30 Best Columbus Day Trivia Questions

Columbus Day is a federal holiday in the United States, commemorating Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Whether you celebrate Columbus Day or prefer to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day, trivia about Columbus’s voyages and legacy can offer fascinating insights. Here’s a curated list of 30 trivia questions for Columbus Day to test your knowledge about this historical event and figure:

1. What year did Columbus first arrive in the Americas?

• Answer: 1492

2. How many ships did Columbus take on his first voyage?

• Answer: Three (Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria)

3. What was Columbus searching for on his first voyage?

• Answer: A westward route to Asia

4. Which U.S. state was the first to officially recognize Columbus Day as a holiday?

• Answer: Colorado

5. What was the first island Columbus landed on during his voyage?

• Answer: San Salvador (in the Bahamas)

6. In which country was Christopher Columbus born?

• Answer: Italy (Genoa)

7. Who provided financial backing for Columbus’s voyages?

• Answer: Ferdinand II and Isabella I of Spain

8. What is Columbus’s real name in Italian?

• Answer: Cristoforo Colombo

9. Which U.S. city hosts the largest Columbus Day parade?

• Answer: New York City

10. Which European group is known to have reached the Americas before Columbus?

• Answer: The Vikings

11. True or False: Columbus believed he had reached Asia on his first voyage.

• Answer: True

12. How old was Columbus when he first set sail?

• Answer: 14 years old

• 13. In which year did Columbus make his last voyage to the Americas?

• Answer: 1502

14. How many voyages to the Americas did Columbus complete?

• Answer: Four

15. Which ship did Columbus personally captain?

• Answer: Santa Maria

16. What name did Columbus give to the indigenous people he first encountered?

• Answer: Indians (because he believed he was in Asia)

17. What caused the Santa Maria to be abandoned?

• Answer: It was wrecked off the coast of Hispaniola

18. In which year was Columbus Day declared a national holiday in the U.S.?

• Answer: 1937

19. What modern holiday has been established as a counterpart to Columbus Day in some U.S. states?

• Answer: Indigenous Peoples’ Day

20. Which continent did Columbus believe he had discovered?

• Answer: Asia

21. What was the outcome of Columbus’s second voyage?

• Answer: He established a Spanish colony in the Caribbean

22. What was the ultimate fate of the indigenous populations Columbus encountered?

• Answer: Many were enslaved, displaced, or died from diseases brought by Europeans

23. True or False: Columbus set foot on North America during his voyages.

• Answer: False

24. Which modern-day country includes the location where Columbus first landed?

• Answer: The Bahamas

25. Who was Columbus’s main sponsor for his voyages?

• Answer: The Spanish monarchy

26. What was Columbus’s objective, according to his first journal entries?

• Answer: To spread Christianity by converting the indigenous peoples

27. What is the name of the monument in Santo Domingo dedicated to Columbus?

• Answer: Columbus Lighthouse (Faro a Colón)

28. Who imprisoned Columbus in 1500 for his tyrannical governance in the Americas?

• Answer: The Spanish monarchy

29. Which famous explorer confirmed that the lands Columbus found were not part of Asia?

• Answer: Amerigo Vespucci

30. True or False: Columbus died believing he had discovered a new continent.

• Answer: False (he died believing he had found a new route to Asia)

Columbus’s voyages had a lasting impact on world history, both positive and negative. These trivia questions offer insights into his life, his expeditions, and the lasting legacy of his voyages. While Columbus Day remains a federal holiday, it’s also important to reflect on the broader historical context, including the impact of colonization on indigenous populations.