Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506), Italian Spanish navigator who sailed west across the Atlantic in search of a route to Asia but achieved fame by landfall site in America.
On 12 Met in October 1492, two worlds unknown to each other for the first time on a small island in the Caribbean. During a trip to Spain in search of a direct sea route from Europe to Asia, Christopher Columbus discovered America by accident. Yet in four separate trips to the Caribbean 1492-1504, he remained convinced he had the land that Marco Polo reached in his country to China at the end of the 13th Century found. To Columbus it was only a matter of time before a passage was found on the Caribbean islands to the fabled cities of Asia.
Columbus was not the first European to America, the Vikings from Scandinavia had briefly on the North American coast in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in the late 10th or early 11 Century, founded. However, had Columbus' discoveries profound impact on the world. It led directly to the opening of the Western Hemisphere to European colonization, widespread exchange of plants, animals, cultures and ideas between the two worlds, and on a darker note, forced the deaths of millions of indigenous peoples of America, war, work and illness.
Understanding Christopher Columbus is difficult without understanding the world he was born. The 15th Century was a century of change, and many events take place at that time greatly influenced European society. Many of these events were driven by the long struggle between Christians and Muslims, followers of the religion known as Islam.
The event that most had far-reaching consequences for Europe in the 15th Century was the fall of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), the Islamic Ottoman Empire. Constantinople was the capital of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire for centuries, and it was an important center for trade between Europe and Asia. In 1453, the Ottoman Empire, which had already conquered much of southeastern Europe, captured the city, closing an important trade route from Europe to the east (see Ottoman Empire). European traders still buy Asian goods from Muslims in places like Alexandria, Egypt. However, Europeans longed for a sea route to Asia, which will enable them to deal directly, the Muslims had to buy Asian products. In addition, European princes and kings quickly realized that the first country that might be to find such a route very rich through the monopoly of the lucrative Asian market.
The first European country to begin actively seeking a sea route to Asia was Portugal. The Portuguese had already begun exploring Africa in the early 1400s and in 1415 they invaded northern Africa and conquered the Muslim commercial center of Ceuta on the Strait of Gibraltar. It was the Portuguese entry into the lucrative African trade, which until then dominated by Muslims. Under the guidance of Prince Henry the Navigator, who founded a school for navigators in southern Portugal, shortly after the invasion of Ceuta began the Portuguese exploration of the west coast of Africa, is hoping for a way to the riches of Asia by around the southern tip the continent to be found. Others did not want to be left behind, began sponsoring voyages of discovery. In this world full of the excitement of exploration and discovery that Christopher Columbus was born.
Biographical Facts Columbus vary from author to author. But most scientists agree that he in the Italian port city of Genoa on the Ligurian Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean), between 25 August and 31 Was born October 1451st His name in Italian was Cristoforo Colombo, which translates into English as Christopher Columbus, into Spanish as Cristóbal Colón, in Portuguese as Christovao Colom. Columbus used the Portuguese version of his name while in Portugal and the Spanish version after moving to Spain in 1485
Columbus's father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who was also involved in local politics. His mother, Susanna Fontanarossa, the daughter of a wool weaver. The oldest of five children, Christopher had three brothers, Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo and a sister, Bianchinetta. The family moved to the nearby port city of Savona, west of Genoa, in 1470
Although how much formal education Columbus received as a child is not known, provided the schools of the Italian guilds (which Columbus, the son of a wool weaver, would have attended) a rudimentary level of reading and writing. As a boy, Christopher at his father in the family business of wool processing and selling. He may have as a clerk in a Genoese bookshop. But like many other young men who grew up in a large port city, Columbus soon began a life of seafaring.
The beginning of his career at the age of 14 ships served on various ships in Columbus various roles, including messenger, common sailor, and maybe even a 21-year-old privateer. Columbus's son Ferdinand stated in the history of the life and deeds of Christopher Columbus, Columbus, in 1472 the leadership given a ship on a privateering expedition to Tunis in North Africa. In a lost letter, Columbus supposedly related to his son how René I, Duke of the French province of Anjou, of Columbus was commissioned a surprise attack on a large Spanish ship off the coast of North Africa. Most historians doubt, however, that Columbus ever received command of the expedition.
Much more believable is another expedition. In 1474 Columbus was hired as a sailor on a ship on the island of Chios in the Aegean Sea, an arm of the eastern Mediterranean. This was his first big trip and has to have profitable, because after a year on the island, he is able to be economically independent from his family was. This trip is a great irony in the life of Columbus, the journey brought to this small island in the Aegean next to him, he would never to Asia.
On 13 August 1476 was a Genoese commercial expedition of five ships to England in Columbus his first opportunity, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean to sail over. But it was an unfortunate beginning for Columbus: According to tradition, the entire fleet was attacked by French privateers off Cape St. Vincent at the southwestern tip of Portugal. Both sides lost ships of Columbus, one of the unfortunates, whose ship was burned, had no way out except to swim for the Portuguese coast. He made the 10 km (6 miles) to the coast by clinging to wreckage. After regaining his strength in the port of Lagos, has Columbus on his way to Lisbon and the large community of Genoese merchants and shipbuilders. He was 25 years old.
By 1477 Columbus was founded in Lisbon. Since the beginning of the Portuguese discoveries in the mid-14th Century, Lisbon was a haven for explorers, adventurers bound, entrepreneurs, merchants and others who saw their fortunes of the trade winds and currents. Columbus's brother Bartolomeo worked as a cartographer in Lisbon, and for a time the brothers worked together as a draftsman and book collector. Later this year, Columbus sails loaded with goods sold on a convoy in the northern Atlantic ports.
