The Discovery of America Everybody knows that the word America can mean different things. First of all America is the name of the country whose official name is the United States of America. Then Ameri ca is the name (сократите текст на Английском) of the two continents — North America and South America. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. He was the first man from Europe to get there. Christopher was born in 1451 in Italy but he lived in Spain for many years. Columbus was a seaman and made a lot of sea voyages. In those days people in Europe were much interested in India and other countries which were situated in Asia because ships sailed east to Asia and brought gold and other riches from those places. A lot of seamen sailed east and came back rich people. Like many people of his time Columbus knew that our planet is round. He was sure he could also get to India if he sailed west. In 1492 the King and Queen of Spain gave Columbus money and ships to make a voyage to India. So with three small ships Columbus and his men sailed west. They sailed for three weeks and then on October 12, they saw an island. It was situated in Central America. But Columbus didn’t know that then. He thought he was in Asia and gave the people he met on the island the name of Indians. Altogether1 Columbus made four voyages to America before he died in 1506. People began to speak about the new land as “the New World” saying that Columbus’s disco very was one of the most important things in history. Many people know these words: “In fourteen hundred and ninety two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”