作者：马克·吐温(TwainM.)
出版社：中国三峡出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
美国语文(中学版)(英汉双语·经典插图版)(上)试读：
前言
语文，是一门博大精深的学科，也是其他所有学科的基础。因此，一套好的语文教材，不应只是学习语言的工具，更应该实现工具性和人文性的统一。构成一部成功的语文教材的主要因素，便是所编选的课文——这些课文不但要揭示写作规律、印证语文知识和对学生进行文学熏陶，还应该体现主流的价值观。相信这一点在任何国家的语文教材中都会有所体现。既然如此，很多家长都会好奇：国外同龄的孩子，尤其美国的青少年，他们用的是什么样的语文教材呢？这些教材是如何帮助孩子们培养良好的思想品德和思维方式的呢？
其实，在美国，大多数中学都会选择三部语文教程：一部是《语言》，主要讲解语法知识；一部是《拼写》，侧重于单词的拼写训练；还有一部就是《文学》，它是全方位的综合知识读本。我们呈现给读者的这套《美国语文》教材，便是精选自美国中学通用的经典语文教材中的文学读本。这套教材原版内容非常广泛，几乎囊括了所有的文学形式：日记、神话、小说、散文、诗歌、游记、戏剧等，篇幅庞杂，考虑到国内青少年的阅读习惯，我们省略了原书中的诗歌、剧本等内容。但是，为了保留原书的特点，我们并没有调整课文的编排，仍旧沿袭了原版教材的顺序，以便广大青少年读者体验到原汁原味的美国文化。为了方便阅读和理解，我们还特意采取了中英文对照的形式出版。
这套教材的特点就是以历史发展为主线，选编的课文取材于不同时代、具有广泛社会影响及文学代表意义的作品，这既实现了语言学习的工具性，同时也完整体现了语文教育的人文性、综合性及开放性，对于青少年文学综合素质的培养有很深远的影响。
纵观这套语文教材，它全面反映了美国资本主义民主、自由、平等、奋斗的精神和信仰，将美国二百余年的历史划分为六个不同的主题时代。就像我们在书中所看到的，这套教材共分为六个部分：“文明的交会”、“国家的诞生”、“国家的发展”、“分裂、和解与扩张”、“不满、觉醒与反抗”和“繁荣与保护”，而每个主题时代都以“时代故事”为章首，通过概述这个时代所发生的大事件，以及文学的变迁和发展特征，来让读者了解这些精品文章的时代背景。所以说，这不仅仅是一部美国语文书，也是一本美国历史书，更是一本美国文化书。青少年读者将通过学习语言文学来了解美国历史的演进、文明的传承以及社会各个方面的发展过程。它以美国历史做经线，以美国文学做纬线，中间穿插语文听、说、读、写和活动能力的培养，既达到了基础性的词语累积，也可以让同学们获得延展性的创意思考。仔细阅读这套教程，相信读者既能满足对美国的好奇和探究感，又可以受到震撼性的启迪。读者对美国历史和文化的了解，也将不仅仅只停留在教条的大事记和枯燥的结论上，而将升华到这些丰满而生动的文学作品中去，记忆自然会更加深刻。
这套中学版《美国语文》，是我们邀请北京大学外国语学院的相关专家，历时多年精心编译而成的作品。同时，我们也参考了国内相关的出版成果，在此谨表谢意。相信通过这套《美国语文》经典教材，青少年朋友一定可以养成良好的学习习惯，积累优秀的学习方法，增强自主学习的能力。
需要指出的是，由于本书内容繁杂，涉及美国二百多年历史的各方面，书中文章的观点难免有值得商榷之处，但基于对原著的尊重，我们未做编辑处理，因此读者在阅读时要有所甄别。至于翻译未妥之处，敬请读者不吝批评、指正，以待再版修订。第一单元文明的交会Meeting of CultureThe Story of the TimesBeginnings to 1750
More than a century after European explorers first landed in North America, there were still no permanent settlements in the Western Hemisphere north of St. Augustine, Florida. By 1607, however, a small group of English settlers was struggling to survive on a marshy island in the James River in the present state of Virginia. In 1611, Thomas Dale, governor of the colony, wrote a report to the king expressing the colonists' determination to succeed.Despite disease and starvation, Jamestown did survive.