In 1478 or 1479 Columbus met and married Felipa Moniz e Perestrello, the daughter of a respected, though relatively poor, noble family. Felipa's father Bartolomeo Perestrello who met already deceased when Columbus Felipa, had served as governor of Porto Santo in Madeira, a Portuguese possession off the northwest coast of Africa. Shortly after their wedding, the newlyweds accompanied the rest of the family back to Porto Santo, where Felipa's oldest brother took over the office of the governor. Columbus and Felipa moved to the larger island of Madeira in 1480 or 1481, was born shortly after their son Diego. It is believed that Felipa died soon thereafter.
In the fall of 1481 or early 1482 Columbus sailed to the Portuguese fortress of Elmina, in what is now Ghana, on the west coast of Africa. Columbus was impressed by the wealth of Africa, particularly gold. In addition, like all good navigators, he was eager to learn about wind and ocean currents from the local pilots and sailors. In the waters off the coast of Africa and the nearby Canary Islands Columbus first observed on the ocean phenomena such as the Canaries Current (see Atlantic Ocean: Currents) is known. Have been the knowledge of these fast-moving current running west of the Canary Islands could be the reason that Columbus later chose for his crossing of the Atlantic off the width of the Canary Islands, south of Spain or Portugal.
The experiences of these years led directly to the emergence of the plan from Columbus east to west, as he called it his "Enterprise of the Indies to reach." (To Europeans in Columbus day, all countries were east of the Indus River in Asia " India ".) inspiration and support for his plan came from several sources. First, his marriage into the Portuguese nobility proved helpful because, although relatively poor, the family had connections to the Portuguese court. Columbus apparently gained access to the papers of his father-in-law and found a wealth of information, including maps, drove charts revealing ocean currents, interviews with sailors, and stories about objects that the coast of the island of Madeira in the West.
Also to the formation of Columbus's plan was his association with the Genoese community in Portugal and his expeditions to Africa. Both promoted his knowledge of the Atlantic, and brought him on his travels in Africa near the Canary Islands, making him the knowledge to the Canaries Current. Also while in port in England, Ireland, Iceland and other northern regions, Columbus may have heard stories of lands to the west of Iceland. Although the history of the Vikings, Iceland and Greenland in the 9th and 10 Century settled, never part of the knowledge of medieval Europeans were it can be assumed that the stories were spread about their encounters with unknown islands in the northern Atlantic. Columbus's genius was his remarkable ability to move information from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to collect and combine his own experiences with ancient theories books so that few navigators could.
Columbus idea of sailing west to east was not original with him, nor did he ever claim it was. Columbus relied on science and knowledge accumulated over thousands of years. In Greek and Roman times, for example, the theory of geographers that there is only one body of water on the surface of the earth, and thus connected Europe and Asia. If so, can theoretically go from west to east. Only the distance was disputed.
Columbus was the idea of the size of the earth and the distance between Europe and Asia were based on descriptions in various geographical works. These works are from the second century manuscript of Ptolemy's Geography, Imago Mundi (Image of the World) by Pierre d'Ailly, published early in 1480, and the travels of Marco Polo in 1298 wrote, after Marco Polo returned from China. Unfortunately, his ideas have not proved very accurate.
Columbus founded his theory on two mistaken to imagine that the Asian continent much further east than it really stretch, and that Japan has more than 2,400 km (1,500 miles) east of the Asian mainland was. Columbus also greatly underestimated the circumference of the earth. Columbus calculated that the Canary Islands to explain only about 4.440 kilometers (approx. 2760 km) from Japan, the true distance is about 19,000 kilometers (12,000 miles). Similar errors were of other scholars of the time, including the Florentine geographer Paulo de Pozzo Toscanelli, have agreed with those made in Columbus. Neither Columbus nor anyone else in Europe suspected that two great continents was on his way westward passage to Asia.
Columbus decided to seek patronage for his plan first in Portugal. With some interruptions, the Portuguese crown had encouraged and supported exploration for over a century, and nearly all new discoveries in the Atlantic were Portuguese. It was also known, is committed to the reigning monarch, King John II to sail around, personally Africa and discovering a direct sea route to the Indian Ocean and Asia.
Strong support of the King of geographical exploration made him a logical choice for Columbus to approach. In addition, all Columbus had married in Portugal for seven years and a Portuguese nobleman. According to tradition, in 1484 the king listened to the proposal from Columbus sailed west to the east and in short order be forwarded Board of Geographical Affairs. But after a public hearing, the board the application, arguing that it is too expensive, that Columbus was wrong distances and measurements, and that such a plan in conflict with Portugal seek an eastern route to Asia can be found by traveling through Africa.
After his disappointment in Portugal, Columbus took his young son and moved to Spain in 1485 with the intention of presenting his plan, the Spanish monarchs, King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I. Spain far behind Portugal in exploration of the Atlantic. The two forces had carried out into open hostilities since Spain had begun, a part of Portugal's progress in Africa and the Atlantic island of armed groups, such as the Canary Islands and the Azores. In 1479 Spain had gained control of the Canary Islands, Portugal has not to give up their claims. A fragile peace may, because no party wanted to go to war over the issue. According to tradition, planned one of the reasons why the Portuguese king rejected Columbus's concern over the deteriorating situation in Spain.
One of the first stops in Spain, was in Columbus at La Rabida Monastery in the southern port town of Palos de la Frontera, near the Portuguese border. Columbus in the monastery was not only a boarding place for his son Diego but also support our brothers, of whom many believe was his vision. One of them, brother Antonio Marchena, spent many hours discussing geography with Columbus. He also helped shape Columbus plans by directing him to the writings of the ancients and of church authorities, who were to support the idea of a westward across the Atlantic. Through Marchena, Columbus was introduced to powerful noblemen as well, including Friar Juan Perez, one of the guards of the monastery and the confessor of Queen Isabella. Pérez introduced Columbus to the court of the Spanish monarch.
