The story behind the sailor
Occurs annually every second Monday in October Columbus has been accredited for opening up the Americas to European colonization He also was one of few people who believed that the world was round, not flat
Born in 1451 in Italy, which at the time was Republic of Genoa. Columbus was born into a merchant home and did not get involved in sailing until he was a teenager
Married and settled to Felipa Perestrello in Lisbon, Portugal They both had one son who was named Diego around 1480 Felipa died after the family moved to Spain Columbus had another son in 1488 with Beatriz Enriquez de Arana out of wedlock
Almost cost him his life Attacked by French privateers Columbus escaped by swimming to shore The shore he swam to was Lisbon, Portugal where he later met his future wife
Travelled to Africa through many trading expeditions Gained more knowledge of the Atlantic current flowing east and west with every journey Travelled to India and China for trade The route was dangerous because of war with Middle East Led to thinking of a different route for going west to India and China
Experts disagreed with Columbus Distance was further than anticipated Widely believed that the earth was flat Rejection Portugal Genoa Venice Spain The Spanish monarch took interest but rejected Columbus due to the war that they were engaging with the Middle East
Columbus continued to speak with the royal court numerous times during the war War was finally over in January 1492 Columbus was well funded with three ships Columbus left that August with permission of the courts
Columbus was given three ships to sail across the ocean blue Santa Maria Pinta Niña 36 days of sailing across the Atlantic Landed not in the Americas but the Bahamas! There he met local natives
No, Natives were timid but friendly They traded with Columbus and his crew Columbus also noticed the golden jewerly that the natives were wearing This foreshadowed catastrophic events that will come in the future He built a village because the boat Santa Maria wrecked on the coast
39 men stayed behind to attend the town Two of the three ships (Niña and Pinta) returned to Spain by 1493 They brought the good news (thinking that they had reached Asia)
When Columbus returned he found out that the village he left behind was burned to the ground and the people were massacred. Columbus came back to further explore for gold along the land that he has come across His third voyage, he finally encountered the mainland (Venezuela)
The new settlers and crew claimed that they were misled and lied to with poor management Columbus was brought before court in chains and brought on trial The charges were eventually dropped but Columbus was stripped of his title of governor of the Indies
A few years later Columbus convinced King Ferdinand using riches to persuade him to permit this voyage even after all the trouble Columbus had caused Last voyage was in 1502 While along the eastern coast of Central America, a storm led to his ship being wrecked
Islanders were fed up with the poor treatment and the European gold obsession They did not supply the Europeans with food like they did in the past Retaliation Columbus threatened the islanders by stating he was going to punish them! He claimed he had the power of taking the moon away Knowing a lunar eclipse was going to occur It scared the Natives back into trade Eventually a rescue party came in November of 1504
He did regain some of the riches with that last expedition but Columbus never regained his title of Governor Columbus died May 20 th, 1506 He left this world with the impression that he discovered Asia
Pros He opened up a trade route to Americas Proved that the world was indeed round Cons Destruction of native peoples Did not find a new easier trade route to India Overall Affected every society on the planet by the transfer of plants, animals, disease and cultures.
Information found at: "Christopher Columbus. biography." bio. True Story. A&E Television Networks, Web. 6 Oct All pictures found from Microsoft Clip Art