The first settlers were entranced by the native inhabitants they me.They did not at first realize that these earlier Americans, like Europeans, had cultural values and literary traditions of their own.Their literature was entirely oral, for the tribes of North America had not yet developed writing systems.This extensive oral literature, along with the first written works of the colonists, forms the beginning of the American literary heritage.Historical Background
When Christopher Columbus reached North America in 1492, the continent was already populated, though sparsely, by several hundred Native American tribes. Europeans did not encounter these tribes all at one time. Explorers from different nations came into contact with them at different times. As we now know, these widely dispersed tribes of Native Americans differed greatly from one to another in language, government, social organization, customs, housing, and methods of survival.
The Native Americans
No one knows for certain when or how the first Americans arrived in what is now the United States. It may have been as recently as 12,000 years ago or as long ago as 70,000 years. Even if the shorter estimate is correct, Native Americans have been on the continent thirty times longer than the Europeans. Colonists from Europe did not begin arriving on the east coast of North America until the late 1500's.
What were the earliest Americans doing for those many centuries? To a great extent, the answer is shrouded in mystery. No written story of the Native Americans exists. Archaeologists have deduced a great deal from artifacts, however, and folklorists have recorded a rich variety of songs, legends, and myths.
What we do know is that the Native Americans usually, but by no means always, greeted the earliest European settlers as friends. They instructed the newcomers in their agriculture and woodcraft, introduced them to maize, beans, squash, maple sugar, snowshoes, toboggans, and birch bark canoes. Indeed, many more of the European settlers would have succumbed to the bitter northeastern winters had it not been for the help of these first American.
Pilgrims and Puritans
A small group of Europeans sailed from England on the Mayflower in 1620. The passengers were religious reformers—Puritans who were critical of the Church of England. Having given up hope of "purifying" the Church from within, they chose instead to withdraw from the Church. This action earned them the name Separatists. We know them as the Pilgrims. They landed in North America and established a settlement at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. With help from friendly tribes of Native Americans, the Plymouth settlement managed to survive the rigors of North America. The colony never grew very large, however. Eventually, it was engulfed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the much larger settlement to the north.
Like the Plymouth Colony, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was also founded by religious reformers. These reformers, however, did not withdraw from the Church of England. Unlike the Separatists, they were Puritans who intended instead to reform the Church from within. In America, the Puritans hoped to establish what John Winthrop, governor of the Colony, called a "city upon a hill," a model community guided in all aspects by the Bible. Their form of government would be a theocracy, a state under the immediate guidance of God.
Among the Puritans' central beliefs were the ideas that human beings exist for the glory of God and that the Bible is the sole expression of God's will. They also believed in predestination—John Calvin's doctrine that God has already decided who will achieve salvation and who will not. The elect, or saints, who are to be saved cannot take election for granted, however. Because of that, all devout Puritans searched their souls with great rigor and frequency for signs of grace. The Puritans felt that they could accomplish good only through continual hard work and self-discipline. When people today speak of the "Puritan ethic", that is what they mean.
Puritanism was in decline throughout New England by the early 1700's, as more liberal Protestant congregations attracted followers. A reaction against this new freedom, however, set in around 1720. The Great Awakening, a series of religious revivals led by such eloquent ministers as the famous Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, swept through the colonies. The Great Awakening attracted thousands of converts to many Protestant groups, but it did little to revive old—fashioned Puritanism. Nevertheless, Puritan ideals of hard work, frugality, self-improvement, and self-reliance are still regarded as basic American virtues.