Columbus went to Sevilla (Seville) in 1485 and between May 1486 and September 1487 he obtained at the expense of the Queen. While interest in his ideas, were the king and queen in the middle of a protracted war for the province of Granada in southern Spain, which was from the Moors, a Muslim group that has 711 to win. This war left little time for the Kings of Columbus' plan to consider. Finally, in 1487, Columbus presented his project to a committee of experts that deal with the matter. The Commission raised numerous objections, asked many questions, and ultimately rejected the plan. One reason for the rejection was that the ocean is simply too large to be stabbing was.
While waiting for the war in Granada to the end, Columbus has a partnership with a young peasant woman named Beatriz Enríquez Arana that. During this time of great despair, Columbus is one consolation was his love for Beatrice. Although the two never married, in 1488 they had a son named Ferdinand, who later accompanied his father on his last trip to South America.
In the last week of 1491 Columbus prepared his final appeal made to the Spanish monarch in the royal camp as the monarchs of their last battle against the Moors in Granada. But again his plan was rejected. Columbus had successfully won many of the scientists and scientific advisors, but this time the rejection was due to its high requirements for the rewards. Its for the payment (one tenth of all riches from India), and their demand for the titles of Admiral, to give him the right to commercial disputes arising under the Viceroy of him to judge the personal representative of the prince, and the governor that he permit, as the top civilian and military authority in a new land he discovered would act, the king and queen to flat deny the project. According to tradition, as Columbus rode his mule, Ferdinand intercession treasurer, Luis de Santangel in the name of Columbus. The argument that the small investment given the potential reward was Santangel persuaded the king and queen to make their decision. A court official was dispatched on horseback to get to Columbus. After a few weeks of contract negotiations in April 1492 Columbus left Palos de la Frontera and its rendezvous with history.
The people of Palos were ordered to rest and two caravels (small, light sailing ships). The first, owned by Cristóbal Quintero, was called the Pinta, which was second, one by Juan Niño, officially named the Santa Clara but known as the Niña. The third ship, a small round boat to keep up with a large, probably a type of ship known as the NAO, was the flagship of Columbus. It was the Santa Maria and was owned by Juan de la Cosa. Little is known about the actual construction of the ships, but there are indications that the Niña and the Pinta were small, about 54 tons and 21 to 24 meters (70-80 feet) in length. The Santa Maria was 80 to 90 tons and not much longer than the other two. Of the three, the Pinta was the fastest.
First, Columbus had difficulty recruiting a crew because many sailors feared a voyage into the unknown. The royal secretary tried to help by contributing to freedom, a prisoner, were recruited. Some experienced seamen objected to this plan, but ultimately accepts only a few prisoners. More than anything else, took the brothers La Rabida, and Martin Alonso, an experienced sea captain from Palos, the local sailors to join the expedition. Two other brothers also joined the trip were Pinzón all commanders.
Between 20 and 30 men each on the Pinta and Nina. Most were Spanish, with the largest number of around Palos. The team was comprised largely of experienced seamen and a few officials. But the team no priests, no soldiers, settlers, and no, it was a journey of exploration and discovery.
Little is known about life on board the ship, but it could not be comfortable. There was no crew quarters and no canteen. Only the captains and pilots had cabins, and they were very small. At night the crew slept wherever she could find an empty spot band, is to be avoided, thrown into the sea. Prayers, songs, stories, tasks, eating, and waiting filled the sailors' days. Stargazing under a new, unknown sky filled their restless nights.
The ships had enough provisions for one year at a time, two weeks at sea was a long journey. Equipment on board included foodstuffs, such as water, dried fish, salt meat, live pigs and chickens (killed aboard the ship are), rice, cheese and figs, navigation instruments, including nautical almanacs, charts, compasses, magnets, hourglasses and rulers, and trade items such as glass beads, copper rings, knitted caps, gold, silver, pearls and spices.
Navigation in the 15th Century was far from an exact science, but different navigation instruments and tools were available. The most important navigational aids were compasses, astrolabes, hourglasses, maps and plans. Although celestial navigation (finding direction by the positions of stars and other celestial bodies) was the preferred method when sailing under familiar skies, a technique known as dead reckoning was the more reliable to travel into unknown seas.
Engraved with an astrolabe, a metal disc with a map of the major celestial bodies, an able seaman could just tell by the stars on the astrolabe to match the stars in the sky. But the astrolabe worked only when the sky was clear and the positions of the stars were known. On cloudy days or when the stars in the sky were unfamiliar, celestial navigation and the astrolabe were ineffective.
In the dead reckoning technique was often used when traveling in uncharted waters, the ship's position is determined by starting with the last known location. Then, by calculating in which direction the boat, how fast it went, and how much time had passed, the pilot could be a new position. The pilot can calculate the distance they had to swim for one hour or one day by dropping an object on the water at the front of the ship and the time how long it took them until he has received on the back of the ship. Knowing how long the ship, the pilot was able to calculate how fast the ship was in motion and, therefore, how far they had traveled.
Columbus preferred dead reckoning over celestial navigation and was never satisfied with the astrolabe and other devices for navigating using the stars. Above all, he was masterful in interpreting the signs of nature, such as the behavior of the birds, smell the air, the color of the sky, the condition of the seas, the pressure he felt in his joints, the appearance of floating debris and much more. Successful navigators survived by "reading" Nature in this way. Columbus was expert at this and can even predict hurricanes.
In the early morning of 3 August 1492, left the small fleet of ships Palos de la Frontera for parts unknown. At the age of 41, standing on the bow of the Santa María, watching the coast slowly slip below the horizon, left Columbus on dry land a fight that lasted a quarter of his life. He was in his element, doing what he dreamed about for over the past ten years.
