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"Look what I made at school today!" Laurie said, coming into the study.

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"Since we're celebrating the explorer Christopher Columbus on Monday, we made astrolabes."

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She proudly presented the paper astrolabe to Grandpa.

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"You did a great job!" Grandpa admired her work.

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"You know what these were used for, right?"

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"To measure a ship's distance from the equator," Laurie stated.

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"Correct. Sailors back in Columbus' time didn't have GPS or even a complete map of the earth!

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So they used interesting instruments to measure time and distance.

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In fact, I got something today that Columbus used on his voyage too."

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Grandpa picked up an hourglass on his desk.

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"This hourglass is similar to the ones fifteenth century Europeans used to keep time.

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Back then, one turn of the glass measured thirty minutes, but this one is a little smaller," he said.

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"A student in my Artifacts from the New World class made it."

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"What's that class about?" Laurie wanted to know.

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"Well, we examine artifacts that tell the story of Europeans landing in the New World.

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But I always begin with a quick history of the age of exploration."

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"Quick? How quick?" Laurie flipped the hourglass over and grinned at Grandpa.

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Grandpa grinned back, accepting the challenge.

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"In the 1400s trade was the fastest and easiest way to become rich.

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European explorers were discovering cities in Africa and Asia that produced spices, gold, silk, ivory, and precious gems.

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Spices like pepper and cinnamon were just being introduced to Europeans;

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if you could bring back a ship full of them, you could easily pay for the entire cost of your journey.

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The Portuguese were great shipbuilders and sailed often to Africa.

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So when Christopher Columbus thought he could sail west and find a shorter sea route to Asia, he asked the king of Portugal to sponsor him.

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But the king rejected Columbus' request.

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The explorer then traveled to Spain, where he asked Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to support him.

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At first the rulers were hesitant, but the race for exploration had begun, and they didn't want to be left behind.

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So Isabella and Ferdinand gave Columbus three ships, ninety sailors, and lots of salted fish, biscuits, and water for the journey.

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The men set out on August 3, 1492.

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After two months, with still no sight of Asia, the crews nearly rebelled against Columbus and planned to kill him.

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Luckily for Columbus, on October 12, they landed on an island he believed was part of India.

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He named it San Salvador and called the people there Indians.

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But really, he was in the Caribbean, on an island called Guanahani.

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Its native people, the Tainos, were friendly, and the Spaniards were intrigued by their red face paint and gold earrings.

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The land was hot and humid, and the Tainos slept outside in hanging nets they called hammocks."

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"I love hammocks!" Laurie blurted out.

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"They're perfect on a summer day, aren't they?" Grandpa smiled.

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"The Europeans thought so too, and they brought hammocks, as well as canoes, tobacco, and other things they'd never seen, back to Spain.

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Columbus didn't find the gold he had hoped for.

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But he continued to claim nearby islands and govern them for Spain—even though people with their own societies and cultures already lived there.

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Hmph!" Grandpa shook his head before continuing.

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"His first journey was praised, but during his lifetime, Columbus never received the fame he gets today.

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Many Spanish rebelled against him, and Columbus treated the Tainos so poorly that there was no hope for peace between the natives and the Spanish.

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For example, Columbus turned the Tainos into slaves and forced them to find gold.

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If they didn't, he had them killed. Cruelty like that, along with diseases the Spanish brought from Europe,

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killed half the Taino population within two years.

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Disappointed in his abilities as a governor, Isabella and Ferdinand took away Columbus' privilege to govern the new lands.

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But Columbus Day is still a holiday in the U.S.—even though Columbus never reached North America.

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In fact, some think he wasn't even the first person to sail to the Caribbean.

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Oral histories tell of West Africans from the Mali kingdom setting out to explore the western seas, and of Chinese expeditions as well.

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But when Columbus reached land, he proved the existence of a land mass west of Europe, and that's why he's so famous."

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"Grandpa, if Columbus gets credit for finding America, how come the Americas aren't called the Columbuses?" Laurie asked, puzzled.

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"Well, a man named Amerigo Vespucci published a theory that the land wasn't Asia, but a new continent.

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So a mapmaker named the land 'America,' after Amerigo.

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Vespucci was a merchant and explorer who sailed to the South American coasts," Grandpa answered.

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"So who discovered North America?" Laurie asked.

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"It depends on what you mean by 'discovered,'" Grandpa said with a chuckle.

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"Native Americans were here for thousands of years before Europeans arrived.

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But Leif Eriksson, a Viking, is usually considered the first European to sail across the Atlantic to North America.

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His expedition arrived in what's now Canada in the year 1000.

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But since Leif didn't establish long-lasting colonies and governments,

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John Cabot, who sailed from England, is often considered the first European to claim North American land. He arrived in Canada in 1497."

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"Time!" Laurie called. The hourglass was empty.

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"I hope you're finished because I already have too much to think about.

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After hearing about the Tainos, I'm not sure if we should celebrate Columbus as a hero," Laurie admitted.

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"Yes. Sometimes history teaches you unpleasant things," Grandpa answered.

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"But knowing both the good and the bad makes you smarter. Do you agree?"

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"I agree," Laurie said. "I'm glad you're smart.

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I hope I will be too one day. See you at dinner?"

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"See you at dinner." And Grandpa watched with a smile as his granddaughter walked away with a crinkled brow,

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no doubt still questioning who really discovered America.