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(Encarta Encyclopedia,
2000)
Christopher Columbus
by
Thomas C. Tirado, Ph.D.
Professor History
Millersville University
Background to the Age of
Discovery:
One cannot begin to understand
Christopher Columbus without
understanding the world into
which he was born. The 15th
century was a dynamic century, a
century of change. There were
many historical events
throughout Western Europe that
impacted society profoundly.
Directly affecting the future
explorer much closer to home,
however, were three momentous
events in and around the
Mediterranean:
1) the Conquest of Ceuta in
North Africa by the Portuguese
in 1415
2) the Fall of Constantinople to
the Muslim Turks in 1453, and
3) the defeat of Muslim Granada
by the Christian Spaniards in
1492.
All three events were driven by
the centuries-long conflict
between the Christians and the
Muslims.
Ceuta:
The Portuguese had successfully
purged their country of Muslims
by the turn of the century and
had consolidated political power
into a national monarchy earlier
than any other Western European
country. By 1415 the Portuguese
were in a strong position to
launch an invasion of North
Africa and conquer the Muslim
commercial center of Ceuta. Some
historians see this as a
resumption of the Christian
Crusades that had been suspended
over a century earlier. With a
strong political and military
base of operations, the
Portuguese were in a position to
resume Christendom's long
struggle against the Muslims.
Determined to destroy Islam once
and for all by destroying its
commercial empire, Portugal
successfully conquered the city
and immediately gained access to
the lucrative African trade.
This led to the subsequent
dramatic growth of the bourgeois
class. Allying itself to the
royal family, the bourgeoisie
grew rich on trade and commerce
not only in Africa but also on
the Atlantic islands. Under
the tutelage of Prince Henry (later
to be given the sobriquet, or
nickname, "the Navigator"), who
established a school for
navigators in southern Portugal,
the Portuguese began the
exploration of the Western coast
of Africa in hopes of finding
passage around the tip of Africa.
This prize would elude the
Portuguese until a generation
after Henry's death in 1460.
Not until 1488 when Bartolomeu
Dias returned home after a 16-month
voyage did the Portuguese know
for sure that a trip around the
tip of Africa was feasible. It
wasn't until eleven years after
Dias that the first voyage of
Vasco da Gama in 1497-99
fulfilled the Medieval dream of
finding a direct trade route to
the riches of the Orient.
High on the pantheon of names of
important figures of the Age of
Discovery is Henry the
Navigator's. He is considered by
many historians to have provided
not only the inspiration for the
Age but much of the practical
knowledge accumulated over
decades of trial and error in
developing ocean-going ships,
sails, and navigational aids,
some even borrowed from the
Arabs. The Caravel, which came
to be identified with this
period of exploration, was a
product of his assiduous search
for a better ocean-going vessel.
Henry contributed significantly
to the psychology of discovery
and helped to whet the appetite
of those who were daring enough
to venture out in search of
riches.
Constantinople:
After decades of pounding the
Christian Orthodox Byzantine
Empire, the Ottoman Turks under
the leadership of Muhammad II
finally captured the city of
Constantinople for Islam in
1453. In the eastern
Mediterranean, Islam was on the
rise and was advancing deep into
Eastern Europe. Only the Iberian
kingdoms of Portugal and Spain
in the western Mediterranean
were having success in their
wars against the Muslims. Early
in the 15th century,
for example, the Portuguese
Christians had already expelled
the Muslims after an occupation
that had lasted seven centuries.
Spain would not succeed in this
endeavor until the end of the
century.
As one of the major commercial
and financial city-states and a
major seafaring nation of
northern Italy, Columbus’ home
city of Genoa had spawned many
colonies and other trading
centers throughout the eastern
Mediterranean, the Aegean, and
Black seas. It was a major
commercial powerhouse, trading
in textiles, foods, gold, wood,
ship supplies, some spices and
Oriental luxury items, and,
above all, sugar. From the Greek
islands to the Portuguese
islands (one-third of the way
across the Atlantic) to the
Guinea Gulf of Africa, Genoa had
a major stake in Mediterranean
and Atlantic trade. The city's
hegemony extended even to some
regions of the Balkans. Events
taking place in the Aegean Sea
were, in effect, happening in
Genoa's own backyard. Columbus
was only two years old when
Constantinople fell.
Losing colonies, hence markets,
in the eastern Mediterranean was
a major calamity to a seafaring
nation like Genoa. Although the
fall of Constantinople was not
cause for general panic, the
resourceful Genoese had to begin
to develop a totally new
strategy if they were to remain
a major commercial and financial
power. Hence, Genoa began to
look to the western
Mediterranean as an outlet not
only for its products of trade
and accumulated capital but also
for its skilled pilots,
navigators, and sailors.
Merchants, shipbuilders, bankers
and others began arriving in
cities like Lisbon, Seville,
Barcelona, and Cadiz. But
Genoese were not the only
Italians arriving in large
numbers; also emigrating were
Venetians and Florentines, as
well as some Greeks and others
who were being dispossessed of
their fortunes in the east.
Columbus, who in his own words
went to sea at "a very early age,"
was schooled in seamanship in
this world of tumultuous change.
There was a world of opportunity
opening up to him and other
adventurers. His own migration
from Genoa to Iberia reflects
the general Genoese migration
out of the eastern Mediterranean
into the Atlantic. Although
Columbus' family was associated
with the wool weaving and cloth
export industry, apparently no
member of his immediate family
was actively involved in
seafaring. By all accounts, this
would make Columbus a truly
representative figure of his
contemporary Genoa. As the
fortunes of the Genoese shifted
from the eastern to the western
Mediterranean and the Atlantic,
Columbus went from weaving to
seafaring. Events surrounding
the fall of Constantinople are
vital to understanding the
career of the future discoverer
of the New World, and his
migration from Genoa to Portugal
and Spain can be understood only
in the context of the day.
Granada:
The next event that influenced
greatly the life of Christopher
Columbus was the fall of Granada
in 1491-92. For Christian Spain,
the conquest of Granada was the
most important event in the 15th
century. After nearly eight
centuries of fighting, the
Christian Iberians finally
defeated the Muslim Iberians. On
the 2nd of January,
1492, King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella rode into Granada as
conquerors. At their side sat a
disconsolate Columbus. While
others who had accompanied the
Catholic monarchs were rejoicing
as they watched the symbols of
sovereignty pass to the
Christians, Columbus sat
dejected. Shortly after the
ceremony he rode off to La
Rábida monastery nearby to nurse
his bruised ego. What had
happened a few days earlier in
the royal military camp during
the final assault on Granada,
was that a committee of experts
had rejected Columbus’ pleas to
secure royal backing for his
“Enterprise of the Indies.”
After years of waiting, Columbus
had grown impatient for an
endorsement. Yet, it would only
be now, after this long endeavor
to rid the country of Muslim
invaders, that the king and
queen could begin to think about
affairs other than the war and
give Columbus the attention he
craved.
Introduction to Columbus:
Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal
Colón in Spanish, Cristoforo
Colombo in Italian) was born in
1451 in Genoa, Italy; he died in
1506 in Valladolid, Spain.
On October 12, 1492, two
hitherto unknown worlds met on a
little island in the Caribbean
Sea. While on a voyage of
exploration for Spain in search
of a direct sea route to the Far
East, Christopher Columbus
unintentionally discovered the
New World. In four different
voyages to the Caribbean from
1492 to 1504, the discoverer
remained convinced, however,
that he had found the lands that
Marco Polo reached in his
overland travels to China at the
end of the 13th
century. To Columbus it was only
a matter of time before a
passage through the Caribbean
islands to the fabled cities of
Cathay (China) and Cipango (Japan)
was found. To the Europeans of
this age, all land east of the
Indus River was “the Indies.”
Because he believed he had
reached the Indies, Columbus
named the people “Indians.”
Other contemporary adventurers,
however, were not convinced that
this was part of the “Old”
World. The Florentine explorer
Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the
Americas are named, believed
that this land was totally
unknown to the ancients.
Childhood and Early Years
Though biographical facts on
Columbus vary from author to
author, there is general
agreement among most scholars
that Cristoforo Colombo was born
in Genoa between August 25 and
October 31, 1451; that his
father was Domenico Colombo, a
wool weaver who was also
involved in local politics; and
that his mother was Suzanna
Fontanarossa, daughter of a wool
weaver. The eldest of five
children, Christopher would
always remain closest to his
brother Bartolomeo. The two
brothers shared a lot in common;
they studied cartography
together, sold books, and
planned for a trip to the west;
and they traveled to the New
World together. Another brother,
Giovanni Pellegrino, died young;
his sister, Bianchinetta,
married a cheesemonger. His
youngest brother Giacomo was
seventeen years his junior. The
entire family moved to Savona,
west of Genoa, in 1470.
