christopherColumbus was the famous Genoese navigator known for leading the expedition sent by the Spanish crown that resulted in the arrival of Europeans to the American continent, in October 1492. Columbus' expedition landed on one of the islands now called the Bahamas (historians don't know precisely which island).
Columbus' first expedition was the result of years of his efforts to convince the Spanish kings to finance his trip. During his lifetime, he made a total of four trips to the American continent and died believing he had reached Asia. He has been accused by some studies of starting the genocide of indigenous peoples on the American continent.
Accessalso: Discovering Brazil - context, trivia and summary
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![Christopher Columbus, born in Genoa, was the leader of the expedition that took the Europeans to the American continent in 1492. [1]](/f/c9ca6502d92412e51a0b9276d9aec850.jpg)
Christopher Columbus born in 1451 (Researchers do not know precisely what month he was born, but it is known that it was between August and October). His birthplace is also controversial, but most historians claim it is
Genoa. Based on a study released in 1931, it was concluded that he was, in fact, Genoese, although there are still researchers who cast this information in doubt.Columbus' father was called domenicoColumbus and exercised the trade of weaver, and her mother was called SusannaFontanarossa. Altogether, Columbus had four brothers: Bartolomeu, Giacomo, Giovanni and Bianchinetta. From childhood, he and his brother Bartolomeu showed great interest in the sea.
It is believed that Columbus, being Genoese, spoke the local language, Ligurian, but there is no writing of him in that language. Because of this supposed origin, its name in the native language of Genoa was ChristoffaCorombo. Not much more is known about the childhood of this historical character, but it is known that, at the age of 14, he entered a school that trained boat pilots and cartographers.
Columbus as sailor
From the 1470s, Christopher Columbus began his professional career participating in commercial trips carried out by two Genoese families, the Di Negro and the Spinola. These voyages were made between 1474 and 1475, and on them Columbus sailed through the waters of the Aegean Sea (near Greece). In 1476 he was in Lisbon, Portugal, and Bristol, England.
It is also said that, in 1477, Columbus may have been in Iceland, but historians tend to face this last information with some suspicion because the accounts of this supposed stay are confusing. Also in 1477, Columbus settled in Portugal, where he married Felipa Moniz Perestrello. From that marriage, he had a child, DiegoColumbus.
sphericity theory
In Portugal, Columbus sought convince the Portuguese king, d. João II, financing his expedition to the west. His goal was to reach the Indies, and for that, he was looking for funding. By this time, Columbus already had a great deal of experience in navigation because he had participated in a series of expeditions across the Atlantic.
Columbus believed that the earth was a sphere and probably based his theory on knowledge obtained through the classical culture. There was some literature by the Greeks and Romans that discussed issues relating to the sphericity of the Earth. Outside of classical texts, one of the great influences that Columbus suffered came from paoloToscanelli, a Florentine who firmly believed in this idea.
Historians report that Columbus had some optimism about his theory, and this was attributed to the the fact that his calculations of the distance between Europe and India, to the west, were incorrect. So, Columbus believed that the Earth was much smaller than it actually is and that an expedition to India would not take that long.
Search for financing
As mentioned, in the 1480s, Columbus sought the support of the Portuguese king d. John II to finance his expedition to the west. Columbus argued that by sailing west he could reach cipango (now Japan), and from there he would go to India, but his theory was discredited by other navigators trusted by the king, and so he did not have the support he needed.
However, the king of Portugal probably wanted to rely on the services of Columbus to explore the African coast, but Columbus was determined to follow through on his plan. So after his wife passed away (the year of death is uncertain), he left with his son for Spain. Installed in Palos de la Frontera and, some time later, he was allowed to present his plans to the Spanish kings.
It is reported that Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon, you kingscatholics, were interested in Columbus' project, mainly because he explored the religious possibilities of his expedition, but they didn't want to finance it. This is because, in 1486, Catholic kings were engaged in fight against the moors installed in Grenada.
With the Spanish denial, Columbus again sought the support of the Portuguese king, but, after another rejection, tried to obtain the support of Henry VII, King of England, and maintained contact by letter with the French crown, but both attempts also failed. Only in 1492, after Spain conquered Granada, is that he got the support of the catholic kings.
