Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa (located in Italy today). He was first taken to the sea when he was 14 years old. In 1479, he met his brother Bartolomeo, a mapmaker, in Lisbon. He later married Filipa Moniz Perestrello and in 1480, his son Diego was born. The family stayed in Lisbon until 1485, when Columbus' s wife Filipa died.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail with three ships, the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria, and 104 men. After a short stop at the Canary Islands, the ships set out across the Atlantic. This voyage took five weeks - much longer than Columbus expected, as he thought the world was smaller than it is. During this time, many of the members got diseases and died, or died of hunger and thirst.
Finally, at 2:00 a.m. on October 12, 1492, Rodrigo de Triana saw land. When Columbus reached the land, he believed it was an Asian island and named it San Salvador. Because he did not find treasure, Columbus decided to continue sailing in search of China. Instead, he ended up visiting Cuba and Hispaniola.
On Christmas Day, Columbus's Santa Maria wrecked (失事) off the coast of Hispaniola. Because there was only a little space on the Nina, Columbus had to leave about 40 men behind. Soon after, Columbus set sail for Spain, where he arrived on March 15, 1493, completing his first voyage.
