Technically, he didn’t even find them first. Not only did Christopher Columbus never step foot on the NA continent, but Norsemen such as Leif Erikson were there before him centuries earlier. John Cabot made a much larger contribution to that.
Historical nitpicks and footnootes. The unambiguous inflection point for all of Europe going “holy shit, new lands” was that Italian schmuck and his three boats.
Leif and company went “hey look, more Greenland” and barely amounted to Discovery channel dramatization. The century after Columbus’s return transformed three continents.
Technically, he didn’t even find them first. Not only did Christopher Columbus never step foot on the NA continent, but Norsemen such as Leif Erikson were there before him centuries earlier. John Cabot made a much larger contribution to that.
Historical nitpicks and footnootes. The unambiguous inflection point for all of Europe going “holy shit, new lands” was that Italian schmuck and his three boats.
Leif and company went “hey look, more Greenland” and barely amounted to Discovery channel dramatization. The century after Columbus’s return transformed three continents.