Columbus' contract (called the capitulations) with the Spanish crown was signed in April 17, 1492. His demands were various, and despite an initial refusal, the Catholic kings accepted them all, which were:
- Admiral title;
- Appointment as viceroy and governor of lands he discovered;
- Receiving the title of don;
- Receipt of two million maravedis to prepare three caravels;
- Receipt of a percentage on all goods and profits made through your shipment.
see more: Conquest of Spanish America and its causes - diseases, superiority of arms and alliances
Firsttravel
With the support of the Spanish crown, Columbus organized three vessels (two caravels and one ship) for his expedition: Niña andpaint (caravels) and SantaMaria (ship). This expedition set sail from Palos de la Fronteira, in August 3, 1492, towards the west. Colombo believed that by October 6 the three ships would reach Cipango.
As we have already seen, his projections were incorrect, and therefore the expedition lasted much longer than he imagined. To keep his sailors from panicking, Columbus began omitting the actual distances made by the vessel each day. This first expedition arrived in America on the day October 12, 1492. However, it was not the first time that Europeans arrived on the continent, as, in the year 1000, the vikings had already done it.
Columbus' expedition arrived in the Antilles region, landing on one of the islands that form the Bahamas. There is no evidence as to which island the expedition first reached, but it is believed that it may have been the Watling's Island. the natives called it Guanahani, but Columbus renamed it to sansavior.
He passed through other islands in the Caribbean, like Cuba, which he called Juana, and the island where Haiti is, calling it Hispaniola. Contact with the natives was smooth, but Columbus reports that he took some natives with him by force so that they could give details of the land where his expedition had arrived. Columbus believed he was in India and called the natives “indians”.
On this expedition, Columbus formed a small settlement (called Navidad) in Hispaniola, leaving in it a few dozen men from his expedition. Then he returned to Europe to break the news of his trip to the Spanish kings.
Accessalso: Alexander VI, the pope who participated in the negotiations for the division of America
Otherstravels
In all, Columbus performed fourtravels to America, and in none of them was he convinced that he had reached a continent unknown to Europeans. He kept believing that he had come to Asia and that some of the Caribbean islands were part of Japan. The finds made by Columbus started a series of discussions between Spain and Portugal for the division of lands. From these negotiations, the Treaty of Tordesillas.
THE Mondaytravel of Columbus left Spain on September 23, 1493. Made up of about 1200 men, this expedition aimed to start colonizing the new lands. When he arrived in Hispaniola, he realized that the settlement of Navidad had been destroyed. So Columbus decided to form another settlement in a different location on the island. This led to the founding of Isabella, in honor of Queen Elizabeth of Castile. Columbus also explored new islands in the Caribbean and fought the natives for control of Hispaniola.
THE thirdtravel of Columbus began on May 30, 1498 and was intended to bring new workers and supplies to Hispaniola. Columbus was also dedicated to further exploring the region to find China. This expedition took him to South America, as he found the island of Trinidad (which forms Trinidad and Tobago today) and sailed through the Orinoco delta, river that passes through Venezuela.
When he returned to Isabela, Columbus found the city in a sorry state. The settlers lived in a state of great poverty, many had given up the settlement and had returned to Europe, and the natives had been enslaved. Columbus was accused of treating settlers and natives negligently and therefore he was arrested by the royal inquisitor Francisco de Bobadilla.
Basically, he was accusedintyranny, as he did not distribute provisions to the colonists and authorized the enslavement of the natives. His return to Spain (he traveled in handcuffs) marks the end of the prestige he had gained from his first trip. In Spain he was released, however lost the title of governor of the Spanish colonies.
On May 9, 1502, Columbus left for his fourthand last trip to America. Banned from going to the island of Hispaniola, he explored the coast of Central America, and, in contacts with natives in Panama, received information that there was another sea to the west (Pacific Ocean). Returned to Spain in 1504.
Last years
Upon returning to Spain, Columbus settled in Seville. In disrepute, he did not receivethe amount of riches that had been promised to him in the contract with the Spanish crown. Shortly thereafter, on May 20, 1506, Christopher Columbus diedat 54 years old. His sons, Diego and Fernando, went to court against the crown of Spain so that they would receive what had been promised to their father.
Image credits
[1] Everett Historical and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historia-da-america/cristovao-colombo.htm
