Mel-O-Toons presents
Christopher Columbus
Young People's Records
Five hundred years ago,
there were people on
both sides of the Atlantic Ocean,
but neither knew about the other.
On the Western side, our side,
the people had reddish brown skins
and lived in huts, or wigwams.
On the Eastern side, in Europe,
the people were white skinned.
They had learned how to build
houses and large sailing ships,
but they still didn't know much
about the rest of the world.
In fact, most of them believed
the earth was flat.
Then one day,
a mapmaker named
Christopher Columbus had an idea
Do you know what?
♪ I think the world
isn't flat at all. ♪
♪ I think it's round,
like a ball. ♪
♪ Did you hear what he said?
Did you hear what he said? ♪
♪ He said that
the world is round! ♪
♪ He's crazy. He's mad.
He's insane! ♪
♪ I think the world isn't
flat at all. ♪
♪ I think it's round,
like a ball. ♪
♪ The world is flat
as the brim of your hat ♪
♪ and that is very plain. ♪
♪ I know that I'm right.
Oh, I know that I'm right ♪
♪ when I say that
the world is round. ♪
♪ - Oh, I'm right.
- You're wrong.
- I'm right. ♪
♪ My thinking is sound, ♪
♪ and I'll prove
the world's round, ♪
♪ it won't take very long! ♪
But it did take long,
seven long years
before Columbus could
convince a King or a Queen
to let him try out his idea.
Then, Queen Isabella of Spain
agreed to supply the ships
and men for his trip.
I will discover a shortcut to India
and bring back some of
the great wealth I find there.
And I can do it,
for I know the world is round.
And instead of going east to India,
I shall sail west and
reach India around the other way.
It will be a shorter
and cheaper way,
for I'll do it all by sea.
Queen Isabella provided Columbus
with three ships,
the Niña, the Pinta,
and the Santa Maria.
And on August 3rd, 1492,
they set sail across
the unknown Atlantic.
♪ High on the foaming tide ♪
♪ Over the ocean ♪
♪ Onward our ships will ride ♪
♪ Onward my sailors ♪
The ships sailed onward,
but two long months
after they started,
there was still
no sign of land ahead.
♪ Turn back, Columbus
Turn back, Columbus ♪
We'll not turn back
until we find India.
Onward, men!
By October 10th,
the sailors and the crew
were ready to take
matters into their own hands.
If Columbus won't do as we ask,
we'll put him in chains.
And we'll turn
the ships around ourselves.
Wait! Have you heard?
One of our men has just seen
a branch in the ocean.
What of it?
It had fresh berries on it.
That means we're near land.
Hurray!
Two days later,
the ships reached land
and Columbus and his crew
saw the people
with reddish brown skins,
who lived there.
♪ Oh, I think it is
rather surprising ♪
♪ That they should have
reddish brown skins ♪
♪ But now since we have
landed in India ♪
♪ Then these people
must be Indians ♪
We'll call this part of India,
San Salvador,
and I take possession of it
in the name of
the King and Queen of Spain.
The people Columbus called
Indians were very friendly,
and they gave Columbus
and his men many gifts.
But not the rich jewels and
gold for which they had come.
For Columbus wasn't really
in India, at all.
He was on one of the islands
off the coast of America.
But because of Columbus' mistake,
the natives of America have
been called Indians, ever since.
Columbus visited other islands
near San Salvador,
looking for
the great wealth of India.
And then he, and some of his men,
returned to Spain.
Hurray! Hurray!
Hurray for
Admiral Christopher Columbus!
Hurray! Hurray!
Columbus had no trouble
getting ships and men
for his second voyage,
but he still hadn't the slightest idea
that he was headed for
the vast continent of America,
and that he would have had to cross it
and sail over the Pacific Ocean,
before he could reach India
by travelling west.
The men of Europe were no longer
afraid of the ocean.
Columbus made two more voyages,
and other Explorers followed.
But each year, on October 12th,
we celebrate Columbus Day,
the anniversary of that day in 1492,
when Columbus first sighted the
land of the new world, America.
CC Cartoons
Classic Cartoons with
Closed Captions in HD