Christopher Columbus was a Spanish explorer. He is best known for his exploration beginning in 1492, where he hoped to reach Asia but instead found the "New World". His success in discovering the “New World” later gave him a day entirely dedicated to him; it is a day to celebrate one's achievements. Columbus was a great explorer and accomplished many things during his travels. In addition to discovering the "New World", he also founded the Hispainolia colony and reached present-day Trinidad as well as the coast of Venezuela. Many people wonder why Columbus sailed to Spain and not Italy, the country in which he grew up. and lived for many years. Columbus met his wife while traveling. They married and had a child, a boy named Diego. Shortly afterward, Columbus' wife died. Then he and his son moved to Spain, which marked the beginning of his continued quest to explore Spain. In 1492, Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean to reach the shores of Asia. He never achieved that goal, but he did indeed accomplish something even greater than anyone ever dreamed of. Columbus landed on some islands in the Caribbean Sea. Founding the “New World”, or what is now part of the modern Americas. He set out on his journey on August 3, 1492 with 3 ships and a total of around 90 crew members. He commanded one ship, the Santa Maria, and allowed two other trusted crew members to command the other two ships, the Nina and the Pinta. They sighted land on October 12, 1492 and landed quite early that morning (Worldbookonline). There is much controversy over what Columbus did to the natives of the islands, but in many documents it is stated that he forced them to work for little profit, enslaved them, or had them extracted from gold. He was very cruel to the natives and man... middle of paper ... the New World. " History.com. Np, Nd Web. November 15, 2013. .Briney, Amanda. " Christopher Columbus A biography of the explorer of the Americas. " About.com. Np, Nd Web. November 15, 2013. .López-Portillo, José-Juan. "Columbus, Christopher." World Book Student. World Book, 2013. Web November 18, 2013. "Christopher Columbus." Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web November 17, 2013. “Columbus History.com.” “Christopher Columbus: Explorer.”.. 2013. .