New World

Early Explorers in America

A "New World" For European

In 1942, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And what did he find? He discovered a "new world" for Europeans. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, he landed on an island in what we now call the Bahamas, and named it San Salvador.

He met native people living there, the Arawak people, whom he mistakenly called Indians. He thought he landed on islands near Asia, which Europeans used to call the Indies.

European explorers were eager to discover new land territories and ocean passages. The desire to get rich drove many explorers to seek out new lands and ocean pathways.