Why is Christopher Columbus important to history?

Find out more about the history of Christopher Columbus, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on HISTORY.com. read more

Christopher Columbus was an explorer credited with discovering the New World on an expedition in 1492. Although he did not actually discover America, his expedition did kick off centuries of exploration, conquest and colonization. read more

Pheraps Vikings or Phoenician had land added to America before , but only after the arrival of Columbus the American continent joined the world history and , despite the wars and deaths, the American continent that still was in its pre-history ( except a small portion of Mexico and Peru ) stage entered to the history with the traumatic insertion in the european civilization . read more

The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. read more