Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer whose transatlantic voyages, funded by the Spanish crown, opened European awareness of the Americas, initiating centuries of European colonization.
Columbus sought funding for a westward voyage to Asia, believing he could reach it faster by sailing across the Atlantic, and secured backing from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain after years of rejection by other courts.
In October 1492, Columbus and his crew reached islands in the Caribbean, believing he had arrived near Asia, and made three further voyages to the region over the following decade without realizing he had encountered a previously unknown-to-Europeans continent.
Columbus's voyages initiated centuries of European exploration, colonization, and exploitation of the Americas, a legacy that is remembered today with considerable historical complexity given the devastating impact on Indigenous populations that followed.