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Here’s the first chapter of an essay I’m writing about Cristopher Columbus and other stuff like that for school:

Age of Exploration

During the 15th Century, there was a common need for gold in Europe, and other riches. Everybody wanted gold, as money was made from it back then. Other riches included spices, and silk. All of this could be found in the far away lands of the East like China, India, Japan, and the Indies.

Trekking over land to get to these places was an almost-impossible task. Getting to the East was not easy, as sometimes it took up to a year to arrive, and a year to return. And even if they could do this, there was the Ottoman Empire who wouldn’t let them through. But of course – they would sell the Europeans the same spices and silk at a price 500% higher than what one could get it in the East.

So how would the Europeans get the riches they wanted so well? Perhaps by water. Three of the countries that were most active and in need of gold at this time were Spain, Portugal, and France. Portugal decided to sail south, and go around the unknown lands of Africa. After succeeding, Portugal ruled that passage, so France and Spain could not go through there.

But what they could do is go around. At the time, many people just assumed the world was flat – it looked flat, felt flat, so therefore, it was flat. But a few people didn’t think so. They thought that the world was actually round, and that if you sailed one way, eventually you would end up where you started again.

One of the reasons why this theory wasn’t commonly accepted is mostly because most people couldn’t imagine such a large world.

People didn’t want to either, as at this time Europe was coming out of the dark ages (which were created after Rome’s fall) and were not used to a world outside of a small town and the church. There was no need to know about it.

At this time, there was an explorer named Christopher Columbus. Most people will recognize him as the man who discovered America and helped created the civilization we all live in today.

Being fairly educated, Columbus strongly believed that the world was round. Therefore, he believed if he sailed west, eventually he would end up in the East. That is exactly what he planned to do. He planned to sail out west, and eventually reach the Indies and China which would present a quick and easy way to get to the things he wanted so dearly.

Columbus was actually a greedy man who (like many people in Europe) would do almost anything to get their hands on riches like gold, spices, and silk. Also, Columbus wasn’t the only one who believed the world was round. A few other people believed it was round too. Columbus just had the courage to try and prove it.

So Columbus asked Queen Isabella if she would fund his journey. The Queen did, and gave Columbus 3 ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. She also gave Columbus 120 crewmen.

So on August 3, 1492 Columbus and his crew set out from Palos, Spain to explore the unknown. And the unknown Columbus would find. But first, he had to survive the trip across the Atlantic Ocean.

Yeah - isn’t it nice? More to come tommorow!