Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus (between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa. He made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean for the Catholic Monarchs. His journeys opened the way for many European explorers and for European settlement of the Americas. His voyages were the first known contact between Europeans and the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

The name Christopher Columbus comes from the Latin Christophorus Columbus, through anglicization. He grew up on the coast of Liguria and went to sea when he was young. He traveled far, from as far north as the British and Irish Isles to as far south as what is now Ghana. He married the Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who had a son, Diego, and he lived in Lisbon for several years. Later, he had a relationship with a woman from Castile, Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, and they had a son named Ferdinand.

Columbus taught himself much of what he knew. He knew a lot about geography, astronomy, and history. He came up with a plan to reach the East Indies by sailing west, hoping to earn money from the valuable spice trade. After the Granada War, and after asking several kingdoms for help, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, agreed to pay for a voyage west. In August 1492, Columbus left the Port of Palos with three ships. On 12 October, he reached the Americas. The people who already lived there had been living there for thousands of years, in what is now called the pre-Columbian era. He landed on an island in the Bahamas, which its native people called Guanahani. Then he visited the islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola, and he started a colony in what is now Haiti. In early 1493, Columbus went back to Castile with some native people he had taken with him, and news of his voyage quickly spread across Europe.

Columbus made three more voyages to the Americas. In 1493 he explored the Lesser Antilles. In 1498 he visited Trinidad and the northern coast of South America. In 1502 he explored the east coast of Central America. Many of the place names he gave, especially for islands, are still used today. He called the Indigenous peoples he met indios ('Indians'). It is not clear whether he understood that the Americas were a completely separate landmass, because he never fully gave up his belief that he had reached the Far East. As a colonial governor, some people said he treated others very badly, and he was removed from the job. His difficult relationship with the Crown of Castile and its officials in America led to his arrest and removal from Hispaniola in 1500. It also led to long legal disputes over the rewards he and his children claimed the Crown owed them.

Columbus's voyages began a long period of exploration, conquest, and settlement that lasted for centuries and brought the Americas under European influence. The exchange of plants, animals, metals, culture, people, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World that followed his first voyage is called the Columbian exchange, named after him. Diseases brought from the Old World spread quickly and caused many deaths among the Indigenous peoples of Hispaniola. Some of these people were also forced into slavery and treated unfairly under Columbus's government. Today, people understand these events better, so Columbus is less celebrated in Western culture, where he was once admired as a heroic discoverer. Many places have been named after him.

Early life

Further information: Origin theories of Christopher Columbus

Most scholars agree that Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa between August and October 1451. His father, Domenico Colombo, was a wool weaver who worked in Genoa and Savona. His father also had a cheese stand, where young Christopher worked. His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. Columbus had three brothers, Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo (also called Diego), and a sister, Bianchinetta. For part of his adult life, Bartholomew ran a cartography workshop in Lisbon. Columbus probably spoke a Genoese dialect (Ligurian) as his first language. Some modern writers have said he came from the Aragon region of Spain or from Portugal, but most scholars do not agree. In 1473 he began working as a business agent for the wealthy Spinola, Centurione, and Di Negro families.

Columbus traveled to Chios in the Aegean Sea, which was ruled by Genoa at the time. In 1476 he sailed with a Genoese fleet to northern Europe. He probably visited Bristol in England and Galway in Ireland, and he may have visited St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church. Later that year, his ship was attacked, and he was shipwrecked on the coast of Lagos, Portugal. He then settled in Lisbon, where he traded with his brother Bartholomew for the Centurione family. In 1478 he married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, the daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrello. Bartolomeu was a Portuguese nobleman of Lombard origin who had been the donatary captain of Porto Santo. Their son Diego was born around 1479 or 1480. From 1482 to 1485, he traveled along the West African coast. He reached the Portuguese trading post of Elmina on the Guinea coast, in what is now Ghana. In 1485 he left Portugal for Castile. There, in 1487, he met Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, who probably met him in Córdoba, a city where the court of the Catholic Monarchs was sometimes located. Their son Fernando Columbus was born in 1488. Columbus taught himself Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. He also read widely about geography and history, including works by Ptolemy, Pierre d'Ailly, Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville, Pliny, his Natural History, and Pope Pius II's Historia rerum ubique gestarum. Historian Edmund Morgan noted that Columbus was not a scholarly man. Even so, he studied these books closely and formed simple, strong ideas about the world. Some of those ideas were wrong.

