Five hundred and twenty-eight years ago, in 1492, the Italian Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) and his crew sailed three ocean-going ships to what they claimed was the Americas, a land where Native Americans had lived for countless generations. Later generations called this event the “discovery of the New World.”

In 1992, on the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of the New World, a grand celebration was held in New York Harbor. Replica large ancient sailing ships modeled after Columbus’s vessels came from more than thirty countries, crossing oceans to assemble in the harbor. Several fireboats maneuvered among them, spraying multicolored columns of water into the sky, creating a magnificent and festive spectacle. At that time, I was in New York and witnessed the grandeur of the celebration with my own eyes.

Columbus was born in Italy. From an early age he was fascinated by seafaring and adventure, devoting himself to the study of navigation. He read The Travels of Marco Polo closely and became obsessed with journeys to the East, especially India and China. He was captivated by the East’s abundance of gold and spices. At the time, Europe’s spice trade with India yielded enormous profits, but overland routes were rugged and time-consuming. Finding a new sea route promised immense wealth. Columbus believed the Earth was round and that sailing west would surely lead to the East.

In 1492, he finally obtained the support of the Spanish queen, who provided him with one large ship and two smaller ones—three ships in total—along with provisions for half a year, to explore new sea routes and new lands. Beginning in 1492, Columbus made four voyages to the New World over twelve years. Yet he never reached North America. Why, then, does the United States commemorate him so grandly? Moreover, the naming of the U.S. capital honors both Washington and Columbus. The full name of the American capital is the “Washington, District of Columbia” (commonly abbreviated as Washington, D.C.). Originally it was simply the “District of Columbia,” with “Washington” added later—an indication of America’s deep reverence for Columbus.

Columbus died in Spain in 1506 at the age of fifty-four. Until his death, he firmly believed that the lands he had discovered were part of Asia in the East. Columbus inaugurated the great age of colonization in the Americas that lasted for centuries, opening the curtain on a new world and exerting an immeasurable impact on the course of world history. Native Americans had lived peacefully in the Americas for more than ten thousand years. In the five hundred years since Columbus’s discovery, the world has undergone earth-shaking changes. Without Columbus’s discovery, the New World might still have been slumbering, and humanity might still be groping in darkness. Columbus became a symbol of fearless exploration of the unknown.

Today, the day Columbus landed in the Americas—October 12, 1492—has become “Columbus Day,” commemorated annually in the United States, and it is also Spain’s National Day.

If we count from 1774 as the starting point of American independence, then by 2020 the United States was not yet 250 years old. But the true roots of America should be traced back to 1620. By 2020, that marks exactly 400 years. In 1620, the large sailing ship Mayflower carried 102 Puritan pioneers to the New World of North America in search of a new life of religious freedom. From that moment, America took root.

America’s four hundred years can be summarized as follows: the first century—contractual pioneering; the second century—initial nation-building; the third century—climbing to the peak; the fourth century—becoming a global superpower. When Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, Central and South America were far wealthier than North America. They already had cities, states, and much larger populations, along with ready supplies of gold and silver. Columbus’s primary mission was to find precious metals and riches. Consequently, the Spanish mainly occupied Central and South America. At that time, North America was inhabited only by scattered Native Americans, without fixed or substantial villages. The total Native American population was only about 2.5 million, spread across a vast continent like scattered sesame seeds—hardly visible at all. By contrast, some 65 million bison roamed the North American plains. The Spanish paid little attention to North America, because it lacked ready gold and silver, cities, or states to conquer. It was a barren wilderness. Spain did not establish any real administrative system there; it merely declared the land Spanish territory in name.