| Before the Voyage
Biography
of Christopher Columbus
Fifteenth Century Europe and Spain
Columbus’s Idea and How He Supported
It
Biography of Christopher Columbus
According to most historians, Christopher
Columbus, or Cristobal Colón in Spanish, was born
in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. There is little concrete evidence
about the background of the man who came to be known as the
discoverer of America. Some have speculated that Christopher
Columbus was not even his real name! A current theory being
discussed by historians is that Columbus may actually have
been Jewish, at a time when Jews were being expelled from
Spain. The threat of expulsion may have been enough to persuade
Columbus to change his name and identity in order to fit in
with the Christian populous. If this is the case, he hid his
Jewish identity so well that historians—until recently—had
no doubt that he was Christian.
His ancestry aside, historians have not
yet been able to pinpoint the exact date or location of Columbus’s
birth. While prominent biographer Samuel Morison claims that
Columbus was born between August and October 1451 in Genoa,
other researchers have made very different claims. The suggested
dates of his birth have ranged from as early as 1436 to as
late as 1455. With these two extremes Columbus would have
been setting out on his voyage to America as young as 37 or
as old as 56. To imagine that, in a time of plague and poor
health, a man could live into his seventies (the later date
would place Columbus at seventy years old at his death) is
unlikely. Most historians agree with Morison’s choice
of a birth date.
The location of Columbus’s birth
has also caused confusion. Morison’s suggestion of Genoa
is widely accepted to be Columbus’s birthplace. But
one of the most startling pieces of evidence, or lack of evidence,
which disputes Morison’s findings is the fact that Columbus
neither wrote nor spoke Italian. There is no letter, diary
entry, or contract written in Italian and no mention of Columbus
speaking Italian at court or on his ships. Furthermore, all
of his names for islands and bodies of water in the New World
were Spanish in origin. Supporters of Morison’s theory
have argued that letters, diaries, and contracts were mostly
written in Latin, so the lack of Italian is not surprising.
As for the lack of spoken Italian, they argue that in the
Spanish court and while on a voyage under the Spanish flag,
it is not surprising that Columbus would have used primarily
Spanish. To speak Italian in the presence of Spain’s
king and queen would have been in terribly poor taste.
Regardless of when and where Columbus was
born, it is evident from his earliest writings and from testimonies
by friends and family members that he had a fascination with
the ocean. From a young age he would watch boats crossing
the Mediterranean Sea as they traded up and down the European
coast. Columbus read everything about the sea that he could
find. This passion for adventure and exploration led Columbus
to take his life to the waters. He set out from home, wherever
that may have been, with the intent to explore and discover
unknown and interesting places.
Columbus spent much of his youth sailing
on small vessels in and around Europe. He built up a small
reputation as a successful and talented mariner. Around the
age of 25 he settled in Lisbon, Portugal, where he worked
with his brother as a mapmaker. During his time in Lisbon,
Columbus continued to pursue life on the ocean. During the
1480s he sailed and explored frequently in Africa. It was
here that the ideas he would later apply to his New World
voyage were born. By the late 1480s he was certain that his
theories about the world were correct, and he took his ideas
to the king of Portugal in hopes of being given an expedition
of his own. He no longer wanted to be a mere sailor on small
expeditions. He wanted to be Christopher Columbus, Explorer.
Fifteenth Century Europe and
Spain
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| Inscription
on the front of the house where Columbus is believed
to have been born, Genoa, Italy |
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Spain in the time
of Christopher Columbus was, generally, violent and unstable.
Outbreaks of plague, tortures of citizens, and religious inquisitions
against Jews and Muslims contributed to the turbulence. According
to historians, the outbreak of diseases throughout Europe
killed 10 to 20 percent of many towns’ populations with
each new wave. An unpredictable, unstable economic climate
contributed to famine and malnutrition. Large pits of sewage
and mass graves were breeding grounds for disease, and most
of the population neither bathed nor kept clean. Ill health
and squalid conditions were not the only hardships with which
the people of the late fifteenth century had to contend. Wars,
riots, and crime also killed tens of thousands in Europe.
Often, the leaders of each country were powerless to stop
the deadly sweep of war and disease. At times, they were the
ones to encourage it.
During the years in which Columbus was
traveling from court to court in search of someone to support
his trip and his theories, the Inquisition was raging in Spain.
The powerful leaders within Spain tortured, maimed, and killed
those believed to be non-Christian. Jews and Muslims received
the brunt of the attack. They were forced to give up their
own religion in favor of Christianity, or face the penalty
of torture, expulsion, or death. Nearly 150,000 Jews were
expelled from the country, with most being shipped to Africa.
Columbus’s Idea and How He Supported
It
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| Columbus
at the court of Ferdinand and Isabella |
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There are many theories concerning Christopher
Columbus and the origin of the idea that, because the world
was round, a person could set sail from one side and journey
back around to the other. While Columbus was sure that the
idea was sound, so much so that he withstood ridicule from
his peers, he was not the first to come up with the theory.
Scholars and historians have found evidence that Columbus
had researched the works of significant scientists and explorers
like Ptolemy,
Marco
Polo, and Eratosthenes.
With their influence and his own naturally stubborn will,
Columbus set out to prove that a journey across the Atlantic
to China and Japan was possible.
In order to pay for his voyage, and to
gain the fame and power he desired, Columbus needed to find
support from the royal court of a European nation. In 1483,
Columbus approached the royal court of Portugal and presented
his idea to King John II. King John rejected Columbus, having
conferred with other explorers and mariners who claimed that
the idea was unthinkable and unrealistic. Thus dismissed,
Columbus sought out the King and Queen of Spain. His first
attempt to convince Ferdinand and Isabella of his intended
journey left them with many questions. They did not, however,
reject his proposal. Queen Isabella was quite impressed with
Columbus and his presentation. The King and Queen strongly
desired a chance to catch up with the power and influence
of their Portuguese neighbors, and Columbus’s plan—if
it succeeded—offered this chance. They soon agreed to
finance and support his expedition. After many years at many
courts, Christopher Columbus had finally convinced a nation
to support his journey across the Atlantic.
Columbus’s journey did not come cheap,
however. He demanded lofty payments for his services. Columbus
asked for one-tenth of all the wealth (gold, spices, textiles,
slaves, etc.) Spain would receive from the lands which he
visited. He asked that he receive this money for all trips
made by Spain to the new lands, for all time. He wanted to
secure a financial gain not only for himself, but for his
heirs as well. On top of this he requested that he be named
“Viceroy” of the lands he discovered and “Admiral
of the Ocean Seas.” After much negotiation the King
and Queen consented. In April 1492 Columbus signed the contract
with the King and Queen of Spain guaranteeing him all that
he desired, setting in motion the first steps toward the New
World.
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