Starting in about , small Portuguese ships known as caravels zipped along the African coast, carrying spices, gold and other goods as well as enslaved people from Asia and Africa to Europe. Christopher Columbus, the son of a wool merchant, is believed to have been born in Genoa, Italy, in When he was still a teenager, he got a job on a merchant ship.
He remained at sea until , when pirates attacked his ship as it sailed north along the Portuguese coast. The boat sank, but the young Columbus floated to shore on a scrap of wood and made his way to Lisbon, where he eventually studied mathematics, astronomy, cartography and navigation. He also began to hatch the plan that would change the world forever. At the end of the 15th century, it was nearly impossible to reach Asia from Europe by land. The route was long and arduous, and encounters with hostile armies were difficult to avoid.
Portuguese explorers solved this problem by taking to the sea: They sailed south along the West African coast and around the Cape of Good Hope. But Columbus had a different idea: Why not sail west across the Atlantic instead of around the massive African continent?
He argued incorrectly that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than his contemporaries believed it was; accordingly, he believed that the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be not only possible, but comparatively easy via an as-yet undiscovered Northwest Passage. He presented his plan to officials in Portugal and England, but it was not until that he found a sympathetic audience: the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Columbus wanted fame and fortune.
Ferdinand and Isabella wanted the same, along with the opportunity to export Catholicism to lands across the globe. Columbus, a devout Catholic, was equally enthusiastic about this possibility.
On October 12, the ships made landfall—not in the East Indies, as Columbus assumed, but on one of the Bahamian islands, likely San Salvador.
In January , leaving several dozen men behind in a makeshift settlement on Hispaniola present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic , he left for Spain. He kept a detailed diary during his first voyage. More troublingly, it also recorded his initial impressions of the local people and his argument for why they should be enslaved. They have no iron …They would make fine servants … With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.
About six months later, in September , Columbus returned to the Americas. Then he headed west to continue his mostly fruitless search for gold and other goods.
His group now included a large number of indigenous people the Europeans had enslaved. In lieu of the material riches he had promised the Spanish monarchs, he sent some enslaved people to Queen Isabella.
In May , Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic for the third time. Conditions were so bad that Spanish authorities had to send a new governor to take over. Meanwhile, the native Taino population, forced to search for gold and to work on plantations, was decimated within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been , Taino were left on their island.
Christopher Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains. In , cleared of the most serious charges but stripped of his noble titles, the aging Columbus persuaded the Spanish crown to pay for one last trip across the Atlantic. This time, Columbus made it all the way to Panama—just miles from the Pacific Ocean—where he had to abandon two of his four ships after damage from storms and hostile natives.
Empty-handed, the explorer returned to Spain, where he died in However, his journey kicked off centuries of exploration and exploitation on the American continents. The Columbian Exchange transferred people, animals, food and disease across cultures. Old World wheat became an American food staple. African coffee and Asian sugar cane became cash crops for Latin America, while American foods like corn, tomatoes and potatoes were introduced into European diets.
Columbus is the core city of the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area, which spreads ten counties and is the third largest metropolitan area in the state, nearly tied with the Cleveland MSA and just behind the Cincinnati MSA. The Columbus metro area is the 28th largest in the country with a population of 2.
The city proper has a population density of 3, people per square mile. Columbus was named as one of the top 50 cities in America in by BusinessWeek , and it was given an A rating by Forbes a year later as one of the top cities for business in the country.
It was also recently named as one of the top cities to relocate in the country and the number 3 best city of the future. The most common ancestry groups in Columbus are German While European immigration to Columbus has declined, the metropolitan area has seen great increases in African, Latin American and Asian immigration, particularly from China , Mexico , India , and Somalia. The city has a diverse Asian population, although the Hispanic community is mostly Mexican with a sizable Puerto Rican population.
Columbus also has a large LGBT community of around 35, It was rated as one of the best cities in the U. Of this group, The Columbus area is currently leading Ohio in population growth, as it has been for several years, both in terms of a percentage share and absolute terms. While four northern Ohio counties ranked in the top 10 nationally for population decline in , Columbus grew by 1. The Columbus area was once known as the Ohio Country , and the French Empire controlled it in the 18th century during a time when it was a fur trading point.
The region was often caught between Native American and European interests. The region was ceded to the British Empire in When colonists from the East Coast attempted to move to the area expecting empty land, they found several Indian peoples, including the Miami, Delaware , Shawnee, Mingo, and Wyandot nations, who resisted this expansion by the U. After Ohio became a state in , Columbus was chosen as a site for the new capital because it was located centrally and easily accessible.
Before this decision, Columbus did not exist. It was designed from the beginning as the capital for the state, and it was founded in and named in honor of Christopher Columbus. It was chartered as a city in with a population of 3, It became a significant base for the Union Army during the Civil War and housed 26, troops as well as 9, Confederate prisoners of war in present-day west Columbus.
It is now the site of one of the largest Confederate cemeteries in the North. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Other languages, which is spoken by 4. The race least likely to be in poverty in Columbus is Islander, with The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 3. Among those working part-time, it was The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is Non citizens include legal permanent residents green card holders , international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.
Born in Columbus. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Asia. Columbus, Ohio Population , Recent Notable Rankings Columbus was named as one of the top 50 cities in America in by BusinessWeek , and it was given an A rating by Forbes a year later as one of the top cities for business in the country. Columbus Population Growth The Columbus area is currently leading Ohio in population growth, as it has been for several years, both in terms of a percentage share and absolute terms.
By , Columbus became the largest city in Ohio in terms of size and population. Franklin County. The current population of Columbus, Ohio is , based on our projections of the latest US Census estimates. The US Census estimates the population at , The last official US Census in recorded the population at , Columbus, Ohio Population Show Sources.
Year Population Growth Growth Rate 2,, 18, 0. Columbus Metro Area Population by Year. Race Population Percentage White , Columbus Population by Race. Show Source. Columbus Median Age Columbus Age Dependency Columbus Sex Ratio Female , Male , Columbus Population by Age. Rate of Home Ownership.
Columbus Households and Families. Columbus Households by Type. Columbus Educational Attainment by Sex over The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of Columbus Educational Attainment by Race.
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