Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration for Kids: With 21 Activities
Acknowledgments HANK YOU TO AUTHOR Dr William Wallis for encouragement and support regarding all my writing efforts Our frequent lunches keep me hungering for more Thank you to author Dr LaVergne Rosow for taking such an interest in this book and providing valuable sug gestions regarding the activities Thank you to Dale Beck for being there as my first editor and as my critic supporter and provider of research material Furthermore I want to offer a special thank you to Lisa Reardon senior edi tor at Chicago Review Press From the moment this book idea was conceived Lisa has been there with the enthusiasm devotion and expertise all authors yearn for Last but never least thank you to Karen my devoted wife for all you do in aiding my writing
Introduction N 1892 THE WORLD rushed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christophe Colum bus's arrival in the West Indies or at least the United States did In America the glorification of the discoverer took its most lofty form in the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago In a nation with 63 million people the fair attracted 24 million visitors It cost as much to put on the extravaganza as it would to build the Panama Canal more than a decade later The Columbian Exposition had but one purpose to celebrate America's magnificence a result of Columbus's brave and daring initial voyage its surprising revelation and its mar velous impact on world history Clearly in 1892 Christopher Columbus held center stage Not so 100 years later in 1992 when the 500th anniversary of the discovery rolled around No longer it was said should Columbus's achievement be considered an unmixed blessing Nor should the man himself be viewed with uncritical
Columbus many historians were now willing to con cede had numerous character flaws that resulted in misadventures and moral failure He was seen as the first of many Europeans who in coming to the New World ravaged the land plundered its wealth and eventually introduced African slavery There was no Columbian Exposition in 1992 In the United States Columbus was hardly mentioned at all The 1892 93 Columbian Exposition in Chicago Illi nois Library of Congress LC USZC2 3394
Portrait of Christopher Columbus Library of Congress LC USZ62 9121 Christopher Columbus is possibly the most researched and written about individual in history That is not surprising No matter what one may think of Columbus hero heel or both the signifi cance of what he did however interpreted is monu mental Christopher Columbus changed the world For that Columbus given the title the Admiral of the Ocean Sea deserves to be known and his legacy explored What follows hopefully will be your own act of
