USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The term “Indian, ” in reference to the original inhabitants of the American continent, is said to derive from Christopher Columbus, a 15th century boat-person. Some say he used the term because he was convinced he had arrived in “the Indies” (Asia), his intended destination.

Detailed explanation-2: -When Christopher Columbus set out on his first voyage in 1492, he thought that he was heading for India’s spicelands, the Kerala coast. Columbus went the wrong way, but his commercial rival, the Portuguese Vasco da Gama, went the right way and found a land rich in the treasures that Europeans sought: spices.

Detailed explanation-3: -Columbus thought he had reached Asia and called this new land the Indies and he called the people there Indians. On his second voyage Columbus sailed with a group of 17 ships! He was sent to find gold and capture Indians. On this voyage he found the island he named Dominica.

Detailed explanation-4: -"The Indies” was a generic label used by Europeans to describe all of the lands of east Asia. So when Columbus found land that he thought was part of Asia but which other Europeans didn’t know about, he called them the West Indies.