Although it is not known how
much formal training Columbus
received as a child, Italian
craft guilds did offer a
rudimentary level of reading and
writing in their schools. As a
boy and a young man, Christopher
joined his father in the family
business of wool processing and
selling. He may have worked as a
clerk in a Genoese bookshop as
well. At a time when it was
generally expected that sons
follow their fathers in the
family business, it was,
nevertheless, natural for them
to turn to the seas for a career.
Like so many other young men
growing up in a major sea port,
Columbus began a life of
seafaring in his early teens.
Like any new apprentice entering
the profession at age 14,
Columbus served as a messenger,
ship’s boy, common sailor, and,
perhaps, even as a 21-year old
privateer. Although most
historians doubt that the trip
took place, his son Fernando
stated in History of the
Life and Deeds of Christopher
Columbus that in 1472,
Columbus was given command of a
ship on a privateering
expedition to Tunis. In a lost
letter, Columbus is supposed to
have related to his son how he
had been commissioned by René
d’Anjou, the French pretender to
the throne of Naples, to make a
surprise attack on a large
Spanish galleon sailing off the
coast of North Africa. Not in
doubt is the hostility that had
erupted between René and the
House of Aragon in Spain over
the throne. Nor is it in
question that Genoa entered the
conflict against Spain. It was
quite natural for the Genoese
merchants to come to the aid of
their allies the Angevins. What
most historians doubt, however,
is that Columbus ever received
command of the expedition.
Much more credible, however, is
a subsequent expedition. In 1474
Columbus was hired as an
ordinary sailor on a
Mediterranean ship bound for
Chios in the Aegean Sea. This
was his first long voyage and
must have proved profitable
since he gained economic
independence from his family.
Except for a brief return to
make plans for his next
adventure, never again would
Columbus return to Savona to
live. As Genoa retreated to the
background so did his
association with his family’s
wool weaving business. Columbus
spent a year in Chios and could
hardly have remained immune to
the political, commercial, and
religious turmoil throughout the
area. The Greek islands were
within the sphere of influence
of Constantinople, which had
fallen twenty years earlier to
the Turks. The great irony is
that his trip to the Aegean
island brought him the closest
he would ever get to Asia.
On August 13, 1476, a Genoese
commercial expedition of five
ships bound for England gave
Columbus his first opportunity
to leave the Mediterranean Sea
and sail into the Atlantic Ocean.
But it was an inauspicious
beginning for a man who would
become Admiral of the Ocean
Seas. Having passed through the
Straits of Gibraltar without
incident, the entire fleet came
under attack by French
privateers off the Cape of St.
Vincent. Both sides lost ships;
Columbus, one of the unfortunate
ones whose ship was burned, had
no escape other than to swim to
shore. That he survived, his son
boasted, was “because he was a
prodigious swimmer.” Six miles
from shore, he made it to land
by clinging to wreckage. After
regaining his strength in the
Port of Lagos, without money or
position, Columbus made his way
to Lisbon’s large Genoese
community of merchants and
shipbuilders. He was twenty-five
years old.
By 1477 Columbus resided in
Lisbon. To someone born and
raised in a Mediterranean sea
port, his new home must have
seemed magical, alive with
anticipation. Sitting at the
mouth of the Tagus River,
Lisbon’s rhythm was that of the
crashing ocean at its doorstep.
Thrusting into the Atlantic,
facing water on two sides,
Portugal had become a center for
maritime activity. Since the
time of Prince Henry the
Navigator’s explorations down
the coast of Africa, Lisbon was
a haven for explorers,
adventurers, entrepreneurs,
merchants and any others who saw
their fortunes tied to the trade
winds and ocean currents. Soon
Columbus’ brother Bartolomeo
would be in Lisbon, as well,
working as a mapmaker and
studying geography. At times,
the brothers worked side-by-side
as draftsmen in the map-making
business and as book collectors.
In a land of opportunities,
Columbus received his first
commission soon after he arrived
in Lisbon. Sailing for Italian
merchants in 1477, Columbus set
sail on a convoy loaded with
goods for sale in northern
Atlantic ports. Included in his
ports of call was Iceland,
called Ultima Thule
by the ancients who believed it
marked the end of the world.
Other voyages followed, but
Columbus did find the time to
meet and marry Felipa
Perestrello e Moniz. Though the
father, Bartolomeo Perestrello,
was already deceased by the time
Columbus and Felipa met, the
Perestrellos were a respected,
though relatively poor, noble
family. Being a hereditary
governor appointed originally by
Prince Henry to Porto Santo in
the Madeiras Islands, Bartolomeo
had been himself a man of the
sea whose family had arrived in
Portugal from Italy a century
earlier. Soon after their
marriage in 1478 or 79, the
newlyweds accompanied the rest
of the family back to Porto
Santo where Felipa's oldest
brother took over the
governorship. Soon after their
son Diego was born in 1480 or
81, Columbus and Felipa moved to
the larger island of Madeira.
It's believed that Columbus’
wife died soon thereafter.
The next few years are filled
with other voyages and more book
learning. In late 1481 or early
1482, Columbus sailed to the new
Portuguese fortress of El Mina
on the Guinea coast. Believing
in error that El Mina was south
of the Equator, Columbus was
impressed with the riches Africa
had to offer, especially gold.
Like all good navigators,
Columbus was eager to learn
about wind and ocean currents
from the local pilots and
sailors. Some historians believe
that in these waters off the
coast of Africa and the nearby
Canary Islands, Columbus
observed for himself the ocean
phenomenon known as the Canary
Current. Knowledge of a fast
moving river of water in the
ocean running from the Canaries
to the Bahamas could very well
have been the reason that
Columbus chose to start his
crossing of the Atlantic in the
latitude of the Canaries, far
south of Iberia.
The Enterprise of the Indies:
The experience of these years
led directly to the genesis of
his plan to reach the east by
going west, what he called his
“Enterprise of the Indies.” Some
time between when he arrived in
Portugal to when he appeared
before the Portuguese king John
II in 1484, Columbus devised a
fairly complete plan for sailing
west to the Indies. Inspiration
came from a number of sources,
but clearly Columbus had many
life experiences that related
directly to his future voyages
of discovery. As mentioned above,
his marriage to Felipa
Perestrello e Moniz, whose
family belonged to the
Portuguese nobility, gave
Columbus access not only to the
Portuguese court and the king
but also to the extensive
collection of maps and papers of
Felipa's father. Though
relatively poor, the family
still had connections at court.
Columbus apparently gained
access to the papers of the
deceased former governor and
found a wealth of information
including maps, charts revealing
ocean currents, personal
interviews with sailors, and
stories about objects that
drifted to the coast of the
little island from the west. How
impressed Columbus must have
been when the governor's widow
handed over the journals and
charts of a man who had sailed
for the legendary Prince Henry
the Navigator. If he had not
thought of it before, living on
a island far out in the ocean
gave Columbus reason to think
that sea exploration further
west was possible. It was here
that his “Enterprise of the
Indies” began to mature.
Other important activities that
contributed to the formation of
his Enterprise were his
association with the Genoese
community in Portugal as well as
his employment with Italian and
Portuguese merchants. Both
furthered his knowledge of the
Atlantic waters, and his trips
to Africa brought him close to
the Canary Islands and knowledge
of the Canary Current. Others
have suggested, however, that it
was because Marco Polo had
placed the land of the great
Khan on the same parallel as the
Canary Islands that Columbus
chose to sail from that location.
Other voyages by Columbus
brought him into the northern
Atlantic as well. Stops in
England, Iceland, Ireland and
other northern lands may have
put Columbus in contact with
people whose remembered history
included knowledge of lands west
of Iceland. Although the
Viking sagas never
became a part of the knowledge
base of Medieval Europeans, it
is believed that their encounter
with one island after another
across the northern Atlantic was
the reason that sailors and
cartographers believed that the
entire Atlantic was strewn with
islands. Columbus’ genius was
his remarkable ability to gather
information from around the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic,
combining his real life
experiences with ancient
theories from his books in a way
that few navigators were able to
do. It was as if he could plug
himself into the local knowledge
base and draw out information.
But there was more at work than
his own seafaring experiences.