Columbus went to Sevilla (Seville) in 1485 and between May 1486 and September 1487 he obtained at the expense of the Queen. While interest in his ideas, were the king and queen in the middle of a protracted war for the province of Granada in southern Spain, which was from the Moors, a Muslim group that has 711 to win. This war left little time for the Kings of Columbus' plan to consider. Finally, in 1487, Columbus presented his project to a committee of experts that deal with the matter. The Commission raised numerous objections, asked many questions, and ultimately rejected the plan. One reason for the rejection was that the ocean is simply too large to be stabbing was.
While waiting for the war in Granada to the end, Columbus has a partnership with a young peasant woman named Beatriz Enríquez Arana that. During this time of great despair, Columbus is one consolation was his love for Beatrice. Although the two never married, in 1488 they had a son named Ferdinand, who later accompanied his father on his last trip to South America.
In the last week of 1491 Columbus prepared his final appeal made to the Spanish monarch in the royal camp as the monarchs of their last battle against the Moors in Granada. But again his plan was rejected. Columbus had successfully won many of the scientists and scientific advisors, but this time the rejection was due to its high requirements for the rewards. Its for the payment (one tenth of all riches from India), and their demand for the titles of Admiral, to give him the right to commercial disputes arising under the Viceroy of him to judge the personal representative of the prince, and the governor that he permit, as the top civilian and military authority in a new land he discovered would act, the king and queen to flat deny the project. According to tradition, as Columbus rode his mule, Ferdinand intercession treasurer, Luis de Santangel in the name of Columbus. The argument that the small investment given the potential reward was Santangel persuaded the king and queen to make their decision. A court official was dispatched on horseback to get to Columbus. After a few weeks of contract negotiations in April 1492 Columbus left Palos de la Frontera and its rendezvous with history.
The people of Palos were ordered to rest and two caravels (small, light sailing ships). The first, owned by Cristóbal Quintero, was called the Pinta, which was second, one by Juan Niño, officially named the Santa Clara but known as the Niña. The third ship, a small round boat to keep up with a large, probably a type of ship known as the NAO, was the flagship of Columbus. It was the Santa Maria and was owned by Juan de la Cosa. Little is known about the actual construction of the ships, but there are indications that the Niña and the Pinta were small, about 54 tons and 21 to 24 meters (70-80 feet) in length. The Santa Maria was 80 to 90 tons and not much longer than the other two. Of the three, the Pinta was the fastest.
First, Columbus had difficulty recruiting a crew because many sailors feared a voyage into the unknown. The royal secretary tried to help by contributing to freedom, a prisoner, were recruited. Some experienced seamen objected to this plan, but ultimately accepts only a few prisoners. More than anything else, took the brothers La Rabida, and Martin Alonso, an experienced sea captain from Palos, the local sailors to join the expedition. Two other brothers also joined the trip were Pinzón all commanders.
Between 20 and 30 men each on the Pinta and Nina. Most were Spanish, with the largest number of around Palos. The team was comprised largely of experienced seamen and a few officials. But the team no priests, no soldiers, settlers, and no, it was a journey of exploration and discovery.
Little is known about life on board the ship, but it could not be comfortable. There was no crew quarters and no canteen. Only the captains and pilots had cabins, and they were very small. At night the crew slept wherever she could find an empty spot band, is to be avoided, thrown into the sea. Prayers, songs, stories, tasks, eating, and waiting filled the sailors' days. Stargazing under a new, unknown sky filled their restless nights.
The ships had enough provisions for one year at a time, two weeks at sea was a long journey. Equipment on board included foodstuffs, such as water, dried fish, salt meat, live pigs and chickens (killed aboard the ship are), rice, cheese and figs, navigation instruments, including nautical almanacs, charts, compasses, magnets, hourglasses and rulers, and trade items such as glass beads, copper rings, knitted caps, gold, silver, pearls and spices.
Navigation in the 15th Century was far from an exact science, but different navigation instruments and tools were available. The most important navigational aids were compasses, astrolabes, hourglasses, maps and plans. Although celestial navigation (finding direction by the positions of stars and other celestial bodies) was the preferred method when sailing under familiar skies, a technique known as dead reckoning was the more reliable to travel into unknown seas.
Engraved with an astrolabe, a metal disc with a map of the major celestial bodies, an able seaman could just tell by the stars on the astrolabe to match the stars in the sky. But the astrolabe worked only when the sky was clear and the positions of the stars were known. On cloudy days or when the stars in the sky were unfamiliar, celestial navigation and the astrolabe were ineffective.
In the dead reckoning technique was often used when traveling in uncharted waters, the ship's position is determined by starting with the last known location. Then, by calculating in which direction the boat, how fast it went, and how much time had passed, the pilot could be a new position. The pilot can calculate the distance they had to swim for one hour or one day by dropping an object on the water at the front of the ship and the time how long it took them until he has received on the back of the ship. Knowing how long the ship, the pilot was able to calculate how fast the ship was in motion and, therefore, how far they had traveled.
Columbus preferred dead reckoning over celestial navigation and was never satisfied with the astrolabe and other devices for navigating using the stars. Above all, he was masterful in interpreting the signs of nature, such as the behavior of the birds, smell the air, the color of the sky, the condition of the seas, the pressure he felt in his joints, the appearance of floating debris and much more. Successful navigators survived by "reading" Nature in this way. Columbus was expert at this and can even predict hurricanes.
In the early morning of 3 August 1492, left the small fleet of ships Palos de la Frontera for parts unknown. At the age of 41, standing on the bow of the Santa María, watching the coast slowly slip below the horizon, left Columbus on dry land a fight that lasted a quarter of his life. He was in his element, doing what he dreamed about for over the past ten years.
