May 8-14, 2014, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event: Columbus’s Flagship Found?
The long-lost remains of the flagship commanded by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to the Americas may have been located off the coast of Haiti, according to American oceanic explorer Barry Clifford. The discovery of the Santa María, a ship involved in the most important voyage to shape the history of the modern world, is considered by many as the Holy Grail of underwater archaeology. Clifford and his team originally discovered the remains of a wooden shipwreck off the northern coast of Haiti in 2003. They measured and photographed the wreck, which included an iron cannon that resembled such weapons common in the 1400′s. But the explorers did not attempt to collect any of the remains. Only years later, when Clifford was able to examine the photographs in detail and compare them to historical records did he realize they may have come upon the Santa María. In 2014, Clifford returned with his team to investigate the shipwreck with metal detectors and sonar. They found that the dimensions of the wreck matched well with known measurements of the Santa María. The location of the wreck also correlated well with accounts written by Columbus himself. The Santa María sank after it crashed and split apart on a reef near Cap-Haïtien, in present-day Haiti, on Christmas Eve night in 1492. So far, Cifford’s team has not conducted any excavations to retrieve artifacts that will be needed to prove the ship is indeed the Santa María. The government of Haiti has agreed to provide funding for excavations that could prove that the wreck is that of this most historically important ship.
Objective:
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was an outstanding navigator and organizer of expeditions. On Aug. 3, 1492, Columbus, under the sponsorship of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I of Spain, set out from Spain to search for a westward route to Asia. His fleet included three ships–the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. On October 12, the ships landed on an island in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus named the island San Salvador (Spanish for Holy Savior). However, historians are not sure which island this is. Columbus mistakenly believed that he had arrived at an island of the East Indies, near Japan or China. Because of this belief, he called the islanders Indians. People realized within a few years that Columbus had not reached the Indies, but the name Indian continued to be used. Until that time, Europeans and Native Americans had not been aware of each other’s existence. On October 28, the fleet entered the Bay of Bariay off Cuba. Thinking they were near the Asian mainland, the captains explored harbor after harbor. They then sailed along the northern coast of the island of Hispaniola, now divided between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. On Jan. 16, 1493, the Niña and the Pinta sailed home. The two ships became separated during a storm, but both returned safely to Spain in March. Columbus made three more Atlantic voyages from 1493 to 1504 and explored the Caribbean region and parts of Central and South America. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore Christopher Columbus and other famous explorers.
Words to know:
• Caribbean Sea
• Christopher Columbus
• Columbian Exchange
• Exploration
• Ferdinand V
• Haiti
• Hispaniola
• Isabella I
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students to name famous explorers besides Christopher Columbus. (Students might say Roald Amundsen, John Cabot, James Cook, Hernán Cortés, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Vasco Da Gama, Sir Francis Drake, Leif Eriksson, Sylvia Earle, Estevanico, Matthew Henson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Ferdinand Magellan, Marco Polo.)
2. Christopher Columbus is a controversial figure. Historians praise his persistence, courage, and maritime ability. Critics point to his cruelty to the Native Americans, his poor administration of Hispaniola, and his role in beginning the heedless exploitation of the natural resources of the Americas. Ask your student to debate: “Is Christopher Columbus a hero or a villain?”
3. Have your students imagine that they are one of the sailors on Columbus’s first voyage. Ask them to write a letter home describing what they did each day while at sea, what they saw, how they felt exploring different places, how they felt being gone for nearly two years, or anything else related to Columbus’s trip.
4. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to view or add to the Christopher Columbus timeline. (Students may wish to also refer to World Books Christopher Columbus article for help.) Students may also view or add to the Exploring the World timeline.