Columbus’ idea of sailing west
to get to the east was not
original with him, nor did he
ever claim that it was. Columbus
drew upon the science and
knowledge accumulated over
millennia. Since antiquity there
had been theories that held that
earth was spherical in shape. In
Greek and Roman times, for
example, cosmographers theorized
that there was only one body of
water on the surface of the
Earth that connected both Europe
and Asia. If so, one could,
theoretically, sail from the
west to get to the east. Only
the distance was in dispute. The
awakening of Medieval Europe
began with Ptolemy (Claudius
Ptolemaeus) and the appearance
of his unique map of the world
in the 2nd century
AD, essentially a map of the
known world during Roman times.
There was renewed interest in
Ptolemy in the 15th
century after the Florentine
publication of a Latin
translation of his
Geography. To Ptolemy
the ocean surrounding the known
lands of the world was
unnavigable; the Portuguese,
among others, were unwilling to
accept an infinite ocean.
Columbus, too, rejected the idea
of an unlimited, boundless ocean.
But on the other hand, he
accepted willingly other
Ptolemaic geographical
configurations. To Columbus,
Ptolemy meant simply that one
could get to the other side of
the world by going west, that
the two distant coasts had a
common ocean sea.
During the Dark Ages and the
Middle Ages little energy was
spent on such speculation. Other
issues, like survival, were more
pressing. At the end of the
Middle Ages, however, the old
theory of one ocean had been
resurrected. In particular, the
aged cosmographer-physician
Paolo del Pozzo Toscanelli of
Florence believed that one could
reach the East by sea in little
more than 3000 miles. Since
Toscanelli was in communication
with the Portuguese in the late
1470s, it is believed that this
information ultimately made its
way to Columbus. Both Father las
Casas, who wrote The
History of the Indies,
and his son Fernando indicate
that there had been
correspondence between Columbus
and Toscanelli.
Finally, it should be mentioned
that Columbus had managed to
collect a large number of books
over the years; a few of them in
particular left a deep
impression. Without a doubt, the
Bible was a great
source of inspiration to
Columbus. He drew heavily from
it and took his name, “Christ
Bearer," seriously, believing,
in fact, that he had a divine
mission to accomplish.
Influencing Columbus' developing
image of the globe were Pope
Pius II's Historia Rerum
ubique Gestarum,
published in 1477 when he was
still a cardinal, Cardinal
Pierre d'Ailly’s Imago
Mundi published in the
early 1480s while rector of the
Sorbonne, and The Travels
of Marco Polo, written
in 1298 after Marco Polo's
return from his travels to the
Mongol Empire in the 13th
century. Also in Columbus’
library were Pliny’s
Natural History and
Plutarch’s Lives.
After eight years of experience
sailing in Atlantic waters for
Italian and Portuguese merchants,
and access to the learned
scholarship of his day, Columbus
was certain that one could reach
the Far East by sailing westward.
Search for Patronage
To an explorer of the 15th
century, royal sponsorship was a
necessity, not a secondary
consideration. Who else but a
monarch could advance
sovereignty, legitimize the
discovery, conduct diplomatic
relations, colonize the land,
protect and defend the new
colony, promulgate laws, oversee
the exploitation of the riches,
and create an ultramarine
government? Not a private
individual nor a merchant, and
not even a banker. It was more
than a coincidence that the Age
of Discovery occurred at the
same time as the appearance of
the first truly national
governments in Western Europe.
Clearly, what the Portuguese
learned during the explorations
of Prince Henry was that to
launch and sustain new
explorations and discoveries, a
strong political and military
base was needed. In addition,
indispensable to the success of
any commercial enterprise was
the support of the bourgeoisie.
In fact, discoverers and
explorers often served as agents
of the bourgeoisie but with
royal sanctions.
Columbus’ decision to seek royal
patronage in Portugal seemed
like a good one. With few
interruptions the Portuguese
crown had encouraged and
supported explorations for a
century or more, and nearly all
new discoveries in the Atlantic
were Portuguese. Furthermore, it
was well known that the reigning
monarch, King John II, who came
to power in 1481, was personally
committed to discovering a
direct sea route to the Indian
Ocean and the Far East. Prince
Henry’s unfulfilled dream of
circumnavigating Africa became
one of King John’s passions.
Besides, the king was resolute
in his support of African trade
and commerce and Christian
evangelization of the natives.
Considering the king’s strong
support of geographical
exploration, it was logical for
Columbus to approach King John
II. Furthermore, Columbus had
been in Portugal for seven years
and had married a Portuguese
noblewoman, and he was a product
of Portuguese maritime
traditions. According to
tradition, in 1484 the king
listened to his proposal to sail
to the east by going west and
summarily passed it onto his
Council of Geographical Affairs.
But after a public hearing, the
Council denied the request on
the ground that it was too
expensive, that Columbus was
only a "visionary" and wrong
about distances and measurements,
that there was only worthless
“rocky points” for land to the
west, and that such a plan was
contrary to Portugal’s
commitment to finding an
eastward route to Asia by
traveling around Africa.
As backing from royal courts in
Portugal, France and England
fell through, Columbus took his
young son and moved to Spain in
1485. Persistent as he was, his
intention now was to approach
the Spanish monarchs with his
“Enterprise of the Indies.”
After all, wasn’t Spain a
crusading Christian nation with
a long maritime tradition in the
Mediterranean and growing
interests in the Atlantic? The
Canary Islands had already
fallen within the sphere of
Spanish influence. Though Spain
lagged far behind Portugal in
exploration of the Atlantic, the
two powers were more than
“friendly” rivals. In fact, they
had engaged in open hostilities
since the 14th
century when Spain began to
dispute Portugal’s claims to
Africa and the Atlantic islands.
Though Spanish had recently
gained control of the Canaries,
the Portuguese had not abandoned
their claims. A fragile
détente existed with neither
side wanting a war. According to
tradition, one of the reasons
for King John’s rejection of
Columbus’ plan to sail west was
his concern over violating
Spanish sovereignty in the
Canaries.
One of Columbus’ first stops in
Spain was the monastery La
Rábida at Palos de la Frontera.
Not far from the Portuguese
border, the quiet town of Palos
along the banks of the River
Tinto opened to the Atlantic,
and it was near the town of
Huelva where some of his late
wife’s relatives lived. La
Rábida was a fortunate turn of
events; Columbus found not only
a boarding place for his son
Diego but also support from the
friars, several of whom became
great believers in his vision.
He also found Fray Antonio
Marchena, with whom Columbus
spent many hours discussing
geography. Knowledgeable on
cosmography, Marchena played an
important role in shaping
Columbus’ plans by pointing him
in the direction of the writings
of the ancients and of church
authorities who were known to
support the idea of a westward
crossing of the ocean. Through
Marchena, Columbus was
introduced to powerful noblemen
as well. Influential friends are
always good to have when one is
petitioning the royal court.
In this regard, probably no one
was more important than Fray
Juan Pérez, one of the guardians
of the monastery but also Queen
Isabella’s confessor. It was
Pérez who introduced Columbus to
the court of Ferdinand and
Isabella. La Rábida played one
other important role in the
history of Columbus’ first
voyage of discovery: it was the
site of many long meetings and
discussions with local seaman
including the respected
seafaring Pinzón family.
Tradition holds that Columbus
moved to Seville in 1485, and
between May of 1486 and
September of 1487 he was
maintained at the expense of the
queen. Although interested in
his ideas, the king and queen
were too busy fighting wars and
consolidating power to give
serious consideration to his
plan. Finally, in 1487, Columbus
presented his Atlantic project
to a committee of experts called
to hear the case. The so-called
“Wise Men of Salamanca” raised
numerous objections, asked many
questions, and, in the end,
rejected the plan. Among the
reasons given for the rejection
was that the “ocean sea" was
simply too large to cross.
In his “years of great anguish,”
as he called his years of
petitioning the monarchs, 1491
must have seemed hopeless. He
was virtually without funds, all
pleas had been rejected at court,
and he now had two children to
support, Diego, his legitimate
son, and Fernando, born out of
wedlock to Columbus and Beatriz
Enríquez de Arana in 1488. In a
period of great despair, his one
source of comfort was his love
for Beatriz. A peasant woman,
she was introduced to Columbus
by a relative, Diego de Arana,
an officer on Columbus’ first
voyage.
An interlude in Columbus’ search
for Spanish patronage came in
1488. Tradition relates that the
Portuguese king was willing to
give Columbus one more
opportunity to present his plan.
Writing to Columbus as “our dear
friend,” King John II invited
him to return to Portugal under
royal protection. (Apparently,
Columbus had left some unpaid
debts behind when he moved from
Portugal to Spain a few years
earlier.) The Portuguese king
had become disenchanted with
efforts to circumnavigate Africa,
especially after the great
navigator Bartolomeu Dias seemed
to have disappeared at sea. Dias
had been commissioned in August
of 1487 to discover the tip of
Africa, but when he failed to
return after a year, King John
was ready to reconsider Columbus’
“Enterprise of the Indies.”
