The discovery of America belongs to the Europeans. According to historical evidence, this country was discovered by the Phoenicians (ancient mariners). The Chinese discovered this land long before Christopher Columbus appeared . The discovery of America by the Chinese dates from some sources to the beginning of the first millennium AD.
Among all the information, the most reliable are the information about the Normans (Vikings). The discovery of America by them occurred at the end of the 10th century. The Vikings Leif Ericsson and Bjarni Herülfson discovered "stone land" (Helluland), "vineyard land" (Vinland) and "Forest land" (Markland). These territories are today identified with the Labrador Peninsula.
The discovery of America, according to some sources, dates back to the 15th century. At that time, Biscay fishermen and Bristol sailors approached the continent. They named the continent the island of Brazil.
It should be noted that all these trips to the real discovery of America not only as a new land, but also as an identified continent, did not lead.
Until the 15th century, people thought the earth was flat. The discovery of America in the 15th century by Europeans dispelled this myth. The opinion began to spread that the Earth was still round, and that India and China could be reached by the western route (across the Atlantic Ocean). In addition, it was believed that this path is shorter than the east. Due to the fact that the South Atlantic was under the rule of the Portuguese, Spain, who wanted to establish relations with the eastern countries, accepted Columbus’s proposal to organize an expedition to the west. There were several sea voyages. The discovery of America by Columbus brought Spain territorial benefits.
The first sea voyage was launched in 1492, on August 3rd. Columbus left Palos harbor (Andalusia) with 120 sailors in three small ships.
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the sailor approached the island of Guanahani (Watling), one of the Bahamas. After that, the islands of Haiti and Cuba were discovered by Columbus. The navigator believed that he had found the Indian mainland. The first expedition ended in 1493, March 15. On June 7 of the same year, a Spanish-Portuguese treaty was signed in Tordesillas on the delimitation of spheres of influence in the Atlantic. Thus, the line 2,200 kilometers west of the Azores became a border. The lands east of the line were recognized by the territory of Portugal, and west - by Spain.
Columbus' next expedition began in 1493, September 25th. As a result of the trip, the Virgin and Windward (Antigua, Dominica, St. Christopher and others) islands, Jamaica, and the island of Puerto Rico were discovered. The expedition ended in 1496, June 11.
England entered into rivalry with Spain in 1497, which tried to find a way through the northwest to Asia. An expedition by the Genoese Giovanni Caboto was made under the English flag. In May-August 1497, he discovered the island of Newfoundland and probably approached the North American coast. His next expedition took place in 1498. He went on a trip with his son Sebastian. Thus, England began to establish the foundations of dominance in North America.
In 1498, on May 30, Columbus went on a third expedition. As a result of this campaign, the mouth of Orinoco and the island of Trinidad were discovered . On August 5 of that year, he landed on the South American coast. The Spaniards reached Venezuela and Guiana in 1499, then the mouth of the Amazon, Brazil, was discovered. The third expedition ended in November 1500.
As a result of the fourth expedition of Columbus, Central America was discovered. The mariner passed along the coast of Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica to the Gulf of Darien.
In the period from 1501 to 1504, Amerigo Vespucci made an expedition under the Portuguese flag. He suggested that the lands discovered by Columbus are a new continent. This hypothesis was later confirmed by Magellan, who traveled around the world. By the name of Vespucci (Amerigo), the name America was assigned to the continent discovered by Columbus.