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American history has always been vaguely misinterpreted through our children's textbooks. It is noted that Christopher Columbus, whose real name is Cristobol Colon, discovered the Americas. He is also credited with the opening of North America to the Europeans. If only our children knew the actual facts about Christopher Columbus' voyage to the new lands. It is the interpretation of a "Disney version of history."

In the year of 1451, Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy unaware of the potential opportunity that history would describe about him. Columbus' father was Domenico Colombo, a middle-class wool weaver and his mother was Susanna Fontanarossa, who bore five children. At the age of fourteen, Columbus attended the prestigious Prince Henry's school of navigation in Sangres, Portugal. In his writing, he claims to have gone to sea at the early age of ten.

In 1470, Columbus, who spoke a Genoese dialect, was hired in the service of Ren of Anjou to support his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples. After success in his service to Ren of Anjou, Columbus worked as a business agent to the important families of Centurione, the Di Negro, and the Spinola families of Genoa. From 1476 to 1479, Columbus made a success of trading in several colonies in the Aegean Sea. He sailed to Ireland and Iceland in 1477, returning to Lisbon, Portugal where he would meet his soon-to-be wife Filipa Moniz Perestrello, the daughter of the Porto Santo Governor Bartolomeu Perestrello. In 1480, his son, Diego Colon, who would become the fourth Viceroy of the Indies, was born.

Columbus has been described as one of the best navigators of his time, inspired and influenced by the renowned Italian explorer Marco Polo, who gained fame worldwide as one of the first westerners to travel the Silk Road to China. It was time for Columbus to venture to China and India for the valued goods that bestowed indulgence such as silk, spices, and gold.

The underestimated calculation by Columbus posed a threat since he believed the circumference of the Earth and the distance between Europe and Asia would be uninterrupted. As the 15th century developed historically, Columbus was on route to America, rather than to Japan, which gave Spain the competitive edge in establishing an overseas empire.

In 1485, Columbus presented his elaborate plans to John II, King of Portugal. He proposed that the king to equip him with three sturdy ships and grant him a one year sail time out into the Atlantic Ocean, to find a route

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