Great travelers and their discoveries

Travelers of great geographical discoveries ... Whoever read about the brave wanderers of the Middle Ages who tried to open more profitable trade routes or to perpetuate their name, is delighted with how it happened. The enthusiastic lovers of the sea feel the smell of sea water and see before them the open sails of frigates. What is most astonishing is how great travelers could survive their adventures in reality, exhibiting so much perseverance and ingenuity. Thanks to them, the world learned about new lands and oceans.

The Reality of Dangerous Travels

It is unfortunate that in fact great travelers could not always feel the taste of romance: their ships were wrecked, and the whole team could get sick of unprecedented in those times illness. The sailors themselves, who ventured to new discoveries, had to endure hardships, they were often overtaken by death. There is nothing surprising, that today many admire their courage and determination! Anyway, thanks to some of the travelers, new continents were discovered, and some of them made an invaluable contribution to world geography. With the help of historical documents that contain eyewitness accounts or notes from ship logs, we can have plausible information about their travels. However, it is very unfortunate that great geographic travelers rarely achieved what they wanted.

Christopher Columbus in pursuit of spices and gold

It's about a man who all his life dreamed of going on a long voyage. Like any other who happened to be in his place, he understood that he could not do without financial support, and it was not so easy to find it from rich and not willing to share his finances with monarchs. Where did the desperate traveler want to go? He wished with all his heart to find the shortest western route to India, which at that time was famous for its spices, valued in weight of gold.

Trying to prove his case, Columbus continued to repeatedly come to the Spanish king and queen for a long eight years. It is worth noting that in his plan there were many flaws. Despite the fact that the scientists were already convinced of the spherical shape of the Earth, the question was what strip of the world ocean separates Europe from Asia. As it later turned out, Christopher made two gross mistakes. First, he assumed that the territory of Asia occupies a much larger area than it was and is in fact. Secondly, for a quarter of Columbus underestimated the size of our planet.

The first expedition of Columbus

Anyway, "knock and open to you": the expedition was approved, three ships were equipped for sailing. Enterprising Spanish monarchs craved not only profitable trade routes - they were pleased with the very idea of turning eastern countries into Catholicism. And on August 3, 1492, about 90 people went on a long voyage. They swam a lot of nautical miles, but the rich lands did not appear on the horizon. Columbus constantly had to calm down his team, sometimes even belittling the real distance traveled in a prolonged journey. And, finally, as it might seem, they have achieved their goal! Where did our tireless explorers get to?

The land that his team reached was the Bahamas. There, naked natives often met, and the tropical climate had a rest. But in any case it was not at all what the great travelers set out for, leaving their homes and families. After a two-week rest, the seafarers went further and reached Cuba. Columbus was unable to calm down because he could not find any spices or gold.

Then the odyssey continued to the east, where the treasured gold was discovered. This happened on the island, to which Columbus gave the name La Isla Espanola (now Hispaniola). Christopher Columbus already dreamed of how these lands will be subordinated to the Spanish crown. He was waiting for his return home and great honors, as well as another trip.

Follow-up Columbus expeditions

The following year, together with Columbus, a whole armada, consisting of 17 ships and more than 1200 people, set off. Among the people there were many soldiers and priests. The Spaniards wanted to turn new lands into colonies, and make residents Catholics. Columbus still wanted to reach the shores of India.

The two subsequent voyages to eastern India just slightly increased the happiness of the seafarer. Be that as it may, the sea routes that were designated by him contributed to the colonization of the whole continent - North America. Thanks to his achievements, the world turned upside down.

Vasco da Gama is a great navigator

Vasco da Gama lived a little earlier than Columbus, and already opened the way to India, skirting Africa. Preparations for his long journey began long before his birth - how did this case differ from what happened to Columbus! Portuguese monarchs understood the importance of trading spices. Manuel I, the King of Portugal, believed that only the man who, as one historian put it, "would combine the soldier's courage with the craftiness of the merchant and the tactfulness of the diplomat can become the leader of the expedition." According to the king, it was Vasco da Gama that suited this role.

By natural skills and enterprise this person was very different from Columbus - he knew his business well, he understood where and why he was swimming. The first expedition, although it was connected with certain difficulties, ended in success - Vasco da Gama concluded a peaceful relationship and an agreement with the Indian ruler on the sale of spices. The delighted King of Portugal immediately ordered the organization of subsequent expeditions. Thus, thanks to this courageous man, a new sea route was opened from Europe to Asia.

Great travelers and their discoveries

For many centuries there lived different people who achieved a great deal in natural science and geography. If we talk about the achievements of our compatriots, the first great Russian traveler, who immediately remembers, is Nikolai Miklukho-Maklai. Although his achievements, of course, do not put on a par with the merits of Christopher Columbus, James Cook, Vasco da Gama or Amerigo Vespucci. Particularly interesting is his conclusion that the cultural and racial features and differences of peoples are conditioned by the natural and social environment.

Among other Russian travelers who made a definite contribution to the development of geography, you can name Fedor Konyukhov, Yuri Sienkiewicz, Ivan Papanin, Nikolai Przhevalsky, Afanasy Nikitin, Erofei Khabarov, Vitus Bering and many others. The life of each of them is a long journey full of saturated events.

A huge thirst for knowledge, invested in man

A question may arise: how do people have such an acute need for something unexplored and distant? The fact is that from the very childhood a person has a need to recognize the surrounding world, to investigate it, to find answers to the questions: "What is the meaning of life? What do we do on our planet?" All of us are in fact in the soul - "great" travelers and pioneers. We are so arranged, we can even say, so created to constantly know the world around us. We are not accidentally on Earth and very different from animals, no matter how some of us try to prove that we have descended from our smaller brothers. Many people have written about the desire of a person to learn the world from childhood. One of such stories was written by M. Zoshchenko - "Great travelers". Next, I would like to briefly tell what kind of book it is.

M. Zoshchenko, "The Great Travelers"

In each person, an adult or just a child, lives his Columbus or Vasco da Gama. Since childhood, we can observe how the child wants to know the world around him. Zoshchenko's story "The Great Travelers" tells of three children who gathered in a distant voyage around the world. They took many different things that were very hard to carry, and which eventually turned into unnecessary trash. This short, instructive tale teaches children that for great achievements knowledge is needed. The story of Zoshchenko "Great travelers" is a masterpiece in miniature.

Instead of concluding

As we see, in each of us there is a great craving for the unknown - whether you are a great Russian traveler or an ordinary person. Everyone wants to find answers to the burning questions. Great travelers and their discoveries only prove this simple and very important truth. In the meantime, regardless of whether we cover long distances during our short life or not, each of us will begin and end his earthly journey full of adventures and length for a lifetime. The only question is: what will we discover during this journey and what will we leave behind?