Quest for Asia

When the Mongol Empire ruled large areas, European traders could travel safely by land on the Silk Road to India, East Asia, China, and Maritime Southeast Asia, where valuable goods could be found. In 1453, the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire closed the Silk Road to Christian traders. In 1474, the Florentine astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli suggested to Afonso V of Portugal that sailing west might be a quicker way to Asia, but the king said no. Later, Columbus and his brother proposed reaching the East Indies by sailing west. Columbus's plans became harder when Bartolomeu Dias sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, which showed that the Cape Route around Africa was possible. Columbus had to wait until 1492 for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to support his voyage. Carol Delaney and other writers have said that Columbus was a Christian millennialist and apocalypticist, and that these beliefs shaped his quest in several ways. He hoped to find gold for a crusade to the Holy Sepulchre, and he wished to converting people to Christianity.

Most educated Westerners of Columbus's time knew that the Earth is spherical, an idea understood since antiquity, although a popular misconception said otherwise. However, Columbus made several mistakes about the size of the Earth and the distance to Asia. Eratosthenes had measured the Earth's size correctly long before, and Posidonius confirmed his results, but Columbus relied on Ptolemy and other sources that gave smaller numbers. Columbus also used an Arabic mile measure without realizing it was longer than the Roman mile or Italian mile of his time. He believed that Eurasia was wider than it really is. He read the claims of Pierre d'Ailly, Alfraganus, Marinus of Tyre, and Marco Polo to support this idea. Some historians, such as Samuel Eliot Morison, have suggested that he also drew on the apocryphal book 2 Esdras. Columbus thought Japan was closer than it really is. He hoped islands such as Antillia lay not far west of the Azores. He also estimated the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan as much shorter than it really is. Because of this, most European sailors thought a westward voyage to Asia was impossible. The Catholic Monarchs, however, had just finished the Reconquista, a costly war against the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula. They wanted an advantage in trade with the Indies. Columbus's plan, though far-fetched, seemed to offer that advantage.

Although Columbus was wrong about the distances, he correctly planned to use the trade winds, which proved key to crossing the Atlantic. He planned to sail first to the Canary Islands and then west with the northeast trade wind. For the return, he would need to follow the winds northeast to catch the westerlies, since sailing back against the wind meant "beating," a very slow method. The Portuguese had first used this route, which they called the volta do mar. Columbus learned some things through his marriage to Felipa Perestrello, whose father, Bartolomeu Perestrello, had served under Prince Henry the Navigator. He also heard stories from old sailors. Still, his understanding of Atlantic winds was incomplete on his first voyage, and he avoided the dangers of the horse latitudes and tropical storms during hurricane season mostly by chance. By about 1484, Columbus proposed his voyage to King John II of Portugal, who said no. Columbus later asked Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, who ruled together, for support. The Spanish advisors also thought the plan was not practical. The rulers gave him an allowance of maravedis so he would not take his ideas elsewhere. His brother Bartholomew was sent to Henry VII of England but was captured by pirates. Columbus later stayed at La Rábida Friary before returning to the Spanish court.

After Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, in January 1492, Isabella was finally convinced to fund the voyage. The royal clerk Luis de Santángel argued that Columbus would take his ideas elsewhere if they refused. In the April 1492 "Capitulations of Santa Fe," the monarchs promised Columbus the rank of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and the title of Viceroy and Governor of any new lands he claimed for Spain. They also promised him a diezmo (one-tenth) of the income from those lands. In 1500, during his third voyage, Columbus was arrested and removed from his posts. He and his sons then fought a long series of court cases, known as the pleitos colombinos, against the Castilian Crown.

