Christopher Columbus
1451-1506
Italian Explorer
If there is any explorer who, in the eyes of most Americans, seems to need no introduction, it is Christopher Columbus. Yet few figures in history have been the subject of so much myth. Old-fashioned political correctness maintained that Columbus was a sort of savior for discovering the New World, whereas modern political correctness—manifested particularly in 1992, during the 500th anniversary of his discovery—condemns him as a murderer of Native Americans and destroyer of the environment. In fact, both views miss the point that Columbus ultimately had no idea what he was doing: though he was right in surmising that it was possible to reach Asia by sea, he went to his grave believing (incorrectly) that he had done so.
He was born Cristoforo Colombo (Columbus" is an Anglicized version) in Genoa at some time between August and September 1451. His parents, Domenico and Suzanna Fontanarossa Colombo, were humble people: Domenico was a weaver, and what little education their son received was primarily a result of his own efforts. Young Columbus read, and was fascinated by, Marco Polo's (1254-1324) account of hisodyssey on the ancient Silk Road to China. By Columbus's time, however, the Turks' destruction of the Byzantine Empire had virtually sealed off the eastward land route; thus explorers, beginning with those sent out by Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), had attempted to find a sea route.
Christopher Columbus. (Library of Congress. Reproduced with permission.)Columbus, who first went to sea as a nine- or ten-year-old, gained considerable experience sailing the relatively safe Mediterranean. After being wounded in a battle off the coast of Portugal in 1476, he settled in that country, where he and his brother Bartholomeu worked as mapmakers. During this time, he married Felipa Perestrelo, who gave him one son, Diego, before dying in 1483. The loss of his wife seemed to spark a restlessness in Columbus, now in his early thirties, that led him into the events that would make him an immortal.
Portuguese efforts at eastward exploration had concentrated on attempts to round the coast of Africa and reach Asia via the Indian Ocean; Columbus, by contrast, presented King John II with the idea of a westward expedition to achieve the same goal. John turned a deaf ear, so Columbus went instead to the court of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain. The latter did not agree to support the expedition, but took enough of an interest in Columbus to grant him a small annuity. He would wait for the betterpart of seven years to begin his voyage, during which time he had an affair with Beatriz Enriquez, with whom he had a son named Ferdinand. Then suddenly in 1492, a Spanish priest acted as broker in an agreement between the monarchs and Columbus, who promised them vast riches to be gained from the expedition.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail with some 100 men aboard the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. After 37 perilous days' voyage, the crew sighted land, and on October 12, set foot on what is now the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. There they were greeted by the aboriginal Arawaks, who Columbus—believing he had reached Asia—dubbed "Indians." After some time on San Salvador, the crew explored the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. On the latter, they built a fort called Santo Domingo, today the capital of the Dominican Republic and the oldest continuous European settlement in the Americas. Frustrated in his attempts to find either treasure or clear confirmation that he had reached Asia, Columbus departed for Spain in January 1493 with a pair of captured Indians, a few trinkets, and a small quantity of gold he had managed to obtain from the Arawaks. He left behind a group of 40 men, and one of the ships, at Santo Domingo.
Columbus received a hero's welcome in Spain, and his rising fortunes were signified by the size of his second expedition: 17 ships, some 1,200 men, and six months' worth of supplies. Yet things began to turn sour upon their return to Hispaniola in November 1493: as it turned out, tensions between the Indians and the greedy Europeans had resulted in the slaughter of all 40 Spaniards. A number of Columbus's men began succumbing to New World illnesses, and with supplies dwindling, he sent a dozen ships back to Spain. He and the remaining group explored parts of Cuba and Jamaica, but their demands for treasure again put them into conflict with the Indians.
Returning without significant treasure in 1496, Columbus found that his standing with the royal couple had diminished considerably, and this was reflected in the size of the third expedition: just eight ships. This time Columbus, desperate to find the Asian mainland, sailed southward to Trinidad before returning to Hispaniola in August 1498. In Santo Domingo, he found a full-scale mutiny, and when returning sailors brought this news to Ferdinand and Isabella, they sent an official named Bobadilla to investigate. On Bobadilla's orders, Columbus was brought back to Spain in chains in October 1500.
Within a few weeks of his arrival, however, Columbus managed to talk his way back into the royal couple's good graces. Finally they authorized what would be his last voyage, in May 1502, this time with just four ships. The situation in the New World was even worse than before: a new governor in Hispaniola prevented Columbus from landing on the island, and after his crew survived a hurricane, he had to wait a year before the colonial governor sent him help. By November 1504 he was back in Spain, a virtually forgotten man.
Within days of his arrival, Columbus lost his chief supporter, Queen Isabella. He himself would not live more than 18 months, during which time he continually beseeched King Ferdinand for the rewards that had been promised him in their 1492 agreement. He died in the town of Valladolid on May 20, 1506.
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