After a trip to the Canary Islands, where the rudder of the Pinta was repaired, the passengers left the known world on 6th September 1492nd During the journey from the ships traveled primarily westward. The choice of sailing from the Canary Islands was a good one, as the Canaries Current speed their journey. On 25 September was thinking it, that land was in sight, but it was nothing more than low clouds. If the extended trip, many of the crew feared that strong winds would prevent them from day to return to Spain. Columbus and his crew struggled at times, and he found it difficult with the Pinzon, Martin Alonso in particular, had much more experience than working in Columbus. However, there is little evidence that the crew was ever close to mutiny. The history of Columbus on the team by trying to deceive, two sets of protocols, one that the distance that they are so much shorter than it actually was pale, had traveled only a legend.
Two hours after midnight on the morning of the 12th October, a lookout point named Rodrigo de Triana (sometimes called Juan Rodríguez Bermejo) called the Pinta, "Tierra Tierra" ("Country"). A reward of a pension of 10,000 Maravedis per year (an able seaman could earn about 12,000 Maravedis per year) was seen, after whom the country. Rather cruel, Columbus pocket the money himself, claiming he had seen some lights in the night before.
On 12 October 1492, Columbus set sail, and a handful of excited, but weary travelers on foot in the country after 36 days. Columbus raised the royal standard, and claimed the island for Spain, and two of the captains carried banners with green crosses and letters to Ferdinand and Isabella established. Soon the curious islanders, with some trepidation, came out of hiding and greeted the visitors.
The location of the actual landing site is still in question. Called Guanahani by the Tainos, the island of San Salvador ("Holy Savior") was renamed from Columbus, but nobody really knows exactly which island it was. Most benefit either Watling Iceland (renamed San Salvador in 1926 to the discovery of Columbus honor), or Samana Cay in the Bahamas. Ten or more islands in the Bahamas fit the physical description, such as Columbus in his diary, which described the island simply as large and flat made with bright green trees and a large amount of water available.
The islanders were friendly and open trade with the sailors. They traded everything for nothing. Balls of cotton, parrots, and spears for the sailors glass beads, red caps, and jewelry Named Las Americas by the Spaniards, was one of the islanders a larger language family called the Arawak, the Taino did not show. Fear or knowledge of Spanish swords and cut themselves while examining the weapons. The most interesting part was the discoverer, but the fact that the islanders had little bits of gold in the pierced nose. She also told Columbus that the inhabitants of other islands wore gold bands around the arms and legs. She described countless islands, all as theirs. The Spaniards, believing they had arrived in India, soon to all island residents as "Indians."
Accompanied on the third day, Columbus, several tours of Taíno, left San Salvador to the other islands to explore. By the end of October reached the coast of Cuba, Columbus. After sailing north and then south along the coast, he was convinced that one of the countries described by Marco Polo. Despite the fact that the local pilots told him it was an island that convinced Columbus himself, that Cuba was a promontory of China. Shortly after this event, the Pinta, Martin Alonso suddenly departed without leaving. Although historians disagree on the reasons why many believe that Pinzón, with the lack of wealth, which were discovered at this time satisfied, went off in search of gold.
Crossing the Windward Passage to eastern Cuba, sailed Columbus to another large island which he named La Isla Española ("Spanish island," modern Hispaniola). For a month he crossed the coast stopping occasionally to examine the country and its people. On one of these trips met in Columbus, where he befriended a young Taíno chief by the name Guacanagari. After a short meeting on board the ship, arrangements were made for another meeting, this time on Christmas Day, 25 December, the residence of the head in a nearby village made. Could take place before the meeting, but met with the Santa Maria grounded a reef off the coast. In the coming days could the crews of both ships and the Tainos in canoes per Guacanagari deleted everything will be saved. They built a fort from the wood of the ship and store enough supplies to last for one year. Thirty-nine men remained in the fort, the first European settlement in the Americas since the Vikings landed in Newfoundland and Labrador today than 500 years earlier. But the settlement called Villa de la Navidad ("Christmas Town") was when it would prove no more durable that the Vikings.
On 6 January, the Pinta, the expedition returned, and shortly thereafter the two remaining ships home. Upon leaving the Caribbean, Columbus again had the good fortune to find an ocean current, just as he had in the Canary Islands. Entering the Gulf Stream, sailed the boats far enough north to the prevailing westerly winds fluctuations. But the trip was not quiet. As the ship neared Europe, they encountered a terrible storm. The Pinta became separated from the Niña and arrived in the port of Bayona on the northwest coast of Spain, landed a few days before the Niña. Columbus limped into Lisbon, where he was arrested by agents of King John II. Although suspicious of the story of Columbus, him, the king accused of violation of Portuguese rule in the Atlantic Ocean, all the countries was extended to the south and west of the Canary Islands through a series of papal decrees from the 1450s. Fear that the king would not let him free, Columbus sent a secret messenger to the Spanish court about his experiences and his detention. In mid-March he was released to return to Spain. On 15 March 1493, at noon, the Niña, the port of Palos de la Frontera, 32 weeks after leaving the same port. Although Pinzón had arrived in Spain before he has reached several hours after Columbus Palos. Very sick, Pinzón died before it a chance, had the King report.
Columbus took the stage alone. When he appeared before Ferdinand and Isabella in the royal palace in Barcelona, he was invited by the distinguished honor to sit with them at the same table and eat his. With a parade of colorful parrots and exotic islanders, he told his story about the journey and of the islands he discovered, to describe their lush vegetation and strange inhabitants. He also showed the gold he had brought a share in the form of crowns, masks and jewelry, and some in the form of nuggets and dust.