Voyages

Main article: Voyages of Christopher Columbus

From 1492 to 1504, Columbus made four round trips between Spain and the Americas. The Crown of Castile paid for each voyage. On his first voyage he reached the Americas. This started European exploration and colonization of the continent, and it also started the Columbian exchange. His journeys are important to the Age of Discovery, Western history, and human history as a whole. In Columbus's letter on the first voyage, written after he first returned to Spain, he said he had reached Asia, as earlier travelers such as Marco Polo had described. On later voyages he would not accept that these lands were not part of Asia, even when the evidence showed it. This may be part of why the American continent was named after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who is credited with recognizing it as a "New World," and not after Columbus.

On 3 August 1492, Columbus left Palos de la Frontera with three ships. He stopped at San Sebastián de La Gomera and then crossed the ocean. On 12 October 1492, the crew reached land. Columbus named the island San Salvador, which the Native people called Guanahani. At Hispaniola, his ship the Santa María was wrecked, and Columbus left some men behind at La Navidad. On his second voyage, which began in 1493, he sailed from Cádiz with many ships and men to start permanent colonies. He also visited Puerto Rico. Many Indigenous people were treated very badly and forced to work, and many were harmed by illness. On his third voyage, in 1498, Columbus reached the mainland of South America at the Paria Peninsula. He realized this land must be a continent. Later, people complained about how he ruled, so Spain sent Francisco de Bobadilla to investigate. Columbus and his brother were then sent back to Spain. On his fourth voyage, which began in 1502 from Cádiz, Columbus explored the coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, and he reached Panama. His ships were badly damaged. He was stuck on Jamaica for about six months before being rescued in 1504.

Main article: Fourth voyage of Columbus

Later life, illness, and death

Columbus had always said that bringing non-believers to Christianity was one reason for his voyages. In his later years, he became more religious. With help from his son Diego and his friend Gaspar Gorricio, a Carthusian monk, he wrote two books. The Book of Privileges (1502) listed the rewards he believed he and his heirs were owed by the Spanish Crown. The Book of Prophecies (1505) used Bible passages to place his achievements in the context of Christian eschatology. He also asked the Crown of Castile for his tenth of the riches and trade goods from the new lands, as agreed in the Capitulations of Santa Fe. Because he had been removed as governor, the Crown refused. After his death, his heirs took the Crown to court. This began a long series of legal disputes called the pleitos colombinos ('Columbian lawsuits').

During a violent storm on his first return voyage, Columbus, then 41, became very ill with what was believed at the time to be gout. In later years, he had what was thought to be influenza and other fevers. He also had long periods of illness that sometimes kept him in bed for months, until his death 14 years later. Some modern experts think he had reactive arthritis instead. This is a joint swelling caused by infections in the intestines or by certain infections such as chlamydia or gonorrhea. In 2006, Frank C. Arnett, a rheumatologist, and historian Charles Merrill proposed this idea in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. After his fourth voyage, Columbus settled in Seville in April 1505. He was still ill, but he kept asking the Crown to protect his and his family's privileges. He moved to Segovia, where the court was, and in March 1506 he followed the court to Valladolid for the wedding of King Ferdinand and Germaine of Foix. On 20 May 1506, aged 54, Columbus died in Valladolid.

Location of remains

A tomb of Columbus is in the Seville Cathedral. Another tomb is in the Columbus Lighthouse in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic. Columbus's remains were first buried at the Chapel of Wonders in the Convent of St. Francis, Valladolid. Later, they were moved to the monastery of La Cartuja in Seville, Spain, because his son Diego wished it. They may have been moved again in 1513, to the Seville Cathedral.

Around 1536, the remains of Columbus and Diego were moved to a cathedral in Colonial Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. Columbus had asked to be buried on the island. Some accounts say that in 1793 the remains were moved to Havana, Cuba. After Cuba became independent following the Spanish–American War in 1898, at least some of the remains were returned to the Seville Cathedral. They were placed on a large, decorated catafalque.

