Christopher Columbus

Hello. My name is Christopher Columbus. I was born in a busy city in Italy called Genoa, right next to the big, blue sea. As a boy, I loved to stand at the harbor and watch the giant ships sail in and out. Their sails looked like big white clouds against the sky. I dreamed of being the captain of one of those ships. I read books about amazing places far away, like India and China, which we called 'the East.' These lands were full of wonderful spices and shiny silks. But getting there took a very, very long time by land. I had a secret wish: I wanted to be an explorer and find a brand new, faster way to get there by sea.

I had a very big idea. Everyone believed the only way to get to the East was to sail east. But I looked at my maps and thought, 'The world is round, like a ball. So if I sail west, I should be able to go all the way around and pop up on the other side.' It seemed so simple to me. But when I told people, many thought I was silly. I needed a lot of money for ships and a crew, so I went to ask for help. I talked to kings and queens, but they all said no. For years and years, I kept asking. Finally, I went to Spain to speak with the kind King Ferdinand and the wise Queen Isabella. At first, they said no, too. But I didn't give up. I waited and explained my plan again. After seven long years of waiting, they finally said, 'Yes, we will help you.' I was so happy my dream was finally coming true.

In the year 1492, my big adventure began. I stood proudly on the deck of my main ship, the Santa María. I also had two smaller, faster ships called the Niña and the Pinta. With a brave crew, we set sail west into the huge Atlantic Ocean, a sea no one had ever crossed before. The days turned into weeks. All we could see was water, water, and more water. My sailors started to get scared. They missed their homes and worried we were lost forever. They said, 'We should turn back.' But I told them, 'We must have courage. We are so close.' I looked at my compass and the stars to guide us. After more than a month at sea, just when everyone was ready to give up, a lookout high on the mast shouted the most wonderful words I had ever heard: 'Land ho. Land ho.' We all cheered. We had done it. We had found land.

We sailed closer and saw a beautiful green island. The people who lived there, the Taíno people, were kind and came to greet us. We didn't know it then, but we hadn't reached the East after all. We had found a whole 'New World' that people in my part of the world, Europe, didn't know existed. My journey showed everyone that the world was much bigger and more wonderful than they had ever imagined. My voyage was like opening a new door for the whole world. It inspired many other brave people to become explorers, too, and to see what other amazing places were waiting to be discovered.