Which Italian sailor, sponsored by Queen Isabella of Spain, reached the New World in 1492?

Which Italian sailor, sponsored by Queen Isabella of Spain, reached the New World in 1492?

• A. Christopher Columbus
• B. Amerigo Vespucci
• C. Vasco da Gama
• D. Ferdinand Magellan

Answer: (A)

Exploration sponsored by a European crown and the first direct contact with the Americas are being tested here. Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator from Genoa who secured support from Queen Isabella of Spain to search for a westward route to Asia. In 1492 he set sail with three ships—the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María—and landed in the Caribbean, marking the first widespread European reach into the New World. Amerigo Vespucci, though Italian and important in later voyages to South America, didn’t lead the 1492 crossing or secure its sponsorship; his explorations followed Columbus and helped name the continents. Vasco da Gama was Portuguese and reached India by sailing around Africa in 1497–1498, not the New World. Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for Spain, began his voyage in 1519 and became the first to circumnavigate the globe, not in 1492. Columbus is the one who fits all the clues: Italian by birth, sponsored by Queen Isabella, and reaching the New World in 1492.

Exploration sponsored by a European crown and the first direct contact with the Americas are being tested here. Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator from Genoa who secured support from Queen Isabella of Spain to search for a westward route to Asia. In 1492 he set sail with three ships—the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María—and landed in the Caribbean, marking the first widespread European reach into the New World. Amerigo Vespucci, though Italian and important in later voyages to South America, didn’t lead the 1492 crossing or secure its sponsorship; his explorations followed Columbus and helped name the continents. Vasco da Gama was Portuguese and reached India by sailing around Africa in 1497–1498, not the New World. Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for Spain, began his voyage in 1519 and became the first to circumnavigate the globe, not in 1492. Columbus is the one who fits all the clues: Italian by birth, sponsored by Queen Isabella, and reaching the New World in 1492.