mbus, going ashore, took possession of the new land for Ferdinand
and Isabella, King and Queen of Aragon and Castile. The natives came to
see the discoverers. They were reddish in color and interested
Columbus--for were they not inhabitants of the Far East? So he called
them Indians.

[Illustration: SHIPS, SEA-MONSTERS, AND INDIANS. From an early Spanish
book on America.]

[Sidenote: The Indians, _Higginson, 13-24; Eggleston, 71-76_.]

[Sidenote: Columbus discovers Cuba.]

6. The Indians and the Indies.--These Indians were not at all like
those wonderful people of Cathay and Cipango whom Marco Polo had
described. Instead of wearing clothes of silk and of gold embroidered
satin, these people wore no clothes of any kind. But it was plain enough
that the island they had found was not Cipango. It was probably some
island off the coast of Cipango, so on Columbus sailed and discovered
Cuba. He was certain that Cuba was a part of the mainland of Asia, for
the Indians kept saying "Cubanaquan." Columbus thought that this was
their way of pronouncing Kublai Khan--the name of a mighty eastern
ruler. So he sent two messengers with a letter to that powerful monarch.
Returning to Spain, Columbus was welcomed as a great admiral. He made
three other voyages to America. But he never came within sight of the
mainland of the United States.

[Sidenote: John Cabot visits North America, 1497. _Higginson, 40-42;
Eggleston, 8-10; American History Leaflets_, No. 9.]

7. John Cabot, 1497.--While Columbus explored the West Indies,
another Italian sailed across the Sea of Darkness farther north. His
name was John Cabot, and he sailed with a license from Henry VII of
England, the first of the Tudor kings. Setting boldly forth from
Bristol, England, he crossed the North Atlantic and reached the coast of
America north of Nova Scotia. Like Columbus, he thought that he had
found the country of the Grand Khan. Upon his discovery English kings
based their claim to the right to colonize North America.

[Sidenote: Americus Vespucius, his voyages and books. _Higginson_,
37-38; _Eggleston_, 7-8.]

[Sidenote: The New World named America.]

8. The Naming of America.--Many other explorers also visited the
new-found lands. Among these was an Italian named Americus Vespucius.
Precisely where he went is not clear. But it is clear that he wrote
accounts of his voyages, which were printed and read by many persons. In
these accounts he said that what we ca