The Southern Planters
The Southern Colonies differed from New England in climate, crops, social organization, and religion. Prosperous coastal cities grew up in the South, just as in the North, but beyond the southern cities lay large plantations, not small farms. Despite its romantic image, the plantation was in fact a large-scale agricultural enterprise and a center of commerce. Up to a thousand people, many of them enslaved, might live and work on a single plantation.
The first black slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619, a year before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. The plantation system and the institution of slavery were closely connected from the very beginning, although slavery existed in every colony, including Massachusetts.
Most of the plantation owners were Church of England members who regarded themselves as aristocrats. The first generation of owner, the men who established the great plantations, were ambitious, energetic, self-disciplined, and resourceful, just as the Puritans were. The way of life on most plantations, however, was more sociable and elegant than that of any Puritan. By 1750, Puritanism was in decline everywhere, and the plantation system in the South was just reaching its peak.Literature of the Period
It was an oddly assorted group that established the foundations of American literature:the Native Americans with their oral traditions, the Puritans with their preoccupation with sin and salvation, and the southern planters with their busy social lives. Indeed, much of the literature that the colonists read was not produced in the colonies—it came from England. Yet, by 1750, there were the clear beginnings of a native literature that would one day be honored throughout the English-speaking world.
Native American Tradition
For a long time, Native American literature was viewed mainly as folklore. The consequence was that song lyrics, hero tales, migration legends, and accounts of the creation were studied more for their content than for their literary qualities. In an oral tradition, the telling of the tale may change with each speaker, and the words are almost sure to change over time. Thus, no fixed versions of such literary works exis. Still, in cases where the words of Native American lyrics or narratives have been captured in writing, the language is often poetic and moving. As might be expected in an oral setting, oratory was much prized among Native Americans. The names of certain orators, such as Logan and Red Jacket, were widely known.
The samples of Native American literature in this unit reveal the depth and power of those original American voices.
"In Adam's Fall/We Sinned All"
Just as religion dominated the lives of the Puritans, it also dominated their writings—most of which would not be considered literary works by modern standards. Typically, the Puritans wrote theological studies, hymns, histories, biographies, an d autobiographies. The purpose of such writing was to provide spiritual insight and instruction. When Puritans wrote for themselves in journals or diaries, their aim was the serious kind of self-examination they practiced in other aspects of their lives. The Puritans produced neither fiction nor drama because they regarded both as sinfu.
The Puritans did write poetry, however, as a vehicle of spiritual enlightenment. Although they were less concerned with a poem's literary form than with its message, some writers were naturally more gifted than others. A few excellent Puritan poets emerged in the 1600's, among them Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor. Anne Bradstreet's moving, personal voice and Edward Taylor's devotional intensity shine through the conventional Puritanism of their themes.
The Puritans had a strong belief in education for both men and women. In 1636, they founded Harvard College to ensure a well educated ministry. Two years later, they set up the first printing press in the colonies. In 1647, free public schools were established in Massachusetts. The New England Primer, first published around 1690, combined instruction in spelling and reading with moralistic teachings, such as "In Adam's fall/We sinned all."
One of the first books printed in the colonies was the Bay Psalm Book, the standard hymnal of the time. Increase Mather, one of the book's three authors, served for many years as pastor of the North Church in Boston. He was also the author of some 130 books. Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits, published in 1693, was a discourse on the Salem witchcraft trials of the previous year. The trials, conducted in an atmosphere of hysteria, resulted in the hanging of twenty people as witches.
Increase's eldest son, Cotton Mather, far exceeded his father's literary output, publishing at least 400 works in his lifetime. Cotton Mather, like his father, is remembered in part because of his connection with the Salem witchcraft trials. Although he did not actually take part in the trials, his works on witchcraft had helped to stir up some of the hysteria. Still, Cotton Mather was one of the most learned men of his time, a power in the state and a notable author. His theory of writing was simple （although his writing was not）: The more information a work contains, the better its style.
