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learned men, that the world was round. He not only believed it

with his head, but also with his heart; and, thoroughly imbued with this belief, nothing could turn him from the idea that he could reach India by sailing westward, across the unknown Atlantic.

7. The Preparation. Columbus was right in his belief that the earth was round, and not flat, but was in error in regard to the distance to be travelled in reaching Asia by sailing west from Europe. He had made his own estimate of the size of the world, and thought that India must be but a few hundred miles west of Spain, or

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Old Stone Mill at Newport, R. I.

a less distance even than the width of the Atlantic. It was fortunate that he deemed the distance so small; otherwise, he might never have sailed.

The story of his attempts to obtain the means for this desired voyage is a very interesting one. Only a poor sailor, with no influence at court, he nevertheless tried his fortunes with the authorities of the city of Genoa, at the court of the king of Portugal, with the king of England, and at last with Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. The learned men at these courts opposed him. They talked. of the "Sea of Darkness," and derided his notion as to the shape

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Queen Isabella.

of the earth. If he sailed down, how could he sail up again? This was an argument that seemed to them unanswerable. Columbus

Christopher Columbus.

(After a painting in the Marine Museum, Madrid.)

was ready to give up, and retired from court; but, for some unknown reason, Queen Isabella called him back, had another conference with him, and finally decided to grant his request. He was furnished with means to fit out three small vessels, and, with the aid of a family of merchants, Pinzon by name, Columbus was soon ready to set out from the port of Palos.

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priests, set sail on a voyage of uncertainty, on the 3d of August, 1492. Columbus headed first for the Canary Isles, the last known

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land to the westward, and remained there until the 6th of September, repairing the damages already received by the vessels. From

Columbus's Later Life. - After Columbus had spent a few months in visiting other islands in the neighborhood of Guanahani, he set sail for Spain in January, 1493 After a stormy voyage of about three months he arrived at the Spanish city of Barcelona. Here a triumphant entry was accorded him, and in the procession were strange Indians, unknown birds, and rich goods which he had brought from the "Indies." He was received in state by Ferdinand and Isabella, and was granted the honor of personally giving an account of his voyages to the royal court.

here he sailed west, and almost immediately found himself surrounded by mutinous seamen. The common sailors of the fifteenth century were very superstitious; and, as they left known lands and seas farther and farther behind them, they feared more and more the hideous monsters of their dreams. They dreaded the falling-off place at the end of the world, and the impossibility, as they thought, of ever being able to sail up the curve of the earth. Columbus showed his strength of character by the way he treated these sailors, and prevailed upon them to continue. He spoke of the wealth which lay ahead of them, of the punishment that would be theirs if they returned emptyhanded, and finally promised to turn back if land was not seen within a certain time. At last, on the 12th of October, 1492, Columbus and his men sighted, not India, nor one of its islands, but an island belonging to a hitherto unknown continent. In the morning, with all due pomp and ceremony, the leader landed, knelt and kissed the soil, planted the banner of Spain, and took possession, in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella, of an island which was called Guanahani. He continued his voyage a few days; discovered Cuba and others of the West Indies; and returned to Palos to be received with almost royal honors.

On the second voyage, Columbus was made ruler of the Island of Hispaniola; but afterwards he was arrested and carried back to Spain in chains. The queen had pity on him, and set him free, but did not allow him to return to his colony. He made a third and a fourth voyage, and on one of these he discovered the river Orinoco and the mainland of South America. Columbus died in poverty, unattended by any friends, May 20, 1506.

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CHAPTER II.

ALONG THE COAST.

9. The Cabots. The report of the wonderful voyage of Columbus spread over Europe, and other nations besides the Spaniards became interested in the discovery. England, France, and Portugal followed the lead of Spain; and from the ports of these countries hardy seamen were soon sailing westward in search of unknown shores. Among the first of these were two Italians, father and son, who sailed under the English flag. John Cabot, a citizen of Venice, received a commission from Henry VII., the king of England. This patent gave him permission to fit out vessels at his own expense, but required him to pay one-fifth of all his profits to King Henry. If he discovered any new land, he was to take possession of it in the name of the king of England.

In the year 1497, five years after the discovery made by Columbus, John Cabot and his son Sebastian came in sight of the continent of North America, and landed on the coast of Labrador, far to the north of the United States. The next year, 1498, under a second patent from King Henry, Cabot made another voyage, and not merely reached the American continent, but sailed from Labrador, along the United States coast, to a point as far south as Maryland or Virginia. These two voyages, one discovering the continent, the other exploring the coast, gave England a claim to the land, which later received her sons and daughters, and has furnished a home for a large portion of the Anglo-Saxon race.

10. America. Near the close of the fifteenth century, an Italian, by the name of Amerigo Vespucci, made three or four voyages, following in the track of Columbus. This man wrote of the "New World," thus indicating that he did not believe, as did Columbus, that India had been reached. A friend of Amerigo, hearing of his expression, suggested that the new world should be named America. for him. Thus the honor that doubtless should have gone to Columbus, the real discoverer, was granted to a man who would otherwise have remained practically unknown.

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11. Balboa. Two other great discoveries were made during the early portion of the sixteenth century, before the western route to India, that Columbus sought, was found. Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, a Spaniard, had been made governor of Darien, in Central America. Stories had come to him of the fabulous wealth of Peru, and he determined to set out on a search for gold. He was doomed to disappointment in this search, but in 1513, from the top of a ridge

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of mountains in Central America, Balboa was the first European to look out upon the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean. As it lay to the south, he named it the "South Sea." He thus ascertained that the continent which lay between Europe and Asia was, at least in one place, very narrow. By this discovery, he strengthened the ardor of Europeans to find a passage through the land that appeared to be but an obstacle in their way.

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