Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, Italy. Trying to find someone to fund a three-ship voyage, he was rejected by the Portuguese king, Genoa and Venice. He then in 1486, went to to the Spanish monarchy of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille. He was later funded by them to discover a new route to India for trading, due to the fact that it was hard traveling by land. He was promised 10% of his finding. With 90 crew members and three ships, the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. After 36 days of sailing, Columbus came across an island in the present day Bahamas. Believing he was in India he called the natives “Indians”.
