 Columbus was born on October 31 st, 1451, in the Republic of Genoa, which is now know as North West Italy.  He was the son of Domenico and Susanna (Fontanarossa).  He had 4 siblings, 3 brothers and 1 sister in which he was the eldest.  Columbus’s education may not have been very thorough, but he did learn to read and write. As a young boy, he started out working with his father in weaving but soon turned to sailing.

 He rarely spoke of his parents as he was ashamed of them as they were middle class.  Columbus grew up by the sea and among many sailors. He spent his teenage years first as a cabin boy then a sailor, and he learned much about sailing, astronomy, and geography through his voyages.

 Columbus was tall and lean, and had red hair which turned prematurely white.  He had a fair complexion and a somewhat reddish face, with blue eyes and a hawkish nose.  Columbus was very religious as he rarely swore, went to mass regularly and every Sunday he devoted to prayer.

 Columbus married a Portuguese woman, Felipa Moniz Perestrelo, in 1477 who died giving birth to a son, Diego, in 1479 or  While in Córdoba, in he met young Beatriz Enríquez de Trasierra, and they lived together for a time. She bore him an illegitimate son, Fernando.  Columbus made many friends during his travels and he corresponded with them frequently.

 The years following Felipa’s death were filled with ocean voyages as Columbus moved to Portugal where he had connections with the Portuguese court through Felipa’s family.  During these years Columbus began to develop the idea that he could reach the Far East by sailing west. Through his study of geography and his knowledge gained in map-making Columbus began to believe that the earth was round.  He read about Marco Polo’s trip over to the Far East, and the spices and riches there. Columbus began to believe he could reach the Far East by sailing west.

WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF HIM  People began to think he was mad.  No one wanted to give him financial support to go on his voyage.  The Portuguese refused to fund him and so did both France and England.

THE FRENCH, ENGLISH AND PORTUGUESE REJECTED COLOMBUS

MIGRATION TO SPAIN  Columbus then took his son and moved to Spain.

FREEDOM

^_^SPAIN ^_^  A few years after moving to Spain when all hope seemed lost. Columbus made connections with monks, who were scholars, and through his connections he eventually met Fray Juan Perez, Queen Isabella’s confessor.  He was finally given the patronage for his voyage from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

YIPEE!!!

BEFORE HIS VOYAGES  Columbus was given three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Recruiting a crew courageous enough to sail across the Atlantic was difficult but was managed. On August 3, 1492, three ships left Spain to find the Far East.

THE SHIPS!