6. Columbus proved the world was round
At the time of Columbus’s voyage in 1492, virtually no person of any education believed the world to be flat. As early as 400 years before the dawn of the Common Era, Aristotle cited evidence of the Earth being spherical in shape. While it is true that some people still believe the Earth is flat, citing among other things the Bible as their source, nearly everyone knew they lived on a globe by the time of the 15th century. Sailors especially saw evidence of the Earth’s true shape on a nearly daily basis. The hulls of ships sailing away dropped below the horizon well before the masts and sails vanished from sight. Ships approaching did the opposite. The sailors on the three ships led by Columbus did not fear sailing off the edge of the Earth, as is so widely reported.
Proving the world is round is just one of many prevailing myths surrounding the first voyage of Columbus to the New World. Queen Isabella pawning her jewels to fund the expedition is another which has no truth to it. Nor did Columbus reach North America on his first voyage. His flagship bore the name Santa Gallega, not Santa Maria, and the tiny vessel known to posterity as Nina was in truth the Santa Clara. Nina was simply an affectionate nickname bestowed on the ship by its crew. Perhaps the greatest mythology surrounding Columbus is his name. In his native Italian, his name was Cristoforo Colombo. In Spain, he was known as Cristobal Colon. Whether either of those were his true name from birth remains debatable, as further research reveals new mysteries about the man who gained the title Admiral of Ocean Sea.