Which Italian navigator discovered the New World in the service of Spain while seeking a route to China?

• A. Amerigo Vespucci
• B. Christopher Columbus
• C. Vasco da Gama
• D. John Cabot

Answer: (B)

This question tests understanding of who first opened sustained European contact with the Americas by sailing west in pursuit of a route to Asia. Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator from Genoa who persuaded the Crown of Castile to sponsor a westward voyage to reach China. In 1492 he crossed the Atlantic and reached lands in the Caribbean, effectively “discovering” the New World for Europe in the service of Spain. Although his intended goal was to reach Asia, the voyage proved there was a vast landmass between Europe and Asia and kickstarted ongoing European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

Amerigo Vespucci, while Italian, explored parts of the South American coast and argued these regions were a new continent, not Asia, and he sailed under different sponsorship. Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, found a sea route to India by sailing around Africa, not to the Americas. John Cabot, an Italian, sailed for England and reached parts of North America, but not in the service of Spain.