Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education; to Which Is Subjoined a Brief History of the United States Volume 1

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1823 edition. Excerpt: ... SECTION I. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY EUROPEANS. Christopher Columbus, * the first European who discovered the Western World, was a native of Genoa, and was bred to navigation. By his knowledge of the form of the earth, and of geography and astronomy, he was led to believe that there must be a continent on the west of the Atlantic, to balance the vast tract of land on the east; and he imagined that by sailing westward, he might find a shorter course to China and the East-Indies, than by travelling eastward. He therefore applied to the government of Genoa for assistance to enable him to undertake a voyage of discovery _ He did not succeed. He then applied to Portugal, but with no better success. He was thought, as men of superior genius are often thought, a visionary projector. Columbus then made application to Ferdinand, king of Spain, for ships and men to proceed on a voyage westward; but for some years, he did not obtain his request. Finally, by the influence of the queen, Isabella, he obtained three ships and ninety men. He also obtained a commission, dated April 30, 1492, constituting him Admiral, Vice Roy and Governor of all the isles and countries which he should discover and subdue, with full powers, civil and criminal. With this authority, he sailed from Palos in Spain, in August 1492. Not many days after Columbus left Spain, he was perplexed with the variations of the magnetic needle, which had not before been discovered, and which served to dishearten his mariners. To add to his perplexity, his seamen grew uneasy at venturing so far into an unexplored ocean, and threatened to throw him overboard if he would nor return. To quiet their minds, he promised that if land should not appear within three days, he would return. On the third..