Columbus Was Wrong About Everything But Changed History Forever

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Christopher Columbus' life story explained in one minute. Columbus was born in 1551 in Italy and became obsessed with reaching Asia by sailing west. But he made a huge mistake about Earth's size, thinking it was 25% smaller than it actually was. Every expert told him he was wrong. The Portuguese rejected his plan. Spanish scholars laughed at his calculations.

[00:00:21]For years, nobody would fund his crazy voyage. Finally, in 1492, Queen Isabella of Spain gave him three ships. Columbus sailed west, absolutely convinced he would reach the spice markets of Asia in just a few weeks. After 36 days at sea, he spotted land. Columbus was certain he had reached the Indies. He called the natives Indians and spent the rest of his life insisting he had found Asia, even as evidence mounted that he had discovered something completely different. Columbus died in 1506, still believing he had reached Asia. He never realized he had stumbled upon two entire continents and changed the course of human history.