There is no evidence that
Columbus ever made the trip, but
in December, 1488, Dias finally
returned after 16 months at sea
to report that he had rounded
the tip of Africa. This sealed
Columbus’ fate in Portugal and
vindicated the Portuguese in
their African strategy. They no
longer needed a westward route
to Asia.
In Spain, Columbus made one
final appeal in the last weeks
of 1491. Invited to the royal
camp as the monarchs prepared
for their final battle with the
Muslims in Granada, the future
discoverer made his final
presentation. But again his plan
was rejected; although Columbus
had been successful in winning
over many of the learned
scholars and scientific advisers,
this time the rejection was due
primarily to the excessive
demands he made for titles,
revenues, and rewards. His
request for payment (one-tenth
of all riches from the Indies
and the rank of Admiral of the
Ocean, Viceroy and Governor of
the Indies) caused the
sovereigns to flatly refuse the
project. Tradition relates that
as Columbus rode away on his
mule, Ferdinand’s treasurer,
Luis de Santángel, a member of a
prominent family of converted
Jews, interceded on his behalf.
Arguing that the investment was
small considering the potential
reward, Santángel was able to
convince the King and Queen to
reverse their decision. A court
official was dispatched on
horseback to bring him back.
After several more weeks of
negotiating a contract, Columbus
left for Palos de la Frontera,
in April, 1492, and his
rendezvous with history.
The First Voyage (1492-93):
The people of Palos were ordered
to provide and equip two
caravels (small light sailing
ships). The first, owned by
Cristóbal Quintero, was called
the Pinta; the
second, owned by Juan Niño, was
officially named the Santa
Clara but known as the
Niña . The third
ship, Columbus' flagship (a
small round ship with a large
hold, most likely a nao),
was owned by Juan de la Cosa and
called the Santa María.
Little is known about the actual
construction but archival
evidence suggests that the
Niña and the
Pinta were small, about
60 tons each and about 70-80
feet long. Of the three, the
Pinta was the fastest.
The Santa María
was about 90-100 tons and not
much longer than the other two.
It is true that initially
Columbus, who was a foreigner,
had difficulty recruiting a crew
because so many feared a voyage
into the unknown. The royal
secretary tried to help by
offering freedom to any convict
who enlisted. Some seasoned
seaman objected to this plan but
in the end only four convicts
accepted. More than anything, it
was the friars of La Rábida and
Martín Alonso Pinzón, an
experienced sea captain from
Palos, who persuaded local
sailors to join the expedition.
Two other Pinzón brothers joined
the voyage; all were commanding
officers.
About 40 men including Columbus
sailed on the Santa María.
Between 20 and 30 were on the
Pinta and Niña
each. Historical figures
disagree on the exact number of
men recruited, estimates range
from 90 to 120 men on board the
three ships, but only 87 names
are known. Father las Casas and
Fernando put the figure at 90,
but the truth may never be known.
Most were Spanish, the largest
number coming from around Palos;
there was one Portuguese, one
Genoese other than Columbus, one
Venetian, and one Calabrian. The
crew was comprised largely of
experienced seamen, and there
were a few government officials.
But there were no priests, no
soldiers and no settlers; this
was a voyage of exploration and
discovery.
Little is known about life
onboard the ships but it could
not have been comfortable. There
were no crew’s quarters, no
hammocks (soon to be discovered
in the Caribbean), and no mess
halls. Only the captains and
pilots had anything like a cabin,
and then they were very small.
At night one slept where one
could find a vacant spot, tying
one self down to prevent being
tossed into the sea. Prayers,
songs, stories, ship chores,
eating and waiting filled the
sailors’ days. Star gazing under
a new and unknown sky filled
their restless nights.
Provisions on board included but
were not limited to: tools,
ropes, planks, nails, whale oil,
sulfur, tar, leather, yarn, wax,
tackle, anchors, buoys, flags,
muskets, powder, crossbows,
arrows, helmets, shields, swords,
biscuits, beans, peas, wine,
olive oil, syrup, water, dried
fish, salt meat, pigs and hens (to
be killed on ship), salt, flour,
rice, cheese, figs, almonds,
medicines, cooking pots, knives,
ladles, bowls, candles, lamps,
steel, lanterns, firewood,
sweeps, buckets, baskets,
fishhooks, lines, sinkers, nets,
harpoons, notebooks, journals,
nautical almanacs, quills, ink,
sealing wax, charts, paper,
compasses, compass needles,
magnets, half-hour glasses,
dividers, rulers, drums,
tambourines, glass beads, brass
rings, knitted caps, gold,
silver, pearls, and spices. The
ships carried enough provisions
for one year at a time when two
weeks at sea was a long voyage.
Compasses, astrolabes,
hourglasses, maps and charts
were the most important
navigational aids. Celestial
navigation was the favored
method while sailing under
familiar stars, but dead
reckoning was more dependable in
east-west voyages in unknown
seas. The Arabs had perfected
celestial navigation centuries
earlier while incorporating the
knowledge from their star charts
onto the back of the astrolabe.
The astrolabe could tell
position simply by positioning
the stars in the sky exactly as
the user saw them, but this only
worked under known skies. On
the reverse side of the
instrument, images of the Sun
and the Moon could be positioned
as well to indicate the date. In
dead reckoning, east-west travel
was facilitated by maintaining
the Sun at the same degree above
the horizon. Pointing a finger
of an extended arm at the Sun at
noon and maintaining every day
the same angle the arm makes
with the body, would guarantee a
true east or true west direction.
Changing the angle, that is,
lowering or raising the arm,
would cause a shift in the
direction away or towards the
horizon. In dead reckoning, a
pilot could calculate the
distance traveled in an hour or
a day by measuring the time that
it took a floating device to
travel the known length of the
ship, from the bow to the stern.
The compass, whose magnetized
needle was supposed to point in
the direction of the North Star,
worked very well in the
Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and
eastern waters. The needle
pointed to the North Star only
by coincidence in the Eastern
Hemisphere because, from that
location in the world, the
magnetic northern pole was in
line with the polar star. But,
an “eastern variation” had been
documented centuries earlier.
After several weeks out in the
Atlantic, the crew became
alarmed when compass needles
onboard all the three ships
began to deviate from true north
to a few degrees west. Columbus
was able to quell their fears by
explaining that the variation
was do to instability of the
North Star. Like other stars in
the sky, he explained, this one
moved too. Under overcast skies,
in storms, at night and in tight
passages the compass provided
the best aid. Under open skies,
however, navigators trusted
naked eye observations of the
stars, the Sun and the Moon more
than any device.
Columbus preferred dead
reckoning over celestial
navigation, and he was never
comfortable with the astrolabe
and other devices for measuring
the heavenly bodies. Above all,
he was masterful in reading the
signs of Nature, such as the
behavior of birds, the smell of
the air, the color of the sky,
the condition of the seas, the
pressure he felt in his joints,
floating debris, and more.
Successful navigators were those
who survived by “reading” Nature.
Columbus was quite successful at
this and even predicted
hurricanes accurately.
At daybreak on August 3, 1492,
the small flotilla of ships left
Palos for parts unknown. One can
only imagine what thoughts were
going through the minds of the
crew, but especially Columbus’.
At the age of 41, standing on
the bow of the Santa María,
watching the coast slowly slip
below the horizon, Columbus left
behind on dry land a struggle
that had lasted a quarter of his
life. He was now in his element,
doing what he had dreamed about
for the past ten years.
After a southern passage to the
Canary Islands where the
Niña had her sails
replaced with square rigging and
the Pinta’s rudder
was repaired, the voyagers
departed the known world on the
6th of September,
1492. Each day of the voyage,
the ships traveled primarily
westward. The choice of
sailing from the Canaries was
masterful. The Canary Current, a
river in the ocean, speeded
their journey. In mid September
the crew began seeing signs of
life: brightly colored birds,
pelicans, and seaweed. On
September 25, it was thought
that land was sighted but it was
nothing more than low lying
clouds. Much of the crew was
apprehensive and fearful that
the strong daily winds would
keep them from getting back to
Spain. Columbus had difficulty
with his crew at times, and he
found it hard to work with the
Pinzóns, especially Martín
Alonso who was much more
seasoned than Columbus, but
there is little evidence that
the crew was ever close to
mutiny. Moreover, it is only
legend that Columbus tried to
deceive the crew by giving false
readings in order to make the
distance seem shorter.
