World of Surprises

Claire B. A World of Surprises found while on the Voyage of Discovery

January 30, 2018

Green Group D1, B2

Date of Article: 1991

Headline: World of Surprises

Author: Lorenzo Camusso

Source of the Article: The Voyages of Columbus

Three Vocabulary Words:

1. Botanical: Relating to plants
2. Madrepores: A stony coral of the genus Madrepora
3. Manioc: Another term for Cassava-
4. Cassava: the starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree, used as food in tropical countries but requiring careful preparation to remove traces of cyanide from the flesh - the shrubby tree from which cassava is obtained, native to tropical America and cultivated throughout the tropics.

Summary:

This article was about when Columbus’ crew reached the tip of Cuba. They discovered many things that were new to him. He found flowers with sweet smells, birds with sweet songs. Caribbean Parrots, and tobacco. And that is just a few things. He also found palm trees, sweet potatoes, and corn. He was in search for pepper that he had hoped to bring back with him, and the natives had something like it, but that turned out to be ground red chili. Lastly, he found cotton hammocks. He was in search of Gold and Silver but found few to no traces in the first few days.

List of Discoveries That Were New to Columbus and His Crew:

• Tobacco Leaves-The crew was given these from the islanders. The islanders would breathe in the smoke of the burning dry leaves.
• Food-Columbus' crew found food like crops and fish on the islands
• Plants-Many plants were seen that originated from the Caribbean
• Corn-The crew found food and crops on the islands
• Potatoes-They found crops on the islands
• Caribbean Parrots-They saw animals on the islands, such as beautiful Caribbean Parrots
• Spices-They were in search for valuable spices such as pepper on the islands