In the course of XV century, the European countries, and especially Spain and Portugal, became interested in geographical expeditions. Unlike France and England, impoverished by the consequences of the Hundred Years’ War, Spain and Portugal had the coffers of the state full of money, so they were able to finance long distance voyages. Spanish and Portuguese had a long tradition of geographical studies, they learned the use of the magnetic compass by the Arabs, knew the "balestrigia" (..?..), the astrolabe. Their cartographers re-drew the existing geographical and nautical maps. They built a new type of ship, the caravel, a lighter vessel compared to the heavy galleys. The caravel needed fewer rowers and had more room for the loading. Moreover it was fitted out with a rudder astern, which made the ship easier to be manoeuvred. Thanks to those technological innovations, Spanish and Portuguese were able to carry out transoceanic crossings.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451. He began to sail when he was very young for some Genoese merchants. He planned to reach India sailing westwards and submitted his plans to the King of Portugal, but he refused to finance the undertaking. The Italian navigator went to Spain, where the Spanish monarch provided the money for his voyage. Columbus left Palos on 5 August 1492 with three caravels: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. After a long voyage troubled by various misadventures (disease, lack of proper food, mutiny, storms), they sighted a land on 12 October 1492. It was the coral island of Guanahami (Bahamas). Columbus called it San Salvador. The Spanish bestowed great honours upon the navigator at his return on 15 March 1493. Some months later Columbus commanded another expedition aiming at exploring the Antillas. There were not fabulous treasures there, so on 30 May 1498 Columbus sailed again from Spain and reached the Orenoco delta, where he found plenty of gold and pearls. After the Spanish Queen’s death he fell in disgrace at court and died, poor and forgotten, on 20 May 1506. He never realized that he had discovered a new continent.

AMERIGO VESPUCCI

He was a Florentine merchant, who settled in Spain as agent of the Medici Bank. In 1491 he met Christopher Columbus in Sevilla and he made friends with him, during the preparation of Columbus’ second and third expeditions. Vespucci became chief navigator for the Medici Bank making maps of the lands discovered by Columbus and others. Unlike Columbus, he realized that Cuba was an island. As navigator he sailed west in 1499-1500 and explored the mouth of the Amazon River. In 1501-1502 he explored the coast as far south as the Rio de la Plata and it was then that he realized he was looking at another continent, not at parts of Asia as Columbus had believed. In 1507 a German cartographer published a map in which the newly discovered lands to the west were given the name America, because "Amerigo Vespucci discovered it"