Awww, ... did I burst your bubble about Christopher Columbus?
I've read a lot about history. Do your own research. NASA and the Smithsonian websites have articles about Christopher Columbus' miscalculation of the Earth's circumference and how far eastward the Asian continent extends. And how the Portuguese knew his numbers were wrong.
Numerous books and articles mention Columbus keeping two sets of log books during his first voyage.
Ditto for Christopher Columbus carrying nothing of real value on his "trade mission".
The rest is common sense.
If he was on a trade mission, if he hoped to meet up with representatives of Asian nations, why, on his voyages, did he plant the flag of Spain everywhere he landed, and declared the land to be Spanish territory?
After the US became an independent country, and Americans began sending trade missions to other countries, wouldn't it have been rude to plant the US flag on Danish or French or other countries' soil and declare it to belong to the US?