did get in the way. " On 12 October he landed in the Bahamas, on an island he named San Salvador." He had encountered a Mundus Nuvus, a New World. His discovery marked the beginning of the age of exploration.
             What were the real reasons behind this decision of discovering a new land? Undoubtedly, the discovery of the American continent was almost entirely about one and only thing: money. Columbus first mission to America was to bring gold or something valuable to bring back to Spain. Besides the aim of finding a new route for the spice trade, Spain wanted to expand his territory in order to find and exploit new resources of income. Those were the primary reasons for which Columbus decided to sail. On the other hand, there were also the personal reasons of Columbus. First of all, he was authorized to have 10% of all removable assets of the newly discovered lands, including gold, silver and other precious stones. Secondly, Columbus was specifically granted the powers as admiral, viceroy and governor; the trade therein was to be a crown monopoly under his control. Columbus' dreams were about to come true.
             Columbus was incontestably a courageous and honest sailor who made possible the settlement of a new world. But there is certainly the other part of the story. Once Columbus has landed on the New World he met the locals. According to his journal, one of the first things Columbus did was to ask them whether they had any gold. Luckless, he did not find what he was hoping for; only a few of the natives wore some gold articles and, because of the lack of communication, Columbus was not even able to learn where this little amount of gold came from. Then he just turned his attention to the trees and shrubs that can be valuable spices; but which trees and what spices? So far Columbus had any valuable articles to offer to his sovereigns than the beautiful scenery he has described in his journal. But he was aware that scenery would not allo...