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Christopher Columbus knew that the world was a large ball and that if he sailed West he would eventually find Asia (China and India). This is why we call Native Americans Indians: Columbus, seeing their reddish complexion, thought he had landed in India (South Asia). He did not realize at the time that he had landed on part of two new continents unknown to Europeans.

Cartographers in Columbus' day were divided over how far away Asia was, not knowing of the Americas or the wide Pacific Ocean, which made Asia much farther to reach, going west from Europe.

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7y ago

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