Columbus Day Myths
By: Jackie Smith
Updated: October 11, 2010
The story of Christopher Columbus is one we were taught back in elementary school. But the story we were told might not all be true. Like did Christopher Columbus already know the world was round before he set sail? And did he actually set foot in America? I spoke to Dr. Andes, a history professor over at UTPB who helped me uncover the real story.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue where we learned that he discovered America and thought the world was flat.this is what we are taught to believe in school. Christopher Columbus set sail many years ago and people began to fill his voyage with myths. Like that he set sail to prove the world was round but in fact,
"it was widely known that the world was perhaps round...what wasn't known was how far Europe was from Asia," Dr. Andes a history professor at UTPB said. Andes splits the myths from the facts. he also never actually set foot in North America. It is true that Isabelle and Ferdinand invested in his journey but they were not the first Columbus approached."He first hit up the Portuguese monarchy...but he wanted royal support," Dr. Andes said. So although Americans may not know the whole truth about this historic voyage, it is still a story with an important message.