In fact, the Puritans in general had a theory of literary style. They believed in a plain style of writing—one in which clear statement is the highest goal. An ornate or clever style would be a sign of vanity and, as such, would not be in accordance with God's will. Despite the restrictions built into their life and literature, the Puritans succeeded in producing a small body of excellent writing.
Southern Voices
Considering the number of brilliantly literate statesmen who would later emerge in the South, especially in Virginia, it seems surprising that only a few notable southern writers appeared prior to 1750. As in Puritan New England, those who were educated produced a substantial amount of writing, but it was mostly of a practical nature. For example, John Smith, the leader of the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, wrote The General History of Virginia to describe his experiences for Europeans. In addition to accounts like Smith's, letters written by southern planters also provide insight into this time period. Unlike the Puritans, southerners did not oppose fiction or dram, and the first theater in America opened in Williamsbur, Virginia, in 1716.
The Planter From Westover
The important literature of the pre-Revolutionary South can be summed up in one name—William Byrd. Byrd lived at Westover, a magnificent plantation on the James River bequeathed to him by his wealthy father. Commissioned in 1728 to survey the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina, Byrd kept a journal of his experiences. That journal served as the basis for his book, The History of the Dividing Line, which was circulated in manuscript form among Byrd's friends in England. Published nearly a century after Byrd's death, the book was immediately recognized as a minor humorous masterpiece. More of Byrd's papers were published later, establishing his reputation as the finest writer in the pre-Revolutionary Sout.
The writers whose work appears in this unit are not the great names in American literature. They are the founders, the men and women who laid the groundwork for the towering achievements that followed. The modest awakening of American literature seen in this unit had repercussions that echoed down the years.时代故事开端—1750年
