12 oct. 1492 - Christopher Columbus

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The arrival of his ships in the Western Hemisphere was one of the pivotal events in world history. It opened up a new world for Europeans and initiated the spread of Western civilization to a new hemisphere. But if these lands were a new world for Europeans, they were a very old world for the inhabitants Columbus and his successors encountered. Cultures dating back perhaps 20,000 years already existed on the two "new" continents and neighboring islands. These native cultures ranged from Stone Age societies of hunters and gatherers to highly developed, settled agricultural communities with central cities and imposing monuments. Under the effects of the European explorers and, later, colonists, these native cultures suffered nearly total annihilation.

Ironically, Columbus had landed in the New World by accident. He was seeking a western sea route from Europe to Asia. When he sighted land, he believed that he had reached his goal. And to the day he died he still believed that he had reached Asia.

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