Sample Research Paper
Mrs. Coady
IS 302 Library Media Center
Christopher Columbus:
European Explorer
12/11/11
Jennifer Coady
Social Studies-Ms. Jackson
Sample Research Paper
Mrs. Coady
IS 302 Library Media Center
Christopher Columbus: European Explorer
During the time of Columbus, Europe was struggling against the growing power of the
Ottoman Empire, which had conquered much of southeastern Europe. In 1453, the Ottomans
took control of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), which was a major center of trade
between Europe and Asia. They made Constantinople the capital of their empire, threatening
easy European access to highly-valued Asian goods like spices and silk. The only alternative to a
difficult, dangerous, and expensive land journey was a sea route—either around Africa or
westward across the Atlantic. The need for this sea route to Asia launched a wave of European
exploration. Christopher Columbus was one of the explorers in search of such a route. (Pelta,
1991)
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who lived from 1451 to 1506. Columbus
is a household name, because his accidental discoveries helped discover the Americas (we also
get a day off from school each October in his honor). He sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in
1492, hoping to find a route to India (in order to trade for spices, gold, gems and medicines).
(López-Portillo, 2011) Instead of finding Asia, he found the Caribbean islands and South
America. He knew that the world was round, but he miscalculated the circumference of the
world by about 25 percent. (Pelta, 1991) He thought the Earth was much smaller than it is, and
he also thought that most of the world was land rather than water. These mistakes made him
think that Asia was much further east than it really is, so when he reached the Caribbean, he
thought he was in Asia! (López-Portillo, 2011)
Columbus was Italian, but the Italian king refused to pay for his explorations, so he
sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain instead. On his first trip, Columbus led
an expedition with three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria and about 90 crew
members. The ships set sail in August of 1492 from Palos, Spain, and on October 11, 1492,
spotted the Caribbean islands off southeastern North America. (Pelta, 1991) They landed on an
island they called Guanahani, but Columbus later renamed it San Salvador, which means “Holy
Savior” in Spanish. (López-Portillo, 2011) He and his men were met by the local Taino Indians,
many of whom were captured by Columbus' men and later sold into slavery. Since Columbus
thought he had made it to Asia, and called this area the Indies, and called the people that lived
there Indians. (Pelta, 1991)
While exploring the islands in the area and looking for gold to loot, Columbus' men
traveled to the islands of Hispaniola (now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba,
and many other smaller islands. Columbus took four trips to “India” to find gold and capture
slaves. During these trips, he visited and looted Cuba, Trinidad, Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras,
Sample Research Paper
Mrs. Coady
IS 302 Library Media Center
Panama and Jamaica. (López-Portillo, 2011) The Americas provided many foods that became
popular throughout the world, including maize (corn), cassava, cayenne, chocolate, hot
peppers, peanuts, potatoes, and tomatoes. (López-Portillo, 2011) Europe and Asia supplied the
Americas with cattle, goats, honey bees, horses, pigs, rice, sheep, and wheat, as well as many
trees and various other plants. (López-Portillo, 2011) This trading changed the economies and
the way people cooked in both hemispheres by introducing new spices and meats.
While the discoveries of Columbus are important, he is not known for all positive things.
Besides the slavery of the Indians, Columbus and other Europeans brought many deadly
diseases to America. Since the Indians had not been exposed to these diseases before, they
were not immune to them. As a result, measles, smallpox, typhus, and other infectious
diseases swept through the newly exposed populations, killing a lot of people. It is because of
this, and the looting of natural resources and enslavement of Indians, that Columbus is looked
at negatively by some. (Enchanted Learning, 2011)
Works Cited
"Christopher Columbus: Explorer - EnchantedLearning.com." ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME
PAGE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/c/columbus.shtml>.
López-Portillo, José-Juan. "Columbus, Christopher." World Book Student. World Book, 2011.
Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Pelta, Kathy . Discovering Christopher Columbus: How History is Invented. Minneapolis: Lerner
Publications Company, 1991. Print.