Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an Italian, the son of a poor weaver. He was born in 1451 in Genoa, an Italian seaport. At that time Genoa was one of the richest cities in the world. Genoese merchants travelled all over Europe to sell silks, coral, fruit and other things and Genoese seamen sailed the merhant ships not only in the Mediterranean but on other seas too. In the middle of the 15th century much of the world was still unexplored, and most European countries were eager to find and lay claim to new territory and thus become rich. Consequently there was much fighting on the seas. The Mediterranean galleyswere constantly passing in and out of the port of Genoa to load or unload cargoes. Their hardly crews had often been engaged in dangerous adventures and their fine and graceful ships were in a battered condition, and the seamen had plenty of exciting stories to tell little Christopher Columbus.