在欧洲的探险家首次登陆北美大陆的一个多世纪之后，位于佛罗里达圣奥古斯丁北部的西半球上依然没有固定的居住地。然而，在1607年，一小队英国殖民者挣扎着在詹姆斯河上的一个泥泞的小岛上存活了下来，当时的小岛就是现在的弗吉尼亚。1611年，殖民地的首领托马斯·戴尔给英国的国王写了一篇报告，阐述了殖民者取得胜利的决心。尽管受尽疾病和饥饿的折磨，詹姆斯镇还是生存了下来。
头一批到达美洲大陆的殖民者被他们所见到的当地人迷住了。起初，他们并没有意识到这些更早的美洲人同欧洲人一样，拥有他们自己的文化价值和文学传统。因为北美的印第安部落还没有发展出正式的文字，所以他们的文学是彻头彻尾的口头文学。这种宽泛的口述文学连同殖民者的早期作品构成了美洲文学传统的开端。※ 历史背景
当克里斯托弗·哥伦布在1492年登陆北美大陆的时候，这里已经有上百个当地的美洲部落了，但是这些部落分布得很散，欧洲殖民者不可能在同一时间遇到所有的美洲部落。来自世界各地的探险家们在不同的时间与这些部落进行了接触和了解。正如我们现在所知道的，这些分布不均的美洲部落之间，无论是在语言上，还是在管理形式、社会机构、民俗、住房以及生存方式上，都存在着巨大的差异。
美洲原住民
没有人确切地知道第一批美洲人是何时以及如何来到现在的美国的。或许是一万两千年前，或许是七万年前。即使是一万两千年，美洲原住民也要比欧洲人在美洲大陆待的时间多出三十倍。欧洲的殖民者直到16世纪后期才开始登陆北美大陆的东海岸。
在那么多个世纪里，最早的美洲原住民都在做些什么呢？从很大的程度来讲，这一切都是个迷。没有任何历史记载可以证实美洲原住民真的存在过。然而，考古学家通过他们的人造手工艺品作出过很多推断，而民俗学家也记录了许多当时的歌曲、传说以及神话。
我们所知道的就是，通常美洲原住民会视最早的欧洲殖民者为朋友，并且进行热烈地欢迎。他们教欧洲殖民者如何种庄稼、如何刻木雕，向他们介绍玉蜀黍、大豆、西葫芦、枫糖、雪靴、长靴和用桦树皮做成的独木舟。的确，要不是这些美洲原住民的帮助，更多的欧洲殖民者会在东北部的寒冬中冻死。
朝圣者与清教徒
1620年，一小队欧洲人扬起“五月花”号的船帆从英格兰起航。船上的人都是宗教改革者——对英国教会不满的清教徒。由于放弃了从内部“净化”教会的希望，他们选择离开教会。人们根据他们这样的行动称他们为“独立派”。我们叫他们“朝圣者”。他们登陆北美，并且在现在的马萨诸塞州的普利茅斯定居了下来。通过美洲原住民的友情援助，在普利茅斯定居的欧洲殖民者得以在北美的寒冬里幸存下来。然而，殖民地并没有发展得很壮大。后来，它们被马萨诸塞州的一个要比北方定居点大得多的海湾殖民地兼并了。
马萨诸塞海湾殖民地和普利茅斯殖民地一样，也是由宗教改革者建立起来的。然而，这些改革者并没有从英格兰的教堂里退出来。和独立派不同的是，他们是想要从教堂的内部进行改革的清教徒。在美洲，清教徒希望能够建立殖民地首领约翰·文斯洛普所说的“山顶之城”，一个方方面面都由《圣经》指引的模范社区。他们的管理模式将会是神权统治，是由上帝直接领导的国家。
清教徒的核心信仰包括：人类是在上帝的光辉下存在的，《圣经》是上帝表达自己意愿的唯一工具。他们还相信宿命论——约翰·卡尔文的教条，即上帝已经决定谁能够实现救赎，而谁不能实现。那些被拯救的候选人或圣徒们不能认为自己理应被选上。因为，所有虔诚的清教徒都要历尽艰辛，利用上帝时不时地光辉的征兆，来找寻自己的灵魂。清教徒认为他们只有通过不断的刻苦努力和自律才能实现目标。这就是现在的人们谈及的“清教徒的道德标准”里面所涉及的思想。
18世纪早期，自由的新教集会吸引了大批的追随者，清教开始在新英格兰中衰落。然而，在18世纪20年代，对抗这种新自由的反应出现了。由著名的雄辩大师乔纳森·爱德华兹和乔治·怀特菲尔德组织的一系列宗教觉醒运动席卷了所有殖民地。伟大的宗教觉醒吸引了上千名加入新教组织的皈依教徒，但是并没有让旧式的清教焕发生机。然而，清教徒刻苦工作、勤俭节约、自我完善以及自立的思想始终被看做是美洲人民最基本的意志品德。
南方的种植园主
南方的殖民地和新英格兰在气候、庄稼、社会机构和宗教方面有着很大的差别。虽然如同北方一样，南方也出现了富裕的滨海城市，但是在这些城市的边上有着大量的种植园。尽管看上去很浪漫，事实上，这些种植园就是大规模的农场和贸易中心。每一个种植园里都会奴役多达一千名的黑奴，他们在种植园里生活和工作。
1619年，在朝圣者登陆普利茅斯的前一年，第一批黑奴被带到了弗吉尼亚。尽管奴隶制度在包括马萨诸塞在内的所有殖民地都存在，但是，种植园制度和奴隶制度几乎是在一开始就紧密相关了。
大部分种植园主是英格兰教会的成员，他们把自己看做是贵族。第一代种植园主建立了大的种植园，他们和清教徒一样充满野心、精神焕发、克己自律而且卓有远见。然而，种植园主的生活方式就要比那些清教徒更加惬意，社交活动也更丰富。到了1750年，清教在各个地方都开始衰退，而南方的种植园制度则到达了巅峰。※ 当时的文学
美洲文学的根基是由一个奇特的、种类繁多的群体构建的：美洲原住民有他们自己的口述传统、清教徒相信罪恶和救赎、种植园主忙于社会交往。事实上，殖民者读过的大部分的文学作品并不是出自于殖民地——它们都出自于英格兰。然而，到了1750年，美洲出现了本土的文学，终有一天，这种文学会在英语世界里受到敬仰。
美洲原住民的文学传统
