On August 3, 1492, an Italian named Christopher Columbus and 90 sailors set off on a voyage with the flagship “Santa Maria”. Two more ships – – – – – – Pinta”, followed him. They sailed west. Three long months passed. The sailors, exhausted and sick, threatened to head east to return. Columbus encouraged them, convinced that they would discover the spice route to the East. On October 11 at 10 p.m., Columbus noticed a light. – – Pinta” continued sailing and brought the news that the light was actually on land. At dawn the next morning – October 12 – The ships dock.
Christopher Columbus and his crew expected to see the natives of India and to be introduced to the khan - their great leader. Therefore, they thought the first people they saw were Indians. They went ashore, dressed formally, knelt down and thanked God that they had made it there alive. From the natives, they learned that the island was called Guanahani. Columbus named it San Salvador and immediately declared it a Spanish possession. When they docked at another island - now called Cuba - they thought they had reached Japan. After three successive voyages, Columbus remained in the dark. He died rich and famous, but never realized that he had discovered a land whose existence few people suspected.
Columbus stopped at an island that is now classified as part of the Caribbean group. It was either Watling Island, or Grand Turk, or Samana Cay. In 1926, Watling Island was renamed San Salvador and recognized as the first discovered land in the New World, the US Embassy in Sofia recalls. Recently, however, this claim has been disputed. Three people from Miami, Florida, have founded a movement that wants Concepcion Island to be recognized as the island spotted by Columbus's men, where they landed. This controversy has not yet found its solution.
Centuries passed, during which this discovery was celebrated very rarely. Even the continent was named not after Columbus, but after the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. In 1792, a ceremony was organized in New York in honor of Columbus and a monument was dedicated to him. Soon after, the city of Washington was officially named the District of Columbia /Columbia/ and became the capital of the United States. In 1892, at the beginning of Columbus Avenue /Columbus/ A monument to Columbus was erected in New York City. That same year, models of the navigator's three ships were displayed at the Columbus Exposition in Chicago.
If Christopher Columbus had not been born in Italy, Americans might not have had Columbus Day. Proud of their compatriot, on October 12, 1866, New Yorkers of Italian descent organized the first celebration of the discovery of America. The following year, Italian organizations from other cities prepared banquets, parades, and dances for the date. When the Italians of San Francisco celebrated October 12 in 1869, they called it Columbus Day.
In 1905, Colorado became the first state to celebrate Columbus Day. In the decades that followed, this served as an example for other states. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt officially declared October 12 Columbus Day. Since 1971, this holiday has been celebrated on the second Monday in October.
Although it is generally accepted that Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover the New World of the Americas, there is still some controversy about this claim. According to some researchers and supporters of other travelers, before it was discovered by Columbus in 1492, America was discovered by ancient Scandinavian Vikings and wandering Irish missionaries. This controversy will probably never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction, but in 1992 the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery was celebrated.