Saint Kitts Immigration looks at Saint Kitts Immigration Life: “Saint Kitts,” originally named St Kitts in English, is known to those familiar with the English name, as it is a person's name, and Kitts is an abbreviation of the full name Christopher. Many are unaware that this Christopher is the famous Christopher Columbus. In 1622, the Englishman Thomas Warner arrived here and named the place after Columbus.
Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. From a young age, he loved to read 'The Travels of Marco Polo,' from which he learned that Eastern countries like China and India were very wealthy, filled with “gold and pepper,” which inspired him to fantasize about traveling to that alluring Eastern world.
As he grew older, Columbus always wished to go East. Originally, people traveled to the East through the European continent. However, at that time, the continent was controlled by the Turks and Arabs, making passage difficult. Columbus consulted Italian geographer Toscanelli and learned that sailing west across the Atlantic could also reach the East.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from the port of Palos in Spain with 87 sailors, aboard three ships: the 'Santa Maria,' the 'Pinta,' and the 'Niña,' embarking on a remarkable transatlantic voyage. Prior to this point, no one had crossed the Atlantic and was unaware of what lay ahead. Life at sea was monotonous, with vast expanses of water and sky. Weeks passed, and the sailors grew impatient, insisting on returning home.
At that time, most people believed the Earth was a flat disc, and sailing further would reach the edge where ships would fall into an abyss.
Columbus and his sailors spent more than two months on the vast sea. On October 11, 1492, Columbus spotted a floating reed and jumped for joy!—as the presence of reeds indicated nearby land! Sure enough, around 10 PM on the 11th, Columbus saw faint lights in the distance. At dawn on the 12th, the sailors finally saw a dark landmass, and the whole ship erupted in cheers! They had been at sea for two months and nine days, and they finally reached the Bahamas, specifically Watling Island. Columbus named this island 'San Salvador,' meaning 'Holy Savior.'
Although Columbus had set foot on the new continent—Americas, he believed it was Asia. At that time, people had no idea that there was a continent called America between Europe and Asia—Columbus never even considered this possibility. After exploring America's lands, he found it was not as Marco Polo had boasted, “filled with gold and pepper.”
Columbus left 39 individuals who were willing to stay on the new continent and took 10 captured Native Americans back on his ship. On March 15, 1493, Columbus returned to the port of Palos in Spain. Upon his return, Columbus became a hero and received a grand reception from the King and Queen of Spain. With joy, he reported to everyone: he had reached the “Indies,” the “Japan.” Columbus passed away quietly from poverty and illness on May 20, 1506. Even at his death, Columbus still believed he had reached Asia on his voyage.
Although Columbus did not acknowledge that he discovered America, later generations still respected his contributions and hailed him as the “discoverer of America.”