一直以来，人们都把美洲原住民的文学看做是民间传说。结果是，人们利用更多的时间研究歌词、英雄的事迹、迁移的传说以及起源故事的内容，而不是其本身的文学价值。在口述文学的传统里，虽说是同一个故事，但是每一个叙述者讲的都不一样，随着时间的改变，故事的措辞也会产生变化。因此，这样的文学作品没有固定的版本留存下来。而用笔记录下来的歌词或故事，其语言多半是带有诗韵且动人的。在这种口述文学的氛围中，我们不难想象，美洲原住民都有着雄辩的才能。一些著名的演说家的名字，包括罗根和红夹克，在美国是家喻户晓的。
本单元中收录的美洲原住民文学的样本展示了当时美洲原住民声音的深度与力量。“亚当的堕落，我们都成了罪人”
宗教统领了清教徒的生活的同时，也统治了他们的写作——如果以现代的标准来看，大多数的作品都不能被看做是文学作品。清教徒的代表性作品有神学研究、颂诗、历史、人物传记以及人物自传。写这些作品的目的在于给人们提供精神见解与指导。当清教徒写日志或日记的时候，他们着重在生活的各个方面对自己进行严格的监管。清教徒从不写小说和戏剧，因为他们把这两样东西视作是罪恶。
但是，清教徒写诗，并以此作为精神启发的工具，尽管他们不太关注诗歌的文学形式，而是更加关注诗歌的内容。有些作家天生就比其他作家要更有才能。17世纪涌现了一些优秀的清教徒诗人，包括安·布莱德斯特里特和爱德华·泰勒。安·布莱德斯特里特那颤动人心、充满人性的声音以及爱德华·泰勒的深情透过清教的传统主题闪耀着光芒。
清教徒对于男性和女性的教育都抱有强大的信念。1636年，他们成立了哈佛大学，以确保神职人员能够得到很好的教育。两年以后，他们在殖民地成立了第一家印刷社。1647年，在马萨诸塞建立了免费的公立学校。《新英格兰初级课本》于1690年左右出版，它把拼写和阅读指导结合了起来，例如其中有《亚当的堕落，我们都成为了罪人》这样的文学作品。《海湾圣诗集》是在殖民地印刷出版的首批图书之一，在当时是标准的赞美诗集。英克里斯·马特是这本书的三个作者的其中之一，他在波士顿的北方教堂当了许多年的牧师。他还是一百三十多本书的作者。其中，《关于罪恶精神的良知案例》出版于1693年，其内容是前一年撒勒姆在进行巫术审判时所做的演说。审判在一种歇斯底里般的氛围里进行，结果有二十个人因被认为是巫师而被处以绞刑。
英克里斯的大儿子考顿·马特在文学上的创作量要远多于他的父亲，在他的一生中，发表了至少四百部文学作品。考顿·马特和他的父亲一样，因为和撒勒姆巫术审判之间的联系而被人们记住。尽管他并没有参与审判，但他关于巫术的文学创作却挑起了部分人歇斯底里的脾气。但是，考顿·马特仍旧是他那个时代最有学识的人之一，是国家的力量象征和著名的作家。他的写作理论十分简单（尽管他的写作并不简单）：作品中涵盖的内容越多，风格就越出色。
事实上，大部分清教徒都有一种文学风格的理论。他们坚信一种简单的写作风格——最简洁的叙述是他们追求的最高目标。华丽的辞藻或者卖弄文学色彩的文体都被视为自负，同时也违背了上帝的意愿。尽管他们为自己的生活和文学设立了限制，他们还是成功地创作出了一小部分杰出的作品。
来自南部的声音
考虑到后来在南部涌现的颇具才华的文学家的数量，尤其是在弗吉尼亚，而在1750年之前，则几乎没有几个有名的南部作家出现，这很是让人惊讶。南部的那些受过教育的人和居住在新英格兰的清教徒一样，也创作出了不少作品，但是这些作品中大部分偏向于实用性文体。例如，约翰·史密斯，弗吉尼亚州詹姆斯镇定居点的总指挥，写下了《弗吉尼亚通史》，其内容是向欧洲人描述他的经历。除了史密斯的描述，南部种植园主写的信件也展现出了他们对于那个时代的深刻见解。和清教徒不同的是，南部的种植园主不抵制小说和戏剧，1716年，美国的第一家剧院开始在弗吉尼亚的威廉姆斯伯格投入使用。
来自维斯特奥弗的种植园主
独立战争之前南部重要的文学可以归结为一个名字——威廉姆·比尔德。比尔德在维斯特奥弗生活，他富有的父亲把詹姆斯河岸一个广阔的种植园遗留给了他。1728年，他受到委托，探查弗吉尼亚和北卡罗来纳之间的边境线，并且把他的所见所闻都写在了日志里。那本日志成为了他创作《分界线的历史》的基础，这部作品通过手稿的形式在他英国的朋友之间进行传阅。在比尔德逝世后过了将近一个世纪，这本书才出版发行，并且在出版之后，立即被视作经典的幽默巨作。随后，更多的出自于比尔德的作品被发表了出来，这些作品为他成为独立战争前南部最好的作家奠定了声望。
本单元中出现的作品，都出自于在美国文学史上不太出名的作家。但是他们是后来美国文学取得重大成就的奠基石。在这个单元里，我们将会看到美国文学的觉醒在当时所产生的影响，这种影响在美国一直延续了数年。第一课第一次美洲航海日志Journal of the First Voyage to AmericaGuide for InterpretingChristopher Columbus（1451-1506）
Not much is known about the early life of Christopher Columbus, one of history's most famous explorers. Evidently, he left his home in Genoa, Italy, and went to sea at a young age. At age 25, he was shipwrecked off the coast of Portugal. Once back on land, Columbus studied mapmaking and navigation. He also learned Latin and read Marco Polo's account of tile riches of Asia.
