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You are here: Home / History / Where did Christopher Columbus come from and Was Christopher Columbus Spanish?

Where did Christopher Columbus come from and Was Christopher Columbus Spanish?

July 19, 2020 by Karen Hill

Christopher Columbus was not Spanish. The explorer who first visited the Americas on October 12, 1492, was Italian, but he was working for Spain.

Born in Genoa, Italy, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) had convinced the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella that he could find a route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. His three ships had Spanish names (the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria), sailed Spanish flags, and were crewed by Spanish sailors.

Known in Spanish as Cristobal Colon, Columbus is considered a virtual native son to Latinos.

Columbus Day, the day commemorating his discovery, is celebrated by many Hispanic Americans as El Dia de la Raza, the “Day of the Race.” The holiday is so named because Columbus’s coming to America marked the birth of the Latin American people, a mix of European, Native American, and African lineages.

Related Facts

  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • Who Discovered the Americas before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492?
  • What did the Spanish do in the Americas after Christopher Columbus died in 1506?
  • What happened to Christopher Columbus’s first settlement, La Navidad and Why was the fort destroyed?
  • What happened to the Hispaniola Arawak population when Christopher Columbus and his Spanish settlers arrived?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?

Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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