Kolumbusz

Kolumbusz is a term used in Hungarian to refer to Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer credited with leading the first European expedition to the Americas in 1492. Born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, Columbus worked as an apprentice to various merchant and ship captains, eventually landing a position on the schooner Pinta in 1484.

Columbus's vision of reaching Asia by a western route led to his proposal to the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, which was accepted in 1492. He convinced them to sponsor his voyage in exchange for a royal contract that granted him the titles to the lands he would discover and the profits from their exploitation.

Following the Christopher's expedition to the Caribbean in 1492, he made four more voyages to the Americas, exploring various islands and coastlines. However, his attitudes towards the Native Americans he encountered were often described as exploitative and even cruel. The Spanish monarchs also began to question Columbus's claims and the funding he was receiving, eventually stripping him of his titles in 1500.

Columbus died in 1506, having established permanent European settlements in the Caribbean, including the islands of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti) and Cuba. His journeys led to the colonization and often displacement of the indigenous populations in the Americas, having a profound impact on the history of the New World.

Today, Kolumbusz is remembered as a complex figure whose discoveries and actions had far-reaching consequences for the indigenous populations of the Americas and the course of European colonization.