The Meeting of Cortés and Montezuma

Primary Source Spotlight: Hispanic Heritage

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The first sight of the new world - Columbus discovering America

Today in History: Christopher Columbus

Today in History–August 3–the Library of Congress features Christopher Columbus, who set sail for what would later be known as the new world on this day in 1492. Columbus had the most modern maritime tools on his ship, including a mariner’s compass, an astrolabe, a cross-staff, and a quadrant and, quite possibly, the popular mariner map Ptolemy’s Geography or Cosmography. A little…