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Columbus believed that the lands of _____________ lay only about 4000 miles to the west of the western coast of Africa.

Answer :

Columbus mistakenly believed the distance to Asia by sailing west was significantly shorter than it actually is, resulting in his landing in the Bahamas in 1492, where he called the native people 'Indians' thinking he had reached the East Indies.

Christopher Columbus, the Italian navigator, believed that the lands of Asia, including the mainland of Central America and South America which he referred to as the 'West Indies,' lay only about 3,000 to 4,000 miles west of the western coast of Africa. Columbus had calculated the distance based on his own understanding that the earth was much smaller than its actual size.

However, upon his voyage across the Atlantic in 1492, he landed in the Bahamas which he thought was part of Asia and called the indigenous people he encountered there 'Indians' due to his belief that he had reached the East Indies. His discovery of what is now known to be the Americas greatly impacted history, leading to significant cultural exchanges, colonization, and changes in the global economy.

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