Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean for the Catholic monarchs of Spain searching for a westward route to Asia that would allow them to more easily engage in the spice trade. Over the course of his voyages, he didn’t reach Asia as expected but instead stumbled across the New World, landing first in the Bahamas and subsequently visiting the Antilles, and the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America. Although he was not actually the first European explorer to reach the Americas as he is often credited to be (the Vikings preceded him), he did pioneer a period of bloody conquest and colonization that spanned many hundreds of years.These colorful, commercial, bite-size biographies are full of personality, introducing readers to fascinating figures from U.S. and world history with engaging storytelling and cheerful illustrations. What a Story! titles include men and women from history, exploration, the sciences, the arts, the ancient world, and more