Christopher Columbus sailed west in 1492, trying to find a new route to China and South Asia, but ran into a major obstacle: the Americas, and landed in the Caribbean.
Columbus was not the first European to reach the Western Hemisphere. The Vikings landed on Newfoundland about 500 years ago. However, the Vikings did not colonize North America, and Columbus’ expedition led to the large-scale colonization of the Western Hemisphere by Europeans.
So what would have happened to history if Columbus’ voyage had failed, perhaps his ship had sunk or his crew had been forced to turn back before reaching the Western Hemisphere?
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Some experts say Columbus’ voyage was in some ways a failure.
He “failed in his goal of proving a new westward route to the riches of Asia,” Douglas Hunter, an independent scholar with a doctorate in history and who has written extensively about Columbus and other explorers, told Live Science via email. Columbus himself did not admit this. Rather, he continued to claim that the lands he had “discovered” were part of Asia, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
Who “discovered” the New World?
Indigenous peoples arrived in the Americas at least 23,000 years ago, but Europeans arrived much later. Scholars agreed that even if Columbus had not made it to the Western Hemisphere, someone else in Europe would have done so soon.
“By the 1480s, Atlantic exploration was proving profitable thanks to products such as sugar, cod, seals, whales, walrus and narwhal ivory, West African gold, and Icelandic and African slaves,” University of Notre Dame history professor Felipe Fernández-Armesto told Live Science via email. “So, when I landed on the other side, [have happened] someday. ”
Who reached the Western Hemisphere and what happened is a matter of debate. Jeffrey Simcox, professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Los Angeles, said Spain likely would have lost to its Iberian neighbor.
“Had Spain not tried again, this voyage would have been carried out under the auspices of Portugal,” Simcox told Live Science via email. He pointed out that Portugal had been sailing along the coast of Africa since the early 15th century, and that the Portuguese had penetrated far enough into the Atlantic to colonize the Azores and Madeira islands.
“If Columbus had failed, the next Atlantic voyage would have been quickly promoted by the King of Portugal,” Simcox said. “The King of Portugal was well aware of Spain’s intentions and would have acted quickly to pre-empt further Spanish moves.”
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Fernández-Armesto is less certain that Portugal could have defeated Spain, noting that the Canary Islands, which were ruled by Spain and where Columbus sailed, would have been the perfect place to launch a westward expedition.
“It will probably happen with the Spanish expedition, because from the wind system point of view the Canary Islands were the best place to start,” Fernández-Armesto said.
How did history unfold?
If Portuguese explorers had reached the Western Hemisphere first, many events would have been different. Mr. Hunter pointed out that the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, which divided the Atlantic territory between Spain and Portugal, would not have been enacted because Portugal may not have felt the need to separate the region from Spain. Hernán Cortés’ conquest of the Aztec Empire and Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca in the 16th century never happened because both were Spaniards backed by Spain, but someone from Portugal probably would have carried them out, Hunter said.
If Spain had still reached the Western Hemisphere first, as Fernández-Armesto probably thinks, history might not have been so different. “The historical differences are minor and the delays are probably not significant,” he said.
There may be some linguistic differences. If Portuguese explorers had reached the Americas first, Portuguese might have been more widely spoken in the Western Hemisphere than it is today.
Also, if Columbus did not reach the Western Hemisphere, it is no surprise that his name did not spread throughout the Americas. The District of Columbia and the country of Columbia in the United States are just two of the many places that bear his name.
North and South America may still have place names named after European explorers. Hunter pointed out that the Pinson brothers commanded the Niña and Pinta in Columbus’ fleet. If Columbus had failed, but the two brothers had later succeeded in voyaging to the Western Hemisphere, several places may have been named after them. Both brothers were very capable sailors, and Columbus considered them qualified to captain two ships in the fleet.
“The U.S. Capital District could become Pinzonia,” Hunter said.
None of the sources contacted by Live Science mentioned a scenario in which the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere were not adversely affected by European contact, either through the diseases they brought with them or the devastation caused by the conquests they undertook. However, it is important to note that indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere fought back and continue to practice their languages and cultures today.
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