On the moonlit night of October
11 the Captain General (Columbus
would be called Admiral after
fulfilling the obligations of
his contract with the monarchs
by finding land) thought that he
had seen lights in the distance.
Two hour past midnight on the
morning of October 12 a lookout
named Rodrígo de Triana (sometimes
called Juan Rodríguez Bermejo),
on the Pinta,
cried out “ Tierra!
Tierra!.” A reward of a
pension of ten thousand
maravedis a year (an able seaman
could earn about 12,000
maravedis per year) was to go to
he who saw land first. Rather
cruelly, Columbus pocketed the
money himself, claiming that he
had seen several lights the
night before.
A new era began for humankind on
the morning of October 12, 1492,
when the Admiral and a handful
of the excited but weary
voyagers set foot on land after
36 days of sailing. Columbus
raised the royal standard and
two captains each carried
banners decorated with green
crosses and letters representing
Ferdinand and Isabel. Soon the
curious and naked natives, with
some trepidation, came out of
their hiding places and greeted
the visitors. Although this
momentous encounter took place
on a relatively inconspicuous
island, never again would the
world be the same. The actual
landfall site is still a
question that stirs passions
among mariners and historians
alike. Called Guanahaní by the
natives, Columbus claimed the
land for his sovereigns and
renamed it San Salvador (in
honor of the Savior Jesus Christ),
but no one today knows for sure
which island it was, perhaps
Watling Island or the Semana Cay.
Ten or more islands in the
Bahamas fit the physical
description as recorded by
Columbus’ in his journal,
described simply as large and
flat, with bright green trees
and much water.
The natives were friendly and
open to trade with the sailors.
They traded anything for
anything. Balls of spun cotton
and parrots and spears for the
sailors´ glass beads, red caps,
and trinkets not equal to the
worth of the natives’ goods.
Described as well formed with
handsome bodies, the natives
were tall, not black or white,
intelligent, painted, naked,
with coarse, straight hair and
broad brows. Called Taínos by
the Spaniards, the islanders
reminded Columbus of the natives
on the Canary Island. Belonging
to a larger language family
called the Arawaks, the Taínos
showed no fear or knowledge of
Spanish swords and cut
themselves while examining the
weapons. Small pieces of gold
were seen pierced in the noses
of the natives of San Salvador.
They told Columbus that the
natives of other islands wore
gold bands around their arms and
legs, and they described
countless islands all like
theirs. Soon all natives were
given the name “Indians” in the
belief that the Spaniards had
arrived in the Indies (Asia).
On the third day Columbus took
six or seven Indians as guides
upon his departure from San
Salvador and reconnoitered three
other islands in the Bahamas.
For three months the flotilla
sailed about the Caribbean,
visiting islands whose beauty
the Europeans found nearly
impossible to describe. By the
end of the month of October,
Columbus reached the coast of
Cuba. After sailing north and
then south along its coast, the
Admiral was convinced that this
was nothing less than the
Cipango, one of the lands Marco
Polo had praised. Despite the
fact that the local pilots told
him it was an island, Columbus
convinced himself that Cuba was
a promontory of the great
country of Cathay.
Meanwhile,
with growing unrest over the
meager riches, anxiety built to
the point that Martín Alonso
sailed off with the Pinta
without leave on November 21 and
headed for an island that,
according to the local Indians,
contained much gold. Crossing
the Windward Passage, Columbus
sailed to another large island
which he called La Isla Español
(Hispaniola). For a month he
cruised the coast, stopping
occasionally to inspect the land
and the people. Columbus
befriended a young Taíno chief
by the name of Guacanagarí who
was welcomed aboard his ship.
Arrangements were made for
another meeting, this one on
Christmas Day at the chief’s
residence in a large town nearby.
Before the meeting could take
place, the command ship,
Santa María, struck a
reef off the coast and grounded.
Over the next few days,
everything that could be
salvaged was removed by the crew
of the two ships and natives in
canoes sent by Guacanagarí. A
fort was constructed out of the
lumber of the ship, supplies
were stored for a year, and 39
men stayed behind in Europe’s
first settlement in the New
World since the days of the
Vikings five hundred years
earlier. But La Navidad proved
no more enduring a settlement
than those of the Norsemen in
Newfoundland.
On the 6th of January,
Martín Alonso Pinzón rejoined
the expedition and, shortly
thereafter, the two remaining
vessels headed home. Upon
leaving the Caribbean, Columbus
had the good fortune again of
finding an ocean current, just
as he did in the Canaries.
Entering the Gulf Stream, his
ships sailed far enough north to
catch the prevailing westerlies.
But it wasn’t an uneventful
return. Approaching Europe the
ships encountered a terrible
storm, one of the worst storms
ever recorded in Europe. The
Pinta became
separated again from the
expedition and arrived at the
port Bayona on the northwest
coast of Spain several days
before the Niña .
Meanwhile, Columbus limped into
Lisbon where he was apprehended
by King John II, the very
sovereign who had turned him
down nine years earlier. For
fear that the king might not
release him, Columbus sent a
secret messenger to the Spanish
court relating his experiences
and his detention. By mid-March
he was free to return to Spain.
On March 15, 1493 at Noon, the
Niña entered the
harbor of Palos, 32 weeks after
leaving from the same port.
Although Martín Alonso arrived
in Spain earlier, he did not
reach Palos until after Columbus.
Very sick, he died before he
even had a chance to report to
the king.
Columbus alone held the stage.
His greatest glory came when he
appeared before Ferdinand and
Isabella at the royal palace in
Barcelona and was invited to sit
with them and even eat at the
same table. With a parade of
exotic natives and colorful
parrots, he told his tale of the
voyage and of the islands with
their lush vegetation and
strange inhabitant; he reported
on spices, gold, cannibals, and
mermaids; and he showed the gold
he had brought home, some of it
in the form of crowns and large
masks but other in the form of
ornaments and nuggets and even
dust.
All of his titles and rewards
were reconfirmed, and he was
addressed by his new title
“Admiral of the Ocean Seas.” He
received 1,000 doubloons, the
equivalent of 345,000 maravedis.
Columbus owned the day; he
delivered what he had promised—at
least everybody at the Spanish
court thought so. On the other
side of Iberia, however, the
Portuguese were in doubt that he
had discovered Asia. For the
time being, Columbus boasted of
his travels and discoveries and
urged the sovereigns to equip
another expedition as soon as
possible. He promised any
amount of gold, spices, and
riches as well as more natives
to be converted to Christianity.
The Admiral had little
difficulty persuading the
Spanish royalty to aid a second
voyage.
To prevent Portuguese claims,
Columbus had sent a letter to
Pope Alexander VI as soon as he
arrived in Spain explaining his
discoveries in as much detail as
he felt he could reveal. A Papal
bull (or decree, titled
Inter coetera) was
issued in May, 1493 granting
control of every island Columbus
had discovered to the Sovereigns
of Spain. At Columbus’ urging,
a line of demarcation was drawn
in the ocean 100 leagues west of
the Cape Verde Islands declaring
that all undiscovered land west
of this line not belonging to a
Christian sovereign belonged to
Spain, east of the line went to
Portugal. This resulted in an
immediate conflict since
Portugal had been granted all
land south and west of the
Canaries in 1481. A resolution
was reached in the following
year when the sovereigns of
Spain and of Portugal signed the
Treaty of Tordesillas. In this
1494 treaty the line of
demarcation was moved to 370
leagues west of the Cape Verde
Islands.
TheSecond Voyage (1493-96):
Setting sail from Cadiz on
September 25, 1493, the second
voyage was on a much larger
scale; 17 ships and about 1200
colonists accompanied Columbus.
Its mission was to return to La
Navidad in Hispaniola to relieve
the men left behind from the
first voyage, settle more
colonists on the islands, and
conquer other islands to be
discovered. This time Columbus
carried a mission to bring
Christianity to the Indians.
To quicken the departure, in
case another nation might
attempt an expedition, the
sovereigns did not hesitate to
provide Columbus with whatever
supplies he requested. The cargo
included horses, cattle, donkeys,
sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, cats,
chickens, grain, seed, and all
the supplies needed for sailing,
fighting, building and setting
up an administration overseas.
The fleet left Cadiz and, as
before, stopped at the Canaries
to make repairs and to store
more meat, wood and water. After
leaving the Canary island of
Hierro, the fleet took a more
southerly route than before, and
21 days later, on the 2nd
of November, land was sighted.
