1. When was the
first
Columbus Day celebration in the United States? How
many years after 1492 did this celebration take place?
Which president issued a proclamation calling for the first
official Columbus Day holiday? How many years after 1492
was this celebration? How was the Columbus Day holiday
changed in 1971?
2. Do
Native
Americans view the arrival of Columbus in the New World on
October 12, 1492, as a heroic event or as a disaster?
Why do they feel that Columbus did not "discover" America?
3. Where and when was
Christopher Columbus born?
- What occupation did his father have and what occupation
did Christopher choose for himself?
- Why did he move to Lisbon, Portugal? What country
eventually paid for his voyages?
- Did Columbus know the earth was round? How did he
hope to reach the Far East? Why did he want to get to the
Far East?
- What two mistakes did Columbus make about the geography
of the earth?
- Where did Columbus's first voyage begin? What were
the names of his three ships? How many men made up his
crew?
- How long did Columbus's first voyage last? Where
did he land in the New World? What Native Americans
did he meet? Where did Columbus think he was? What
country did he think he had reached when he landed on Cuba?
- When did Columbus get back to Spain? Did the King
and Queen of Spain think that his voyage had been a success?
- How many voyages did Columbus make to the New World?
4. If
Columbus's voyages did not find a quicker route to the Far
East, why do we celebrate the day he landed in the New
World? Was Columbus the first European to sail to the
New World? Do you think Columbus was a hero, a villain, or a
little of both?
|
