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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 | |
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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