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Question 99 of 99 Β· World GK: Countries, Capitals & Currencies
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Which explorer, who sailed westward in 1492 hoping to reach India, landed instead in the Americas?

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Answer: Option C β€” Christopher Columbus

Detailed Solution

Christopher Columbus, an Italian (Genoese) navigator sailing for Spain, set out westward in 1492 hoping to reach India and the East, but landed instead in the Americas.

About his voyage:

  • Columbus believed that the earth was round, and that he could reach Asia (the "Indies") by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean.
  • He underestimated the size of the earth and did not know that the Americas lay in between.
  • After being refused by Portugal, he got the support of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
  • He sailed from Palos, Spain, on 3 August 1492, with three ships: the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Nina.
  • On 12 October 1492, he landed on an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador.
  • He also reached Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

Why the people of the Americas were called "Indians":

  • Columbus believed that he had reached the Indies (Asia), and called the people he met "Indios" (Indians).
  • The islands of the Caribbean are still called the "West Indies".
  • He made four voyages to the Americas (1492-1504), and died in 1506, still believing that he had reached Asia.

The name "America":

The continents were later named after the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, who recognised that they were a "New World".

Results of his voyages:

  • They began the European exploration and colonisation of the Americas.
  • They led to the "Columbian Exchange" of plants, animals and diseases between the Old and New Worlds; crops such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, chillies and tobacco later reached India.
  • They had disastrous effects on the native peoples of the Americas.

Other explorers:

  • Bartolomeu Dias (Portugal): rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488.
  • Vasco da Gama (Portugal): reached India (Calicut) in 1498, by sailing around Africa.
  • Ferdinand Magellan: led the first expedition to sail around the world (1519-1522); he was killed in the Philippines.

Why not the other options?

  • βœ—Vasco da Gama reached India.
  • βœ—Magellan sailed around the world.
  • βœ—Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope.

Quick tip

Remember: Columbus (1492) sailed west for India, reached the Americas (West Indies); Vasco da Gama (1498) reached India; Dias (1488) = Cape of Good Hope; Magellan = first circumnavigation.

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World GK: Countries, Capitals & Currencies β€” Preparation

This question tests your understanding of World GK: Countries, Capitals & Currencies, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers world GK: countries with their capitals, currencies and parliaments, national symbols, famous landmarks, the longest, largest and highest features of the world, and international boundary lines such as the Radcliffe, McMahon and Durand Lines. The most common questions match a country with its capital or currency, or a parliament with its name (such as the Knesset of Israel or the Diet of Japan). Revise countries continent by continent, giving extra attention to India's neighbours. Questions on boundary lines usually ask which two countries a line separates. Practise the world GK questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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