This new group of smaller
islands (known as the Lesser
Antilles) were south and east of
the large islands of Cuba and
Hispaniola (part of the Greater
Antilles). After spending two
weeks discovering and naming
other beautiful islands, seeing
incredible lush tropics, rare
sights, and indescribable flora
and fauna, the fleet came upon
the island of Guadalupe. The
Spaniards were shocked by
stories of the cruel practices
of the Carib (or Caniba) Indians
who waged war on the nearby
island and ate their captives.
The first real battle in the New
World with natives came in a
skirmish with these “Cannibals”
on the island of St. Croix. It
should be mentioned that more
than a few historians doubt that
the practice of cannibalism
actually existed as described in
the chronicles of the sailors;
nevertheless, it was believed by
the Spanish explorers. Later in
Spanish colonial history, it was
enough to label a native
“cannibal” to enslave him.
Discovering the beautiful island
of Puerto Rico on his way to
Hispaniola, Columbus could sense
an increase in the anxiety level,
not only his own, but that of
the large contingency of
potential colonists, as well.
Voyagers, eager to get off their
ships, wanted to start looking
for gold, or at the least, start
colonizing. Reaching
Hispaniola at the end of
November, the Spanish fired a
cannon to announce their arrival,
but no one returned the salute.
There was response, no flag
waving…nothing! An ominous sign.
To their horror, they discovered
that the entire settlement of La
Navidad had been massacred and
the site burned to the ground.
As they searched for any trace
of their compatriots, the
newcomers discovered a mass
grave in which several Spaniards
were buried. They discovered
also that the village of
Columbus’ good friend, Chief
Guacanagarí, was burned and
destroyed. No one will ever know
for sure what happened at La
Navidad, but the popular theory
is that local natives destroyed
the settlement out of disgust
with the settlers’ greed and
avarice.
A new city, Isabella, was built
a short distance east of La
Navidad. There was reluctance on
the part of the settlers who
balked at the prospect of doing
manual labor. Many were ill and
others were more interested in
finding gold and other riches
than building a settlement.
Columbus hesitated writing to
the sovereigns about the
destruction of La Navidad and
decided on an expedition into
the hinterland to search for
gold. When gold failed to show
up on large quantities, Columbus
decided on a policy of forced
labor. Enslavement of the
natives had not been one of the
stated goals of this expedition
and it was offensive to the
queen; yet Columbus justified
Indian enslavement on the
grounds that it would be
profitable.
Before returning to Spain in
1496, Columbus explored more of
Cuba and discovered Jamaica. En
route to Cuba he discovered
innumerable small islands which
he called collectively the
Queen's Garden. The Admiral was
determined to prove that Cuba
belonged to mainland Asia and
was part of the empire of the
Mongol khans. Although he never
completed the circumnavigation
of the island, he did force his
men to take a solemn oath that
the land mass was a promontory
of Asia.
Relations began to deteriorate
between the Spaniards and the
natives of Hispaniola. Instead
of searching for provisions
while Columbus was off exploring
other islands, the men left
behind raided native villages in
search of riches. With little
hope for anything more than
poverty and unhappiness,
disgruntled settlers began
returning home. Many of the men
were sick, many died, most were
unhappy with the lack of
opportunity, and no one wanted
to work in the fields planting
crops. Leaving his brother Diego
behind as governor of La
Isabella contributed to Columbus’
problems with the settlers.
Diego was not an administrator,
there were repeated
demonstrations against his
ineffective rule, and besides he
was resented for being a
foreigner, an Italian. Some of
the settlers began sending
letters back to relatives and
officials in Spain complaining
about the conditions and the
leadership. In October of 1495 a
Spanish official arrived with a
royal commission to investigate
Viceroy Columbus and the charges
that had been made by the
discontented settlers. On March
10, 1496, Columbus had no choice
but to return home hoping to
preempt any royal inquiries into
the complaints of the settlers.
Earlier in the year Columbus did
find his first real riches on
Hispaniola. Taking part in the
expedition into the interior,
Columbus and his men forced the
inhabitants of the region to
gather loose gold. Within a few
days they had collected about 10
kg of the precious metal. We
know from his own writing that
Columbus was impressed with the
beauty of the Caribbean, but he
did not come looking for that.
With incredible single-mindedness,
the Admiral was looking for
riches and a doorway to Asia, to
the land of Marco Polo, hoping
that Hispaniola might be Cipango,
and Cuba part of Cathay. In
reality, no one knew where in
the world they were. The
relationship of the Western
Hemisphere to the rest of the
world would not be know until
after the Magellan-El Cano
around-the-world-in-three-years
trip, 1519-22.
The sovereigns gave Columbus a
friendly welcome upon his return
and listened with interest to
his story about the discovery of
new islands with great potential.
They appeared grateful and
continued to show him favor but
waited more than a year before
approving the provisioning for a
third voyage.
The Third Voyage 1498-1500
Having been cleared of any
wrongdoing, and with full
confidence of the monarchs,
Columbus left Seville with a
fleet of 6 ships on May 30,
1498. Separating the expedition,
one part went to aid the
settlement at Hispaniola, while
Columbus took the other part and
sailed further south than ever
before. Departing from the
Cape Verde Islands, he crossed
the ocean in hope of discovering
new islands in the southwest,
toward the equator. His
intention may have been to
reference the location of the
demarcation line drawn by the
Treaty of Tordesillas. Or, it
may have been that Columbus
believed the rumors that there
was land to the south of the
Caribbean. In any case, he
continued to search for gold and
other precious stones as well.
Columbus had the misfortune on
this trip of entering the
doldrums, a dead space in the
ocean where wind and ocean
currents die and the heat is
unbearable. After a little more
than a week the crew was saved
by a south-easterly that pushed
them westward. Changing course
to the north prevented Columbus
from discovering South America
but it did bring him to an
island with 3 mountain peaks.
Columbus named it Trinidad. From
here they sailed into the Gulf
of Paria and then to the coast
of South America which he named
Tierra de Gracia. Seeing the
huge amount of water flowing
into the sea, the Admiral
believed that he had discovered
a large land mass. The Orinoco
River was the largest river any
of the crew had ever seen.
Columbus believed that the
Terrestrial Paradise was at hand,
since it was believed that all
of the great rivers flowed from
the Garden of Eden. How close
Columbus came to realizing that
this land was other than the
fabled land of Marco Polo! In
one report he wrote, “Your
Highnesses will gain these lands,
which are another world.”
Without giving into the idea
that he was some place other
than Asia, he did manage to
report, “I believe this is a
very large continent which until
now has remained unknown.”
After several weeks of exploring
Trinidad, Paria and Margarita
Island, Columbus headed for
Hispaniola where his other
brother Bartolomeo had been put
in charge of building a new
capital. His choice was to build
the seaport of Santo Domingo
near to where the Spaniards had
discovered gold mines. But when
Columbus arrived at the end of
August, 1498, he found not a
city at work but a country at
war. Two factions had formed,
those who were loyal to the
Columbus family and a party of
rebels led by Francisco Roldán,
who had been appointed mayor by
Columbus before he had returned
to Spain after his second voyage.
It would take two years to put
down the revolt and restore
order. To end the rebellion the
Viceroy had to agree to the
demand of the rebels that each
one receive a plot of land and
the Indians who lived on it.
A navigator he was, an
administrator he wasn’t.
Columbus’ problems were due
primarily to a difference in
perception between the colonists
and the Governor as to the
purpose of the colonization. An
idealist and dreamer, Columbus
believed that riches would come
to those who were willing to
work hard and build a real
colony. The colonist, many of
whom were called “idlers” by
Columbus, wanted their riches
immediately. Much of the loose
gold that had been picked up
never made it into the royal
coffers but instead into the
pockets of the settlers.
Columbus’ plans of building
long-lasting colonies did not
appeal to settlers who were not
planning on staying long. It is
clear from his writing that
Columbus envisioned colonies
along the design of those that
the Portuguese had constructed
in Africa, like El Mina, a
trading factory that dealt with
long-range planning, such as
establishing contacts with local
natives for trade and commerce.
The colonists saw only a labor
force when they looked at the
natives. Despite his poor
record in dealing with the
Indians—having enslaved groups
of natives already, at least
Columbus shared the views of his
sovereigns that the natives must
be saved in both the physical
and spiritual sense.
Evangelization was from the very
beginning one of the main
motivations of Columbus. As
for the crown, conversion of the
Indians was paramount; Pope
Alexander VI had issued a papal
bull in 1496 in which he tied
the judicial claims of the
Spanish crown to the New World
to evangelization of the natives.
