Discovery

12.3. Read and translate the text.

“In 1492 Columbus sailed Ocean Blue”. This little rhyme many American children learn to remember the date when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. Was Christopher Columbus really the first person to discover the continent and return home to tell about it? Probably not, but he was the first to re­ turn to Europe and tell all about what he believed to be a new route to Asia.

Most people in Columbus’s days thought that the earth was flat, and they did not believe that a route to the India across the Atlantic would be shorter and safer than a route around Africa.

He did not have the money to buy ships and hire sailors. At first Columbus asked the king of Portugal to pay for his voyage. The king asked his advisers, and after their report he denied to help Columbus. Then Columbus travelled to Spain to ask Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand for help. Six years later Isabella gave Columbus three caravels: the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta. Columbus crew last saw land on the eastern horizon on the 9th of September, 1492.

On the 12th of October, 1492, when everybody was very tired and anxious, the lookout on the Pinta saw something like a white cliff shining in the moonlight. Columbus named the land he had reached San Salvador. He thought they landed in Asia. On the 15th of March, 1493, Columbus was back to Spain with two of his ships. He brought parrots, an alligator, a few pieces of gold jewelry, some unusual plants, and six American Indians.

12.4. Answer the questions:

1. Who financed Christopher Columbus’s expedition?

2. For how long did Columbus travel?

3. What continent did Columbus think he had reached?

4. How many ships did Columbus return with?

The Colonies

12.5. Read and translate the text.

European people came to the New World for many reasons. Some, like Columbus, came looking for new trade routes, others were seeking fortune, many of them were missionaries who wanted to convert the Native Americans.

The most well-known first settlers were the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims came seeking religious freedom. They founded the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts in 1620. The Pilgrims originated from England. The trip across the ocean was terribly unpleasant. They had little food and fresh water. They arrived at the Mayflower in the winter of 1620, in the north east of America. The Pilgrims learned from the Native Americans how to live in this New World.

The Native Americans had a ceremony thanking nature for the food they received from the harvest. Today Americans continue to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family and friends.

There were also other religious groups, such as the Quarkers, who founded the colony Pennsylvania. Other group is the Shakers,

known for their beautiful wood work, and the Irish Catholics who settled in the colony of Maryland.

12.6. Answer the questions:

1. Who were the first settlers?

2. Where did the Pilgrims come from?

3. What did they seek in the New World?

4. What colony was founded by the Pilgrims?

5. What were other religious groups who came to the New World?