Antigua and Barbuda was the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.
Christopher Columbus -LRB- Cristoforo Colombo -- 20 May 1506 -RRB- was an Italian explorer , navigator , and colonizer .. Italian. Italians. A citizen of the Republic of Genoa , under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean .. Genoa. Genoa. Republic of Genoa. Republic of Genoa. Catholic Monarchs. Catholic Monarchs. Spain. Spanish Empire. four voyages. Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European colonization of the New World .. Hispaniola. Hispaniola. European colonization. European colonization of the Americas. New World. Americas. At a time when European kingdoms were beginning to establish new trade routes and colonies , motivated by imperialism and economic competition , Columbus proposed to reach the East Indies by sailing westward .. European kingdoms. Monarchies in Europe. imperialism. imperialism. economic competition. Competition ( economics ). East Indies. East Indies. Indies. Indies. This eventually received the support of the Spanish Crown , which saw a chance to enter the spice trade with Asia through this new route .. spice trade. spice trade. During his first voyage in 1492 , he reached the New World instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended , landing on an island in the Bahamas archipelago that he named `` San Salvador '' .. New World. Americas. Japan. Japan. Bahamas archipelago. The Bahamas. Over the course of three more voyages , he visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles , as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America , claiming all of it for the Crown of Castile .. Crown of Castile. Crown of Castile. Greater. Greater Antilles. Lesser Antilles. Lesser Antilles. Caribbean. Caribbean Sea. Venezuela. Venezuela. Central America. Central America. Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the Americas , having been preceded by the Viking expedition led by Leif Erikson in the 11th century , but his voyages led to the first lasting European contact with the Americas , inaugurating a period of exploration , conquest , and colonization that lasted several centuries .. Viking. Vikings. Leif Erikson. Leif Erikson. These voyages thus had an enormous effect on the historical development of the modern Western world .. He spearheaded the transatlantic slave trade and has been accused by several historians of initiating the genocide of the Hispaniola natives .. Hispaniola. Hispaniola. transatlantic slave trade. Atlantic slave trade. genocide. genocide. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of spreading the Christian religion .. spreading the Christian religion. Christianization. Columbus never admitted that he had reached a continent previously unknown to Europeans , rather than the East Indies for which he had set course .. East Indies. East Indies. Indies. Indies. He called the inhabitants of the lands that he visited indios -LRB- Spanish for `` Indians '' -RRB- .. His strained relationship with the Spanish crown and its appointed colonial administrators in America led to his arrest and dismissal as governor of the settlements on the island of Hispaniola in 1500 , and later to protracted litigation over the benefits that he and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the crown .. Hispaniola. Hispaniola