Meanwhile, conditions continued
to deteriorate. In great anguish
over his inability to bring
peace to the island, Columbus
requested of the sovereigns that
a lettered judge be sent to the
island to deal with an
intolerable situation. Indeed,
he got the judge he had asked
for, the monarchs sent Fransisco
de Bobadilla. He carried a
decree appointing him governor
of the islands and mainland of
the Indies. Shortly after his
arrival, Bobadilla seized
Columbus’ house and records and
sent an order to have Columbus
and his brother found and
arrested. They were placed in
chains and sent to Spain.
Columbus refused to have the
chains removed until the
monarchs themselves issued the
authority to do so. He arrived
in Cadiz in November 1500. Upon
hearing of plight of the Admiral,
the sovereigns immediately
ordered the chains removed and
both he and his brother freed.
Columbus was compensated 2,000
ducats (equivalent of about
10,000 dollars) for his ordeal.
On December 17, 1500 Columbus
went before the royal court. The
King and Queen instructed that
whatever items were taken from
Columbus at this arrest be
restored to him. The monarchs
would not reinstate Columbus’
titles, however. Instead they
ordered Bobadilla removed and
replaced by Don Nicolás de
Ovando. This was not a victory
or vindication for Columbus.
With his titles annulled, the
ex-governor spent the next two
years in despair and humiliation,
writing his Book of
Prophecies in which he
intended to show that he had
been chosen by God Himself to
take Christianity to the “ends
of the earth.”
Meanwhile, a flurry of
exploration had taken place in
the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic
Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
Ships reached as far south as
Rio de la Plata and far north
along the northern coast of
North America. The Portuguese
navigator Vasco da Gama returned
from his successful trip to
India across the Indian Ocean
(1497-99). Clinging desperately
to his original theory that the
islands he had discovered were
part of Marco Polo’s world,
Columbus was alone in his belief.
Other navigators saw it as a
world hitherto unknown to the
ancient savants. Whatever it
was, colonial activity in
“another world,” as Columbus
called it, took on a life of its
own, and there was very little
that Columbus could do to alter
its course.
Invariably bad news for the
Spaniards, Portuguese navigators
had fulfilled the Medieval dream
of finding a direct trade route
to the Far East, thus
outflanking the Muslims. For
Columbus, Portugal’s success was
a new opportunity for the Great
Navigator, and the monarchs were
again receptive to his vision of
finding a strait to mainland
Cathay. Rather than retiring
with a pension and an estate,
perhaps even a castle, Columbus
suggested yet another voyage,
his fourth. The King and Queen
must have been happy to agree to
another expedition if for no
other reason that to unburden
themselves of the bothersome
Columbus.
The “High Voyage” (1502-04):
Allocating 10,000 ducats to
provision a fourth voyage, the
king and queen made it clear
that Columbus was to search for
gold and silver, precious stones,
spices and other riches. But
above all, for fear of
aggravating the situation in the
colony, they forbade Columbus to
return to Hispaniola except if
necessary on his return to Spain.
Columbus’ fleet, including 4
ships and 150 men, set sail from
Cadiz bound for the Indies on
May 9, 1502 in what was to be
“Another voyage in the name of
the Holy Trinity,” as he stated
in a letter to the Pope. His son
Fernando, age 14, and brother
Bartolomeo accompanied Columbus
on this fourth and final voyage.
Because of ill health and poor
eyesight, Columbus could not
captain his fleet, but seaman
loyal to Columbus were honored
to serve the Admiral once again.
What began with exhilaration
over the fastest crossing yet,
just 20 days, ended with the
loss of the entire fleet on the
coast of Jamaica.
Stopping to take on wood and
water on Gran Canary, the
expedition began its crossing on
May 25. The first stop was at
the Caribbean island of
Martinique where they
provisioned the ship again and
washed their clothes. Sailing to
Dominica, Santa Cruz and, San
Juan, Columbus headed for
Hispaniola where he dropped
anchor at Santa Domingo on June
29.
Expressly forbidden to enter the
colony, Columbus felt it was
necessary. First, one of the
caravels was in disrepair and he
wished to purchase another. For
an even greater reason, Columbus
feared the coming of a hurricane.
In a message to Governor Ovando
seeking permission to enter the
port, Columbus advised him not
to allow any ships to depart for
Spain. Ovando refused to allow
Columbus and his fleet to enter
the port, and he did not take
the Admiral’s advice. Columbus
took refuge in a small harbor
nearby and was saved, but of the
28 ships that Ovando ordered to
sea, only four survived the
storm. Over 500 people were
killed. Columbus must have
felt that divine justice had
been done. Not only did the two
men he hated most die at sea,
Bobadilla and Roldán, but the
ship carrying the Admiral’s
share of the wealth made it the
entire way to Castile.
Following the hurricane,
Columbus sailed southwest, past
Cuba, and into open seas until
he reached Central America.
Tortuous sailing condition and
incredible storms along the
coast took their toll on both
the ships and on Columbus. The
Admiral was sick with rheumatism,
fever, and bad eyes, and much of
the time he was bedridden.
Unsuccessful in finding the
Strait of Malacca but seeing
much gold on the Indians,
Columbus was forced to leave the
area he called Veragua (Panama).
Skirmishes with the Indians,
intense storms, and damaged
ships meant that he had to head
back to Hispaniola. It was
December, 1502.
Losing one ship on the coast of
the isthmus and another at sea
to sea worms (small mollusks),
130 men crowded onto the
remaining, barely sea-worthy,
worm-riddled ships. Once at sea,
realizing that Hispaniola was
too far to reach in such
condition, Columbus turned north
to Jamaica which he had
discovered on his second voyage.
The ships were in such bad
condition that they were beached,
worthy only of being used as
protection from the Indians.
Columbus would remain marooned
here with his men for over a
year. One half of the men
mutinied when Columbus tried to
instill order and discipline,
and a second problem surfaced
which had the potential of being
more disastrous. Tired of
dealing with the Spaniards, the
Indians decided to stop
supplying food. In response,
Columbus came up with an
ingenious trick. Having an
almanac with him, he threatened
to punish the natives by taking
light away from the Moon. On the
night of February 29, 1504, when
the Moon began to disappear, the
Indians became alarmed and
agreed to reestablish trade with
the Spaniards. The Europeans,
however, were still stranded on
the island.
One loyal and brave sailor,
Diego Méndez de Salcedo, who had
protected the life of Columbus
on other occasions, agreed to
cross the open channel by canoe
to reach Hispaniola, a nearly
impossible feat. The island was
over 100 miles away and Santo
Domingo, home of Governor
Ovando, was 300 miles. In five
days Méndez and one other sailor
made it to Hispaniola in two
canoes paddled by natives.
After finding Ovando on a
mission inland, the men were
kept waiting seven months before
a ship was sent to check on
their story. Not until the end
of July did the rescue ship
arrive, and it wouldn’t be until
August 13 that the shipwrecked
sailors arrived in Santo
Domingo. Not feeling welcome in
the city, on Sept 12, 1504,
Columbus took his last voyage
across the ocean, this time as a
passenger. On November 7, 1504
he, his son, and his brother
arrived in Spain.
Last Days
By the time the Admiral returned
to Spain, Queen Isabella of
Castile was gravely ill, and
soon she died, on November 26,
1504. Weakened by rheumatism,
exposure, and years of bad, food
Columbus had arrived very ill
from his last trip, and he spent
many months in Seville
recuperating at the Monastery of
Las Cuevas. Over the next year
and a half, until his death,
Columbus tried to regain his
lost titles of Governor and
Viceroy. He wrote letters,
petitioned the crown, persuaded
others to intercede on his
behalf, and when he was well
enough, followed the court of
King Ferdinand to several cities
in Spain hoping to see the king.
In May, 1505, King Ferdinand
finally granted Columbus an
audience in which the discoverer
was allowed to present his
claims to the titles and the
riches of the Indies. His
titles were not returned, but
the king did allow for
arbitration regarding his
financial claims. In the end the
Admiral’s share was confirmed at
ten percent of the royal one-fifth
(the quinto real).
In effect, this amounted to two
percent of the riches of the
Indies, a considerable amount,
and it afforded the Columbus
family a life style equal to
that of the richest nobility of
Spain. Columbus already had a
coat of arms and noble status.
King Ferdinand in a final
gesture offered to property and
its revenue for his claims, but
Columbus stubbornly refuse.
Considering the poor health he
was in, it is apparent that
concern over profits and rights
was not for himself but for his
sons Diego and Ferdinand. The
Columbus family’s struggle for
justice continued well beyond
the Admiral’s death. In 1508
King Ferdinand appointed Diego
governor of Hispaniola.
