497.  He was not the first.  It is possible, I suppose, That the Japanese made it, but there is no evidence to support that.  Some say that St. Brenden the Navigator may have been the first to land on America.
819609
so what look at the name of the town El Cenizo.....who do you think named it that Christopher Columbus.........DUH