Christopher Columbus

Early Life Christopher Columbus, actually Cristoforo Colombo (in Italian), was born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa (now a part of Italy) to middle class parents. As a young man, he worked on many ships and traveled extensively to ports in Europe and even West Africa He married Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, with whom he raised a son, Diego Columbus. Filipa died around 1485, and a couple years later Columbus began a relationship with Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, with who he raised another son, Fernando Columbus

Education Columbus learned Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. He also studied astronomy, geography, and history. He was also a very religious man (Catholic).

Reasons Behind his Famous Journey Valuable spices and silk from “the Indies” (all of south and east Asia and China) were sought after by European merchants. When the land route to the Indies became more difficult and dangerous, navigators tried to find alternative routes. Columbus thought he could find a route to the Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic. He did not sail west to prove the Earth was round. It was widely known during his time that the Earth was round.

Funding Columbus first went to the court of King John II of Portugal, twice, but was rejected both times. They felt that his calculations were wrong, and they also had reason to believe that a trip around the southern tip of Africa was a better plan. He tried to gain support in Genoa and Venice, but was rejected there as well. He was also rejected by Henry VII of England. After continually looking for support from the leaders of Spain for two years, they finally agreed to support his voyage of 1492. As part of his agreement, he was allowed to rule any lands he conquered, and he was entitled to 10% of all wealth from those lands.

His Voyage

Where did he go? In his first voyage, Columbus took three ships (the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria). He was aboard the Santa Maria. He sailed to the Canary Islands, then traveled for five weeks across the Atlantic. They landed in what they called San Salvador, which is now The Bahamas. Columbus believed he had found India. Over the course of the next twelve years, we hade three more voyages across the Atlantic.

Encounters with Native Peoples Columbus encountered the Lucayan, Taino, or Arawak, peaceful people. Noticing their gold ornaments, Columbus thought he stumbled upon a source of gold, but he did not. Columbus took some of the native peoples prisoner to be taken back to Spain. Columbus eventually became the governor of Hispaniola (current day Dominican Republic and Haiti). He was said to be a ruthless and tyrannical leader.

Later Life Columbus was eventually removed as governor of Hispaniola. He became increasingly religious in his later life and became to believe that his voyages were primarily to convert the non-believers he encountered. Columbus died on May 20th 1506 at the age of 54 in Spain. His remains were eventually taken to Hispaniola, where his son, Diego, was the governor. His remains were later moved to Cuba and then back to Spain. Modern researchers think he probably suffered from Reiter’s syndrome, which is much like severe arthritis that he probably acquired from poor conditions during his voyages.