In late 1505, Columbus became
too ill with gout and sadness to
travel any more and remained
until his death in the city of
Valladolid. On May 20, 1506,
both sons, brother Bartolomeo
and his faithful friend Diego
Méndez were at his side when the
Admiral murmured "Into thy hands,
O Lord, I commit my spirit" and
passed away. His body was buried
initially in Valladolid, but in
1509 his son Diego transferred
the remains to the monastery of
Las Cuevas in Seville. Still a
subject of great debate is where
Columbus’ remains are today.
Having been moved to the New
World in the middle of the 16th
century, first to Santo Domingo
and then to Havana (in 1795),
his remains traveled back to
Spain in 1899 where, it is
claimed, they are interred in
the Cathedral of Seville.
What seems to be the greatest
injustice of all is that the new
lands that the Great Navigator,
Admiral of the Ocean Seas,
Governor and Viceroy discovered
were never given his name. That
honor fell to a fellow Italian,
Amerigo Vespucci, from the city
of Florence, considered by some
as the heart and soul of the
Renaissance. As an agent of the
Medici family in Seville,
Amerigo, like everyone else, was
caught up in the excitement of
the discoveries. On two separate
occasions he sailed to the
Indies and, initially, believed
that this was part of the Old
World. After extensive travel
through the littoral of Brazil
and northern South America, as
well as visits to several of the
islands, Vespucci reached a
different conclusion than
Columbus. To Amerigo Vespucci
this was empirically a “New”
World, hitherto unknown to the
ancients. Amerigo’s letters were
widely circulated, and it was
through his writing that Europe
came to know about the lands to
the west. In 1507, when a group
of geographers working on a new
edition of an atlas, the word
“America” was written across the
newly discovered lands. By the
time they realized their mistake
it was too late to correct it.
The Columbian Legacy:
It is nearly impossible to over-exaggerate
the historical significance of
Christopher Columbus. The
ultimate expression of the
Columbian Legacy has been
nothing less than global in its
impact. Though much has been
written about the subsequent
Columbian Exchange, that is, the
exchange of plants and animals,
of diseases, of human migration,
and of cultural exchange,
students of history should not
forget that the discovery of a
New World had an intellectual
impact as well. During the Age
of Discovery (15th
and 16th centuries),
Western Europeans acquired the
ability to exchange information
with nearly all parts of the
world. As one of the great
thinkers of the age and one who
led the way, Columbus deserves
recognition for the intellectual
transformation that took place.
As a result, a new age was
ushered in, the Modern Age, and
after 1500 the world would never
be the same, nor would the human
race.
In hope of finding a way to
circumvent the Muslim monopoly
on the riches of the Spice
Islands and the Far East,
Columbus and other late Medieval
adventurers sailed away from a
world that still believed that
Earth was the center of the
Universe. This geocentric
theory left little room for
compromise throughout Western
Christendom. Was it not
logical that since Man was the
center of the Universe, the
Earth as his home had to be at
the very core?
The idea that humankind
inhabited a third rate planet
that rotated daily on its axis
and hurled itself through space
at astronomical speeds around a
fixed Sun was totally
unacceptable in the Middle Ages.
In 1530, however, things began
to change. The Polish astronomer
Nicholas Copernicus published
his work De Revolutionibus
Orbium Coelestium (On
the Revolutions of the Celestial
Spheres) in which he challenged
the prevailing geocentric
view. Advancing the
heliocentric theory,
Copernicus influenced many other
great thinkers with his theory
that the Earth and all other
planets revolved around the Sun.
In the next century the
Italian astronomer Galileo
Galilei (1564-1642) advanced the
Copernican theory significantly
with observations made with a
telescope. In 1633, however, the
Inquisition in Rome condemned
Galileo for heresy. The next
thinker was the German Johannes
Kepler (1571-1630). He too
accepted the Copernican theory
but went further by deducing
that the orbits of the planets
were elliptical and not
circular.
Now, contrast this picture with
that of today. As beneficiaries
of this scientific revolution,
school children throughout the
world have a more accurate image
of the Universe than the most
learned scholars of the Ancient,
Medieval, and Early Renaissance
periods. Consider also the
manner in which new information
is handled today. Within minutes
of its revelation, new
information enters the
information super highway of the
Internet and television and
radio broadcasting. Almost
instantly it appears in our
homes, our offices and every
other place where there is a
computer monitor or TV set.
Reflect for a moment upon the
spectacular show from space in
July, 1994. Almost
simultaneously with the
scientific community, hundreds
of millions of people in a
worldwide audience watched in
awe as the Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy
9 crashed onto the surface of
Jupiter. This once-in-a-lifetime
experience was, in itself,
remarkable. What made it even
more amazing was that this new
information entered the global
knowledge base at the same
moment it revealed itself to the
scientific world.
Contrast the above phenomenon
with the Middle Ages, a time
during which there was no
mechanism for disseminating new,
uncensored, and raw information.
In a segmented Europe with no
public school system, no
newspapers or news magazines, no
TV satellite stations, there was
no means by which new
information could enter the
knowledge base easily.
Controlling nearly all centers
of learning as well as all
publication during the late
Middle Ages, the Church and
other privileged groups in
society were able to stay in
power and resist new ideas that
threatened the status quo.
By 1500, however, a new class
of people had emerged. The
bourgeoisie, who allied
themselves with ambitious
monarchs, successfully
challenged the power of the old
feudal order. Having been the
major beneficiaries of Medieval
commerce, the bourgeoisie now
embraced the Age of Discovery
enthusiastically. This was
especially true after 1453 when
the Byzantine capital of
Constantinople fell to the
Muslim Turks. For the first
time North Italian merchants
found themselves excluded from
the marketplaces of the Middle
East. Their only hope of
reacquiring their lost markets
was to seek new trade routes
around the Muslim-controlled
lands.
Great thinkers were not the only
ones who questioned the
traditional view of the world.
For decades, navigators and even
illiterate seaman had come to
doubt many conclusions of the
ancient authorities. As ships
returned to their ports from the
newly found lands and oceans, a
new picture of the world began
to emerge. Basing their
conclusions on hard core
empirical evidence–not on theory,
scriptures, tradition, or
reputation, these sailors
learned not only that there was
far more water than land on the
face of the Earth but also that
the Earth was much larger than
hitherto believed. The belief
that the Earth was spherical was
already widespread.
Though there had been other ages
of discovery in the past, the
period of the 15th
and 16th centuries
impacted more profoundly than
ever on Europe. Barely 50 years
earlier the moveable type
printing press had come into use
throughout Europe. Though this
new invention did allow greater
and speedier dissemination of
information, often the lack of a
popular system of education kept
Christian Europe from
experiencing full exposure to
new information. As late as the
middle of the 16th century the
lack of literacy also made it
difficult for the Europeans to
absorb all of the new and
exciting information that
arrived from around the world.
With such alacrity did the new
information arrive that the
knowledge base was unable to
assimilate it all. Furthermore,
first impressions made during
the exciting and emotional
contact period were so deeply
engraved in the minds of the
Europeans that subsequent more
accurate images could not
obliterate the earlier ones.
In today’s terminology, the
rudimentary system became
overloaded with information.
Looking for “new worlds” was not
one of the motivations of the
Age of Discovery, but finding
new routes to Old World
marketplaces was. What a shock
it was, therefore, to bump into
a hitherto unknown world by
accident. Even greater, though,
was the shock of finding
millions of PEOPLE. By chance
the first natives that the
Europeans encountered were among
some of the most primitive
societies in the world. Since
all peoples of the world had
been accounted for as having
descended from the sons of Noah,
these natives were considered
subhuman. In fact, not until 45
years later did the Vatican
under Pope Paul II issued an
Papal Encyclical positing that
the natives were rational beings
with a soul. The 1537 statement
explained that the Indians
descended from sinful
Babylonians who, during the
Great Flood, fell off a
mountaintop, grabbed onto a tree
limb, and floated to the New
World.
More than a generation after the
initial contact, when the
Spaniards encountered the more
sophisticated natives of
terra firma, such as the
Mayas, the Aztecs and the Incas,
the earlier image of "barbarian"
still persisted in their minds.
The Europeans simply could not
see the true native societies.
Or, perhaps the Europeans did
not want to see anything more
than primitive societies. The
European settlers cared little
for the indigenous culture and
saw only a labor force in the
Indian population. Thus, the
native cultures–as well as the
native population–began to
disappear as the invaders
advanced into the hinterland. In
what can only be described as
one of the greatest Holocausts
of all time, disease and other
conquest- and invasion-related
activities led to the
destruction of tens of million
of natives. Only today are we
realizing the enormity of the
loss of people and the
inestimable loss of culture.
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