Nobody in Europe dreamt that Columbus had discovered a new continent, and when Balbao, in 1513, discovered the South Sea, then it was known that Asia lay beyond, and navigators directed their course there. On his deathbed, in 1506, Columbus still held to his delusion that he had reached Zipanga, Japan. In 1501 he was exploring the coast of Veragua, in Central America, still looking for the Ganges, and announcing his being informed on this coast of a sea which would bear ships to the mouth of that river, while about the same time the Cabots, under Henry VII, were taking possession of Newfoundland, believing it to be part of the island coast of China.
Although these were grave blunders in geography and in navigation, the discoveries really made in the rich tropical zones, the acquirement of a new world, and the rich products continually reaching Europe from it, for a time aroused Spain from her lethargy. The world opened east and west. The new routes poured their spices, silks, and drugs through new channels into all the Teutonic countries.

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