Путешествие Колумба. Открытие Америки
занимательные факты по английскому языку на тему

1. The Way West

Around 1480, in Lisbon Columbus first saw the nautical charts and documents. There was a proposal that ships sail west to reach "the East". The papers fired his imagination. Later Columbus formed a theory: One could sail west from the Canary Islands. In 1485, he began a campaign to win the sponsorship of Spain Queen & King for his project. In 1492 the monarchies agreed.

2. The crew

The monarchies offered pardons to any criminals who joined the venture as seamen. But Columbus did not have to rely on ex-convicts. A respected shipmaster from Palos brought skilled, courageous local mariners to the expedition.  The 90-man company included officers and seamen, carpenters and ship's boys, two royal officials and an 'interpreter' who spoke Arabic.

3. The Ships

The town of Palos on Spain's Atlantic coast was Columbus base. He confiscated two vessels from local people and rented one cargo ship in port.

The Nina and the Pinta were small caravels. The cargo ship was named Santa Maria. Columbus made it his flagship.

4. The sea

A half-hour before dawn on Friday, aug. 1492, the three vessels set out from Palos. The mysterious sea- its strange new fish and birds, its huge swells and bright colors - became a wonder and a terror for Columbus sailors.

On Sept. 25, land was sighted. But it was a mirage. The sea was dead calm. In October's first days the sailors saw petrels - a sign of Land. It picked up the men's spirits. On October 10 Columbus was about to turn back if land was not found within three days. On October 12, in the morning the seaman from Pinta shouted out: "Land !, Land !".

5. What Columbus found and brought back

Columbus and the seamen went ashore and saw naked people on the beach. It was an island. The explorer believed he was in India and called the natives Indians. They were tall and handsome. They were friendly and curious about the visitors. They believed Columbus and his men came from the heavens. Columbus found that the islanders lived in palm huts, carried spears, cultivated food plants, and made pottery. Columbus saw giant lizards, rich green forests and a lot of tropical fish.