In June 2003, scientists took DNA samples from the remains in Seville. They also took samples from Columbus's brother Diego and younger son Fernando. DNA was hard to collect, and only short pieces of mitochondrial DNA could be found. These matched the DNA of Columbus's brother, which supported the idea that the two men had the same mother. Together with anthropologic and historical studies, the researchers concluded that the remains belonged to Christopher Columbus.

In 1877, a priest found a lead box at Santo Domingo. It had writing on it that said "Discoverer of America, First Admiral." The box held bones of an arm and a leg. John Eugene Osborne, a physician and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, believed these remains were genuine. In 1913, he suggested they travel through the Panama Canal as part of its opening ceremony. The remains were later kept at the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor. Then they were moved to the Columbus Lighthouse, which opened in 1992.

The authorities in Santo Domingo have never allowed these remains to be DNA-tested. So it is not confirmed whether they came from Columbus's body.

Commemoration

Further information: List of places named for Christopher Columbus and List of monuments and memorials to Christopher Columbus

Columbus was also remembered in the British colonies. Early on, Puritan preacher Cotton Mather described his voyage as one of three events that shaped the modern age. After the American Revolution, Columbus became a symbol of new nations in the Americas. He helped people build a national story and founding myth that had fewer ties to Britain. The female national personification of the United States, Columbia, took her name from him. The name was also used for the Americas and the New World. Places such as Columbia, South Carolina, the ship Columbia Rediviva, and the Columbia River were also named after him. The Republic of Colombia received his name in the early 1800s. The idea came from "Colombeia," a name suggested by Francisco de Miranda.

In 1893, the World's Fair in Chicago was called the World's Columbian Exposition. It marked 400 years since Columbus landed. The U.S. Postal Service issued the first U.S. commemorative stamps, called the Columbian Issue. A commemorative silver half dollar was also made. In 1992, the Columbus Quincentenary was marked with another Columbian issue. Columbus was also celebrated at Seville Expo '92 and Genoa Expo '92. The Boal Mansion Museum in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania has a collection about Columbus's later family. It includes a reliquary that is said to hold wood from the True Cross. In many countries of the Americas, and in Spain and Italy, Columbus Day marks the day he arrived in the Americas, 12 October 1492.

Legacy

Columbus's voyages are seen as a turning point in human history. They began globalization, which changed trade, economies, societies, and politics around the world. His journeys led to lasting contact between the two hemispheres. The term "pre-Columbian" describes the cultures of the Americas before Columbus and the Europeans who came after him. The Columbian exchange that followed moved animals, plants, diseases, tools, and ideas between the continents. Over time, many Americans made Columbus a national hero, and his landing became a famous symbol of the country's beginnings.

Main articles: Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories and Norse colonization of North America

Historians now see Columbus's legacy as more complicated. The Norse reached North America about 500 years before him. A Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland, shows this. Most scholars believe Columbus discovered America on his own, without knowing about the Norse settlements. Columbus has also been criticized for the harm done to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Many Indigenous people were hurt and died after the Europeans arrived. Some historians call this genocide of Indigenous peoples. Other historians debate how much Columbus was responsible. After protests in 2020, many public monuments to Columbus were removed.

Main article: Taíno genocide

See also: Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas

Physical appearance

People who knew Columbus, including his son Fernando and Bartolomé de las Casas, said he was taller than most people. He had light skin that often got sunburnt, blue or hazel eyes, high cheekbones, freckles, and an aquiline nose. His hair and beard were blond to reddish until about age 30, when they started to turn white. No real portrait painted while he was alive is known, even though many artworks show him.

A famous portrait by Sebastiano del Piombo appears in many textbooks. It shows a large man with auburn hair, which matches what people described. However, it was painted in 1519, long after Columbus lived, so it could not have been painted from life. The name on it was probably added later. Between 1531 and 1536, Alejo Fernández painted the altarpiece The Virgin of the Navigators, which includes a picture of Columbus. It was made for a chapel in the Casa de Contratación (House of Trade) in the Alcázar of Seville, and it is still there. At the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, many portraits said to be of Columbus were shown, but most of them did not match descriptions of him from his own time.