All of his awards were confirmed, and he was tackled by his new title of "Admiral of the Ocean Sea." He got 1000 doubloons, the equivalent of 345,000 maravedis. Columbus had delivered what he promised, at least all the Spanish court thought so, and as such he owns the day. He urged the rulers to a further expedition to rest as quickly as possible, with the promise of riches of gold, spices and others. The admiral had little trouble convincing sponsor the Spanish royal family to family travel half.
To prevent the Portuguese from attempting to claim his discoveries, Columbus had sent a letter to Pope Alexander VI (himself a Spaniard) as soon as he arrived in Spain. His letter explained his findings in such detail as he felt he could reveal. The pope gave a papal bull, or decree, May 1493, to provide control over all the islands for Spain, Columbus had discovered. Columbus at the urging of an imaginary line, called the demarcation line into the ocean 100 miles (about 483 km / 300 miles) west of the Cape Verde islands, was drawn. It was stated that all undiscovered lands west of the line was not one belonging to a Christian rulers of Spain, just east of the line went to Portugal. This statement led to an immediate conflict, because the grant had been in Portugal 1481st A resolution was reached in the next year, when the princes of Spain and Portugal, the Treaty of Tordesillas. This convention was the demarcation line 370 miles (approx. 1.780 km / approx 1110 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands moving.
The second trip went from Cadiz to 25 September 1493, and by a much larger scale-17 ships and about 1,200 settlers accompanied Columbus. Included in the crew of Columbus' two brothers, Bartholomew and Giacomo (who used to moving to Spain, the Spanish version of his name, Diego) were. The purpose of the trip was to return to La Navidad in Hispaniola to relieve the men behind the first trip to the left, settle more colonists on the islands and explore and claim other islands.
Accelerate the exit, when another country might attempt an expedition to the ruler has no hesitation in Columbus with everything he is asking for deliveries. The cargo included horses, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, cats, chickens, grain, seeds, and all the equipment necessary for sailing to block attacks, the building of settlements and the establishment of foreign bank accounts.
The fleet left Cadiz and as before, held off the Canary Islands for repairs, and more meat, wood and water retention. After leaving the Canary island of Hierro, the fleet took a more southerly route than before. On 2 November, 21 days later, land in sight. This new group of smaller islands (known as the Lesser Antilles) were in the south and east of the large islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (part of the Greater Antilles).
Exploring the islands of Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico on the way, Columbus reached Hispaniola at the end of November. The sailors fired a cannon to announce their arrival, but no one greeting. To their horror, they discovered that the entire settlement of La Navidad were massacred and burnt down the site on the ground. While they are looking for any trace of their compatriots, the newcomers found a mass grave in which several Spaniards were buried. They also discovered that the village of Columbus Guacanagari friend were burnt and destroyed. No one will ever know exactly what happened at La Navidad know. The most popular theory is that the local islanders destroyed the settlement of Europeans dislike of "greed and avarice.
A new settlement, Isabela built a short distance to the east of La Navidad. A portion of the settlers, but the prospect of preventing the manual labor. Many were sick, and others were more interested in gold and other resources than building a settlement. To prevent the settlers happy, Columbus organized an expedition to search for gold. If little gold was found, the settlers became restless and decided on a policy of forced labor. Local people have to work on the settlement. Subjugation of the indigenous population was not an objective of the expedition, and in fact it was an insult to the Queen. Nevertheless, Columbus is justified, arguing that it would be profitable.
Despite its policy of slavery, has not his first real wealth Columbus on Hispaniola found to 1496th Take an expedition into the interior of the island, Columbus and his men forced to lose the inhabitants of the region to collect gold. Within days they had about 10 kilograms (approx. £ 22) collected from precious metals. While Columbus was impressed by the beauty of the Caribbean, he has not come looking for. With an incredible sense of purpose was the admiral in search of wealth and a passage to Asia to the land of Marco Polo, and hope that Hispaniola in Japan could be a part of China and Cuba.
Before returning to Spain in 1496 Columbus discovered explored more of Cuba and Jamaica. The admiral was determined to prove that Cuba belonged to the Asian mainland and part of the empire of the Mongols. Although he never sailed all around the island, he has power of his men a solemn oath that Cuba was a promontory of Asia.
Over time the relationship began between the Spanish and the indigenous peoples of Hispaniola to deteriorate. Instead of searching for provisions while Columbus was exploring other islands, the men left behind Taíno raid villages in search of wealth. With little hope of something more than poverty and misery disgruntled settlers began to go home. Many of the people were sick, many died, and most were dissatisfied with the lack of opportunity. The fact that Columbus was his brother Diego behind as governor of Isabela contributed to the problems of the admiral with the colonists. Diego was not a manager. The settlers repeatedly protested against his rule is ineffective and blame him for an Italian. Part of the settlers began letters to relatives and officials in Spain, complained about the conditions, and notices. In October 1495 a Spanish official arrived with a royal command to Columbus and the costs to investigate by the discontented settlers arise. On 10 March 1496, had no choice but to return to Columbus to preempt home in hopes of a royal investigation of complaints of the colonists. Leaving his brothers Bartholomew and Diego in charge of the colony, Columbus on board a ship for Spain.
Ferdinand and Isabella gave Columbus a friendly welcome on his return and was interested to hear his story about the discovery of new islands with great potential. They seemed grateful and show him the advantage, but was waiting for more than a year before the adoption of the third voyage.
After his removal from any wrongdoing, and with the full confidence of the monarchs, Columbus left Seville with a fleet of six ships on 30 May 1498th The separation of the expedition, sent Columbus a part of the settlement on Hispaniola to help, while the other, and sailed further south than ever before. Starting from the Cape Verde Islands, he crossed the ocean in the hope of new islands in the southwest, toward the equator.
