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This is the man himself.

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This is the routes he took on all his voyages.

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This is a painting of Columbus arriving in Haiti, where he set up his colony.

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Although Columbus did not discover the Americas nor was he the first European to visit the 'New World' he left behind a big legacy. He kicked of centuries of exploration and exploitation in the Americas. Today Columbus is remembered as a daring and path-breaking explorer who transformed the New World, yet his actions also unleashed changes that would eventually devastate the native populations.

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In 1502 most of the serious charges against Columbus were cleared and stripped of his noble titles, the aging Columbus persuaded the Spanish king to pay for one more voyage across the Atlantic. This time Columbus made it all the way to Panama, just miles from the Pacific Ocean. Here he had to abandon 2 of his four ships in face of an attack against natives. Empty handed, the elderly explorer returned home where he died in 1506.

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About 6 months later, Columbus returned to the Americas. He found the settlement where he left his men destroyed (in what we now know as Haiti). He left his brothers Bartholomeo and Diego behind to rebuild along with part of his ships crew and hundreds of enslaved natives.

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He then headed west, with his own group of native slaves, to continue his search for gold and riches. As he promised material riches to the Spanish monarchs, he sent them 500 slaves. Queen Isabella was horrified as she believed that any people Columbus discovered were Spanish subjects who could not be enslaved and returned them promptly.

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For the third time Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic in 1498. He visited Trinidad and South American mainland before returning to the settlement in Haiti that his brothers were attempting to rebuild. Colonists had staged a revolt against the brothers and the conditions were so bad that the Spanish authorities sent a new governor and arrested Columbus.

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At the end of the 15th century, it was nearly impossible to reach Asia from Europe via land. The route was long and arduous and there was bound to be encounters with hostile armies. Portuguese explorers took this on by using the sea not land to move around. They would sail along the West African coast and around the Cape of Good Hope.

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Columbus had a different idea. Why not sail west along the Atlantic instead of around the massive continent of Africa? His logic was great but his math was not. He believed the journey by boat from Europe to Asia would be easy. He was wrong. Little did he know there was other land between Europe and Asia: America.

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Route the Portuguese took.

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Columbus presented his plan to officials in Portugal and England but it was not until 1491 when he found a sympathetic audience; the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. They all wanted fame and fortune and the monarchs wanted the opportunity to spread the Catholic religion. Columbus' contract agreed he could have 10 percent of the riches he found and the noble title and governorship of any land he found.

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In August 1492, Columbus and his crew set sail from Spain in 3 ships. In October the ships reached land but on one of the Bahamian Islands, not Asia. For months Columbus sailed from island to island in what we now know as the Caribbean, looking for treasures that he promised the Spanish. In March 1493, he left behind 40 men and sailed back to Spain with nothing to give the Spanish patrons.

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Christopher Columbus was born in 1451, Genoa, Italy. He was the son of a wool merchant and when he was a teenager he got a job on a merchant ship. He remained at sea until 1470, when French privateers attacked his ship as it sailed North along the Portuguese coast. The boat sank, but young Columbus floated ashore on a plank of wood.

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Christopher Columbus reached Lisbon, where he studied mathematics, astronomy, cartography and navigation. He also became to hatch the plan that would change the world forever