Christopher Columbus
He wanted to find a short way
to get to the Indies by ship.
He tried for eight years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply
him with ships and money. Finally they agreed. In 1492 Christopher left from Spain
with a crew of 90 men and a fleet of three ships. His three ships were called the
Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.
There were 24 men on the Niña, 26 men on the Pinta, and 40 men on the
Santa María. The Niña and the Pinta were caravels. The Santa María was a larger
and slower-sailing supply ship.
They left Spain on August 3, 1492. They made one stop, then sailed on toward
the west. Two days later they saw land; an island Columbus named San Salvador.
He thought he had found the Indies and called the people he saw there "Indians".
When they got to Cuba, he thought he was in China. The world was a lot
larger than he thought.
On Christmas Eve, the Santa Maria was wrecked near Haiti. Columbus built a
annaabi.ee 