Columbus had the accident on the way of entering the doldrums, a dead space in the ocean where the ocean currents and winds die, and the heat is unbearable. After little more than a week, the team with a wind that pushed them saved to the west. To change course to the north led Columbus, an island with three peaks, which he named Trinidad. From there they sailed westward into the Gulf of Paria, and then to the coast of South America, where they are the mouth of the Orinoco River, the largest river, one of the crew had ever seen. Seeing the enormous amount of water flowing into the sea, Columbus believed he was in the garden of Eden in those days it was thought that all the great rivers flowed from there was. Without yielding to the idea that he was somewhere else than in Asia, he has to report, was, "I think this is a very large continent which until now remained unknown."
Columbus had the accident on the way of entering the doldrums, a dead space in the ocean where the ocean currents and winds die, and the heat is unbearable. After little more than a week, the team with a wind that pushed them saved to the west. To change course to the north led Columbus, an island with three peaks, which he named Trinidad. From there they sailed westward into the Gulf of Paria, and then to the coast of South America, where they are the mouth of the Orinoco River, the largest river, one of the crew had ever seen. Seeing the enormous amount of water flowing into the sea, Columbus believed he was in the garden of Eden in those days it was thought that all the great rivers flowed from there was. Without yielding to the idea that he was somewhere else than in Asia, he has to report, was, "I think this is a very large continent which until now remained unknown."
After several weeks of exploring Trinidad, the Gulf of Paria, and nearby Margarita Island, Columbus, on his way to Hispaniola, where his brother Bartholomew was building a new settlement. Bartholomew had decided the location of Isabela, who had a poor water supply, a new location near a site where the Spaniards had discovered move gold mines. The new settlement was called Santo Domingo. When Columbus arrived in the new settlement at the end of August 1498, but he found no city in the workplace, but a country at war. Many of the settlers, angry about the lack of opportunities and not willing to resist piercing energy into building a permanent colony. Two factions had formed: the loyalty to the Columbus family, and the rebels, led by Francisco Roldán, whom Columbus had been appointed mayor of Isabela before returning to Spain after his second voyage. It took two years to quell the insurgency and restore order. At the end of the uprising Columbus had to agree with any of the rebels a piece of land and the island's inhabitants, on which they lived.
Despite these measures, but worsen the conditions in the colony continues in the coming months. To get very worried about his inability to peace on the island, Columbus asked the Spanish king and queen sent a judge on the island to deal with the situation. Then the ruler sent Francisco de Bobadilla. Unfortunately for Columbus, Columbus Bobadilla bore a decree stripping the title of governor and viceroy and governor Bobadilla appointment of the Spanish possessions in South America. Shortly after his arrival, Bobadilla seized Columbus and the house of records and sent an order to have Columbus and his brothers found and arrested. They were put in chains to Spain and back. Columbus refused his chains until the monarchs themselves issued the order to remove to do this. He arrived in Cadiz in November 1500th Heard the fate of the admiral, the chief immediately ordered the chains removed and freed, he and his brothers.
On 17 December 1500 went to Columbus at the royal court. The king and queen put all the elements that come from Columbus when he was arrested, it can be restored. The prince could not be restored, however, Columbus title. Instead, Bobadilla removed and replaced him by Nicolás de Ovando. However, this was neither victory nor justification for Columbus. Explained by his titles annulled, the former governor spent the next two years in despair and humiliation.
In the meantime, there was a flurry of exploration in the Caribbean, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Ships in South America reached as far south as Rio de la Plata, Uruguay, the southern boundary of modern forms, and far north along the coast of North America. Columbus clung desperately to his original theory that the islands he had discovered a part of Asia was, but he was alone in his faith. Other navigators saw it as a world hitherto unknown. Whatever it was, colonial activities in South America took her own life, and Columbus could do little to change his course.
In 1488 the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias had successfully rounded the southern tip of Africa and back in 1499 Vasco da Gama to Lisbon after a successful trip around Africa and the Indian Ocean to India. This gave the Portuguese their direct trade route to Asia and eventually surpassed the Muslims who controlled the overland trade routes between Europe and Asia. For Columbus, Portugal has been a new chance for success, and the Spanish monarchs once again opened to find his vision of a strait to mainland China. Rather than retire with a pension and an estate, perhaps even a castle, Columbus claimed yet another trip, his fourth.
The king and queen made it clear that the purpose was the fourth voyage of Columbus is looking for gold, silver, precious stones, spices and other riches. But above all, for fear of worsening the situation in the colony, they forbade Columbus on Hispaniola return if it is absolutely necessary for his return to Spain.
Columbus' fleet of four ships and 150 men departed from Cadiz on 9th Mai 1502nd On this fourth and final voyage, Columbus was accompanied by his son Fernando, age 14, and his brother Bartholomew. Columbus, now 50 years old, could not captain his fleet because of poor health and poor eyesight, but sailors loyal to him had the honor to serve the Admiral again.
After stopping to take on wood and water on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, the expedition began on the 25th by May you initially held back on the Caribbean island of Martinique, where they supplied the boat. Then, even though they expressly prohibited to do so, which led the king and queen, Columbus directly to Hispaniola, where he anchored in Santo Domingo on 29 June.
Columbus, this action was necessary for two reasons. First, one of his ships were in poor condition, and he wanted to buy a new one. Second, and more urgent, there was an oncoming hurricane. In a message to Governor Ovando to be allowed to enter the harbor, told him not to allow any Columbus ships to leave Spain. Ovando refused to discuss not Columbus and his fleet in the harbor and the Admiral. Columbus took refuge in a small harbor nearby and was saved, but the large fleet that Ovando ordered the sea was almost completely destroyed. Columbus is the view that the divine justice had been done, have. Not only the two men he most hated, and Roldán Bobadilla die at sea, but took the ship of Columbus' share of the wealth of the colony it all the way to Spain.
