Final answer:
Christopher Columbus called the people he met in the New World Indians because he mistakenly believed he had landed in India.
Step-by-step explanation:
Christopher Columbus called the people he met in the New World Indians because he mistakenly believed that he had landed in Asia, specifically India. Columbus held the erroneous view that the earth was much smaller than its actual size, and since he did not know of the Americas, he fully expected to reach Asia. This misconception led him to refer to the native people as Indians, giving rise to the term 'Indian' for any native people of the New World.