Christopher Columbus astronomy, and history. He formulated a plan to seek a western sea passage to the East Indies, hoping to profit from the lucrative spice trade. After years of lobbying, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain agreed to sponsor a journey west, in the name of the Crown of Castile. Columbus left Spain in August 1492 with three ships, and after a stopover in the Canary Islands made landfall in the Americas on 12 October (now celebrated as Columbus Day). His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, known by its native inhabitants as Guanahani; its exact location is uncertain. Columbus
Public holidays in Chile Public holidays in Chile This is a list of public holidays (national or otherwise) in Chile; about half of them are Christian holidays. On January 28, 1915, President of Chile Ramón Barros Luco promulgated law 2,977, which arranged all the information insofar about holidays celebrated in Chile. It established or kept the following holidays: The same law abolished, by omission, four religious holidays: Epiphany ("Adoración de los Santos Reyes", January 6), Carnival ("Carnaval", mobile), Annunciation ("Anunciación del Señor", march 25) and Nativity of the Virgin Mary ("Natividad de la Virgen", September 8). It also shortened the national independence holiday to