Between 1480 and 1482, Columbus sailed to the Azores and to the Canary Islands off Africa. He then began to dream of more challenging voyages.
One goal became the focus of Columbus's life:reaching the fabled cities of Asia by sailing westward around the world.
First, Columbus tried to convince King John II of Portugal to fund a westward voyage. When his requests were rejected there, Columbus sought funding from other European rulers. After a series of unsuccessful attempts, Columbus won the support of Queen Isabella of Spain.
A Hard Bargain
Queen Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand, agreed to finance Columbus's first voyage in 149. In forging the agreements, the explorer had negotiated favorable terms. In addition to funding, he asked for and received the right to rule any lands he conquered. He would also be entitled to 10 percent of all wealth from those lands.
The Famous Voyage
Columbus set sail on August 3. On October 12, he reached one of the Bahama islands, which he mistook for an island off India. Columbus named the island San Salvador. Then he continued to explore the Caribbean. Over the next twelve years, he made three more transatlantic voyages, ever convinced that he had reached Asia and always hopeful of finding Marco Polo's fabled citie.Background for Understanding
HISTORY: THE ERA OF EXPLORATION
In the 1450's, the only known way, to India from Europe involved traveling through Turkey. When the Turks announced a new tax on Europe's profitable overland trade with India in 1453, Portugal and Spain began to look for an alternate sea route to India. Their search brought Europe into contact with North and South America. Within a century, much of these two vast continents would come under European control. It was not until 1498 that Vasco da Gama found the all-sea route to India—around the horn of Africa.
As this map shows, Columbus's voyages took him from Lisbon, Portugal, to Palos, Spain, and the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic. He landed first on the island of San Salvador, where this account begins.
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