00:00Let's read about Christopher Columbus.
00:29Christopher Columbus was born in Italy more than 500 years ago.
00:47Columbus lived near the sea in a city called Genoa.
00:50He loved to watch ships come and go.
00:53He wished he could sail away on them.
00:59As a child, Columbus worked with his father making cloth.
01:03But the young boy dreamed only of a life at sea.
01:10Columbus's dream came true when he turned 14 years old.
01:14He got a job as a helper on a ship.
01:17Soon he was a real sailor.
01:24Columbus loved his new life.
01:26He took many trips.
01:27He saw many cities.
01:29He heard people speak of rich, faraway places.
01:33And what was the most wonderful place of all?
01:36The Indies!
01:41The Indies was a land filled with gold and spices.
01:45But getting there was very hard.
01:47The mountains and deserts in between were dangerous.
01:51So Columbus had a better idea.
01:57Everyone knew the Indies lay across the land far to the east, but only Columbus thought
02:02he could get there by sailing west.
02:05He would do what no one thought was possible.
02:08He would cross the great western ocean.
02:15King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to pay for Columbus's trip.
02:21People in other countries thought Columbus was crazy.
02:24They were sure he would never make it all the way across the ocean.
02:28Columbus promised to bring riches back to Spain.
02:32He set sail on August 3, 1492.
02:40Columbus took three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
02:45He brought about 100 men with him.
02:48They sailed across the lonely ocean for weeks and weeks.
02:56Columbus's men were scared and tired.
02:59Would they ever reach land?
03:02Yes, on October 12, 1492, they saw it, a bright green island.
03:08They had reached the Indies at last!
03:11Or had they?
03:16Lonely people welcomed Columbus to their land.
03:20These natives had never seen people with skin so white.
03:24They had never seen men wear so much clothing.
03:27They thought Columbus must have fallen from the sky.
03:35Columbus called the natives Indians.
03:37He gave them small bells that jingled.
03:40They gave him fruit, thread, and parrots.
03:43But where's the gold?
03:45Columbus wondered.
03:50Columbus placed the flag of Spain on the island.
03:53He thought the land now belonged to that country.
03:57He did not ask the natives if this was okay.
04:03Today we know that Columbus made a mistake.
04:06He did not find a path to the Indies.
04:09He found the New World.
04:11Of course, it wasn't new to the people who lived there.
04:14We now call these lands North America and South America.
04:22Columbus never did find all the gold he wanted, but we remember him today as a brave sailor
04:28and we honor him for his mistake.
04:36I hope you enjoyed that story.
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04:46Thank you so much for watching.
