Columbus Reaches the Americas
Recorded HistoryColumbus Reaches the Americas
Landfall across the Atlantic.
On 12 October 1492 Columbus landed on Guanahani, an island of the Lucayan people in the Bahamas, seeking a route to Asia.
The voyage opened a lasting European crossing of the Atlantic. Indigenous peoples had lived across both continents for thousands of years.
12 October 1492, placed on the scale of its era on a line leading toward now.
- Period
- 12 October 1492
- Edition
- 1/1
- Status
- Not Released
Background artwork
Cinematic background showing three ships off a tropical shore. An illustration generated with an AI image tool for TIME. It is an artistic depiction, not a photograph or a record of the moment. The scene is imagined.