Ara koyo game da rayuwar halayen wanda ya gano Amurka a ranar 12 ga Oktoba, 1492.
An ce Columbus asalinsa ɗan asalin Genoa ne, kuma ya fara aikin sojan ruwa ne yana ɗan shekara 14.
A cikin 1477, aka kafa ikon jigilar kayayyaki a Turai a Fotigal. Da yake ya gamsu da cewa Duniya mai dunƙuƙu ne, sai ya gabatar da shawara ga Juan II na Fotigal cewa ya yi tafiya zuwa yamma don isa Indiyawan, aikin da bai sami amsar da ake fata ba. Shekaru uku bayan haka ya tafi Spain don neman taimakon Fernando da Isabel de Castilla, Sarakunan Katolika, waɗanda da farko suka hana shi kuɗin kamfaninsa. Bayan koma baya da yawa, masarautun sun yanke shawarar taimaka masa, suka bar Puerto de Palos a ranar 3 ga Agusta, 1492.
Bayan tafiyar watanni biyu na jirgin ruwa, a ranar 12 ga watan Oktoba dan kallo Rodrigo de Triana mai hangen nesa (Tsibirin Guanahani) Columbus ya sake yin wasu tafiye-tafiye uku zuwa "Indies", inda yayi imanin cewa ya iso. Bayan tafiyarsa ta ƙarshe kuma saboda makircin kotu, ya kasance cikin tsananin wahala; ba shi da lafiya kuma ya manta, Columbus ya mutu a ranar 20 ga Mayu, 1506, ba tare da sanin cewa ya gano wata sabuwar nahiya ba.