After the hurricane, Columbus sailed southwest, past Cuba and into the open sea, until he reached Central America. Winding sailing and severe coastal storms took their toll on both ships and on Columbus. The admiral, ill with rheumatism, fever, poor eyesight and was bedridden most of the time. Unsuccessful search for a passage on the Asian mainland, was in Columbus, around the area he called Veragua (Panama) forced to leave. Skirmishes with the locals, violent storms, and damaged ships meant he had to return to Hispaniola. It was December 1502nd
A ship was on the coast of Panama and another at sea to sea worms (small mussels) lost. Consequently, 130 men were pushing for the remaining, barely seaworthy, forced worm-filled arteries. Once on the ocean and realize that Hispaniola was too far to reach in such condition, Columbus north to Jamaica, he had discovered on his second voyage. The ships had been in such bad condition that they stranded, earned only used as protection against the Islanders. Columbus and his men were stranded for more than a year. Half of the men standing when Columbus tried to convey to order and discipline. A second problem surfaced, it was even more devastating: Tired of dealing with the Spaniards, the islanders heard them with food. In response, Columbus came up with an ingenious trick. Having an almanac with him, he threatened the island's inhabitants, by punishing the light from the moon. On the night of the 29th February 1504, when the moon disappears as a result of a lunar eclipse began, the Islanders were alarmed, and agreed to establish trade with the Spaniards again. The Europeans were still stranded on the island.
A loyal and brave sailor, Diego Méndez de Salcedo, who had protected the life of Columbus on other occasions, agreed, open channel by canoe to Hispaniola for stabbing weapons, to achieve an almost impossible feat of trying. The island has more than 160 km (100 miles) and Santo Domingo, the home of Governor Ovando, was nearly 480 km (300 miles). In five days, Mendez and a sailor made it to Hispaniola by canoe paddle in two of the islanders. After finding Ovando on a domestic mission, the men have to wait 7 months for a ship sent to check on their history. The rescue ship arrived in late July, and the shipwrecked not in Santo Domingo, by 13 August arrive. Does not feel welcome in the city on 12 September 1504, Columbus took his last trip across the ocean, this time as a passenger. On 7 November, he, his son and his brother arrived in Spain.
Returned by the time the Admiral to Spain, Queen Isabella was the seriously ill and died on 26 November 1504, shortly after his arrival. Weakened by rheumatism, exposure and bad food years, was very ill at Columbus, and he spent many months recovering in the monastery of Las Cuevas in Seville. In the coming year and a half until his death, Columbus tried his lost titles of governor and viceroy to win. He wrote letters asking the crown, and persuaded others to intercede on his behalf. If he was good enough, he followed the court of King Ferdinand of several large cities in Spain, hoping to see the king. In May 1505 King Ferdinand finally granted an audience in Columbus, the discoverer can his claim to his title and represent the wealth of the Indies. His titles were not returned, but the king ordered him to arbitration regarding his financial demands. In the end, Columbus's share was set at 2 percent of the wealth of the islands, a considerable sum. Combined with the fact that Columbus already has a weapon and noble status, there was the Columbus family a lifestyle equivalent to that of the richest nobility in Spain.
In the fall of 1505 Columbus became too ill to travel more. He remained in the city of Valladolid until his death. On 20 Were May 1506, his two sons, his brother Bartholomew and his faithful friend Diego Méndez at his side when the admiral murmured "Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit" and died. His body was first buried in Valladolid, but in 1509 his son Diego transferred the remains of the monastery of Las Cuevas in Seville. The current location of Columbus is controversial. They were on the American continent in the middle of the 16th Century first moved to Santo Domingo and then, in 1795, to Havana, Cuba. He then allegedly went back to Spain remains in 1899, where it is maintained, they are buried in the cathedral of Seville.
Long after the death of Columbus, his family problems were restored and renovated to its title. This fight resulted in a small victory in 1509 when Diego became governor of Hispaniola. What seems to be the greatest injustice of all is that Columbus is the new countries which were never found with the name. That honor fell to another Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, Florence, in the southern and eastern coasts of South America, discovered in 1500.
To exaggerate the historical significance of Christopher Columbus is difficult. Extraordinary changes resulting from his travels. Although he has not found a new route to Asia, Columbus countries and peoples of the Western Hemisphere, known Europeans changed into motion a chain of events, the history of humanity on a global level. Columbus initiated the interactions between the peoples of Europe and America led to what scientists at the Columbian Exchange, called the two-way transmission of diseases, plants, animals and cultures that followed Columbus' travels.
European diseases such as diphtheria, measles, smallpox, malaria and destroyed the Indian population who were not previously exposed to them. At the same time, however, received the North and South America European crops such as wheat, rice, coffee, banana and olive trees, and animals, including horses, cows, pigs and chickens. South America, which in turn was a virulent form of syphilis in Europe as well as important crops such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, lima beans, squash, peanuts, cassava, cocoa and pineapple.
Besides the exchange of the disease the discoveries of Columbus had a dark side. The societies of the indigenous people of America seem primitive to Europeans, and Europeans get a picture of them as "barbarians", which unfortunately. The Europeans are simply not able, or do not want to see the complexity and importance of indigenous cultural communities. European settlers in America did little or nothing for the indigenous culture and saw the natives as nothing more than a slave to the workforce. As a result, indigenous cultures, as indigenous peoples, began to disappear, as the European invaders advanced. Disease, forced labor, invasion and conquest by the Europeans caused the deaths of millions of Native Americans, in which one only as one of the greatest tragedies of all time are described.
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