How Did Christopher Columbus Successful

Christopher Columbus Columbus was an explorer that made four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain in 15th and 16th centuries. Columbus was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he accidentally came across the Americas and not India. He did not discover the New World, because millions of people already lived there, but his journeys marked the beginning of explorations into the new world. In the 15th and 16th centuries, leaders of several European nations sponsored expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find wealth, spices and vast amount of land that was inhabited. In the first voyage, Columbus sailed across the Atlantic from Spain with three ships the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Niña ships hoping to find a new route to India. The Asian islands near China and India were enriched with spices and gold, making them the go to destination for Europeans. Muslim empires conquered trade routes through the Middle East so it made it harder to get through, so Columbus thought up a different route to sail west across the Atlantic to reach Asia, believing it would be quicker and safer. After 36 days of sailing westward across the Atlantic, Columbus and several of his crew went on foot to an island which is present day Bahamas, taking it for Spain. There he
encountered a group of natives who were at first open to trade with the sailors, exchanging glass beads, cotton balls, parrots and spears. The Europeans also noticed bits of gold the natives wore around on their bodies. Columbus and his men continued their journey, visiting the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola and meeting with the leaders of the native population. During this time, the Santa Maria was shipwrecked on a reef off the coast of Hispaniola. Thirty-nine men stayed behind to occupy the new land they had “discovered”. Convinced his exploration had reached Asia, he set sail for home with the two remaining ships. Columbus returned to Spain in 1493 and gave an exaggerated report to the Royal court saying how he had found so much in his voyage.
In the second voyage Columbus had established forced labor among the natives when he found that his first settlement was ruined by the natives massacring his former crew that settled there. The natives had to rebuild the settlement and explore for gold, which Columbus became profitable from. This caused the natives to really hate Columbus and produce small amounts of gold. Columbus left for Spain leaving his two brothers behind to settle the land and take over operations of completely conquering the natives in Hispaniola.
In the third voyage Columbus went to the mainland discovering the Orinoco ricer which today is Venezuela. Conditions at the Hispaniola settlement had been so bad that it became near-mutiny, with settlers claiming they had been misled by Columbus. He had promised riches and settlers also complained about the poor management of his brothers. An official from Spain arrested Columbus to face the royal court. He returned to Spain in chains to face charges that were later dropped, but Columbus lost his titles as governor of the Indies and, for a time, much of the riches made during his voyages.
Columbus made one final voyage in 1502, traveling eastern coast of Central America in a search that came up unsuccessful for a route to the Indian Ocean.
A storm wrecked one of his ships stranding the captain and his sailors on the island of Cuba. During this time, local islanders, tired of the Spaniards' poor treatment and obsession with gold, refused to give them food. Columbus read into an almanac where he discovered if he told the natives that he’d take away the moon that they’d be in extreme fear of Columbus. This established trade and support from the natives. They were finally rescued by a search party sent by the Spanish royal
court.
Columbus’s legacy today is known for the Columbian exchange; Columbus’ expeditions began widespread transfer of people, plants, animals, diseases, and cultures that greatly affected nearly every society on the planet. Wheat from the Old World fast became a main food source for people in the Americas. The horse that the Europeans brought over allowed Native American tribes in the Great Plains of North America to shift from a farming type of community to a hunting lifestyle. There were a lot more negatives though. The pig and other farm animals caused a great amount of small pox and other diseases that killed off most of Natives. These things became essential throughout the new world for new civilization.