In 1492, a Spanish-based transatlantic maritime expedition led by Christopher Columbus encountered the Americas, a continent which was largely unknown in Europe and outside the Old World political and economic system. The five voyages of Columbus began the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
For a very long time, it was believed that Columbus and his crew had been the first Europeans to make landfall in the Americas. However, they were not the first explorers from Europe to reach the Americas, having been preceded by the Viking expedition led by Leif Erikson in the 11th century;[1][2] however, Columbus's voyages led to the first ongoing European contact with the Americas, inaugurating a period of exploration, conquest, and colonization that has lasted several centuries.
Columbus was an Italian-born navigator sailing for the Crown of Castile in search of a westward route to Asia, to access the sources of spices and other oriental goods. This led to the discovery of a New World between Europe and Asia. Columbus made a total of four voyages to the Americas between 1492 and 1502, setting the stage for the European exploration and colonization of the Americas, ultimately leading to the Columbian Exchange.
At the time of both the Erikson and Columbus voyages, the Americas were inhabited by the Indigenous Americans, the descendants of Paleo-Indians who crossed the Bering Strait, at that time a land bridge, to North America beginning around 20,000 years ago.[3] Columbus's voyages led to the widespread knowledge that a new continent existed west of Europe and east of Asia. This breakthrough in geographical science led to the exploration and colonization of the New World by Spain and other European sea powers, and is sometimes cited as the start of the modern era.[4]
Spain, Portugal, and other European kingdoms sent expeditions and established colonies throughout the New World, converted the native inhabitants to Christianity, and built large trade networks across the Atlantic, i dont know tho which introduced new plants, animals, and food crops to both continents. The search for a westward route to Asia continued in 1513 when Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the narrow Isthmus of Panama to become the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean. The search was completed in 1521, when the Castilian (Spanish) Magellan expedition sailed across the Pacific and reached Southeast Asia.
