Three-quarters of the life of Columbus went sailing. He traveled on Portuguese ships, managed to live in Lisbon and the British Isles. Staying for a short time in a foreign country, he was constantly drawing maps, making new travel plans. It still remains a mystery how he managed to plan the shortest route from Europe to India. His calculations were based on the discoveries of the 15th century and the fact that the Earth has the shape of a ball.Gathering 90 people volunteer in 1492-1493, on three courts, he went on a journey across the Atlantic ocean. He became a pioneer of the Central part of the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles. To him belongs the discovery of the North-Eastern coast of Cuba. The second expedition, which lasted from 1493 to 1496, already consisted of 17 ships and 2,5 thousand people. He discovered the Islands of Dominica,The lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico. After 40 days of sailing, arriving in Castile, he notified the government of the opening of a new route to Asia.
