Columbus

• Christopher Columbus (1451-1506):

  • Born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. He sailed the Mediterranean and the coastlines of Africa as a young man on merchant ships
  • He lived in Sagres for nine years and attended a navigation school
  • Columbus was convinced Earth was round and prepared a voyage westward of Europe, to East Asia to prove the Earth was round
  • Columbus approached King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, who sponsored his journey and gifted him 3 ships for his voyage. He had a crew of 80 men and all ships were stocked with salted food ---
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  • The 3 ships and 80 men departed from Palos on 03 August 1492. They took on more supplies at the Canary Islands and set off through the Atlantic.
  • Weeks passed with no sight of land, so Columbus reassured the crew with a fake logbook that showed much shorter distances
  • He also threatened any crew member who mutinied, with hanging
  • On 12 October 1492, land was seen, 69 days after departing. Columbus called it San Salvador and the natives, Indians, as he thought he reached India.
  • Columbus spent two months exploring the islands. He returned to Spain in 1493 and received a hero's welcome.

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  • He gifted King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella with maize, exotic fruit, slaves and gold. They believed Columbus found a trade route to East Asia and appointed him governor of new territory.
  • Columbus returned three times and tried searching for China. He mistreated the natives by selling them into slavery, torturing and executing them. He was removed from his leadership in 1499.
  • Columbus died in 1506, a broken man who was convinced he travelled to Asia when he discovered the Americas