FIRST CONTACTS 28000 BCE 1821 CE
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
True. Everyone thought the world was flat.
|
|
|
False. It was already common knowledge that the world was round.
|
|
|
Either A or B
|
|
|
None of the above
|
Detailed explanation-1: -He argued (incorrectly) that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than his contemporaries believed it was; accordingly, he believed that the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be not only possible, but comparatively easy via an as-yet undiscovered Northwest Passage.
Detailed explanation-2: -Columbus speculated that the earth had a bulge, having the form of a pear (de la forma de una pera) or of a ball with a bulge like a woman’s nipple (una teta de muger allí puesta; Textos 215). The world’s “nipple” (peçón) was in the East, where he thought he was, along the equator (215).
Detailed explanation-3: -What is Columbus’s legacy? Columbus died in 1506, still believing that he had found a new route to the East Indies. Today his historic legacy as a daring explorer who ‘discovered’ the New World has been challenged.
Detailed explanation-4: -Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba, which he thought was mainland China, and in December the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which Columbus thought might be Japan. He established a small colony there with 39 of his men.