1.) When he landed in the Antilles, Columbus referred to the resident peoples he encountered there as "Indians" reflecting his purported belief that he had reached the Indian Ocean. The name stuck; for centuries the native people of the Americas were collectively called "Indians" in various European languages
2.)But that seems beside the point. The real question is "Who made the existence of the American continents and their associated islands known to Europeans?" The answer to that question is Christopher Columbus. Although others from Europe (certainly the Vikings) and perhaps China may have reached what we now call the Americas prior to Columbus, they did not make their "discovery" known to the rest of the world, and as a result their voyages had little, if any, impact on history. Columbus's voyage to the Americas in 1492 was the first fully documented European encounter with the Americas. The report of his voyage was printed within weeks of his return in 1493, went through three printings in Rome before the end of the year, and editions were printed in Paris, Basle, and Antwerp during 1494. He made three additional voyages to the Americas and his pioneering voyage established a connection that has continued without interruption for over 500 years.
