Modern countries visited by Columbus. Christopher Columbus - what he discovered, map and route of Christopher Columbus's journey. Treaty of Columbus with Queen Isabella
Christopher Columbus - medieval navigator who discovered Sargasso and Caribbean Sea, Antilles, Bahamas and the American continent for Europeans, the first of famous travelers, crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
According to various sources, Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, in what is now Corsica. Six Italian and Spanish cities claim the right to be called his homeland. Almost nothing is known for certain about the navigator’s childhood and youth, and the origins of the Columbus family are also vague.
Some researchers call Columbus an Italian, others believe that his parents were baptized Jews, Marranos. This assumption explains the incredible level of education for those times that Christopher, who came from the family of an ordinary weaver and housewife, received.
According to some historians and biographers, Columbus studied at home until the age of 14, but had excellent knowledge of mathematics and knew several languages, including Latin. The boy had three younger brothers and a sister, all of whom were taught by visiting teachers. One of the brothers, Giovanni, died in childhood, sister Bianchella grew up and got married, and Bartolomeo and Giacomo accompanied Columbus on his travels.
Most likely, Columbus was given all possible assistance by his fellow believers, wealthy Genoese financiers from the Marranos. With their help, a young man from a poor family entered the University of Padua.
Being an educated man, Columbus was familiar with the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers and thinkers, who depicted the Earth as a ball, and not a flat pancake, as was believed in the Middle Ages. However, such thoughts, like Jewish origin during the Inquisition, which was raging in Europe, had to be carefully hidden.
At the university, Columbus became friends with students and teachers. One of his close friends was the astronomer Toscanelli. According to his calculations, it turned out that it was much closer to sail to the treasured India, full of untold riches. westward, and not in the east, skirting Africa. Later, Christopher carried out his own calculations, which, although incorrect, confirmed Toscanelli's hypothesis. Thus was born the dream of a western journey, and Columbus devoted his whole life to it.
Even before entering university as a fourteen-year-old teenager, Christopher Columbus experienced the hardships of sea travel. The father arranged for his son to work on one of the trading schooners to learn the art of navigation and trade skills, and from that moment the biography of Columbus the navigator began.
Columbus made his first voyages as a cabin boy. Mediterranean Sea, where trade and economic routes between Europe and Asia intersected. At the same time, European merchants knew about the riches and gold deposits of Asia and India from the words of the Arabs, who resold them wonderful silks and spices from these countries.
The young man listened to extraordinary stories from the lips of eastern merchants and was inflamed with a dream of reaching the shores of India in order to find its treasures and get rich.
Expeditions
In the 70s of the 15th century, Columbus married Felipe Moniz from a wealthy Italian-Portuguese family. The father-in-law of Christopher, who settled in Lisbon and sailed under the Portuguese flag, was also a navigator. After his death he left nautical charts, diaries and other documents inherited by Columbus. Using them, the traveler continued to study geography, while simultaneously studying the works of Piccolomini, Pierre de Ailly,.
Christopher Columbus took part in the so-called northern expedition, as part of which his route passed through British Isles and Iceland. Presumably, there the navigator heard Scandinavian sagas and stories about the Vikings, Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson, who reached the coast " Mainland", crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
Columbus drew up a route that allowed him to reach India by the western route back in 1475. He presented an ambitious plan to conquer a new land to the court of the Genoese merchants, but did not meet with support.
A few years later, in 1483, Christopher made a similar proposal to the Portuguese King João II. The king assembled a scientific council, which reviewed the Genoese’s project and found his calculations incorrect. Frustrated, but resilient, Columbus left Portugal and moved to Castile.
In 1485, the navigator requested an audience with the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile. The couple received him favorably, listened to Columbus, who enticed them with the treasures of India, and, just like the Portuguese ruler, called the scientists to a council. The commission did not support the navigator, since the possibility of a western route implied the sphericity of the Earth, which contradicted the teachings of the church. Columbus was almost declared a heretic, but the king and queen relented and decided to postpone the final decision until the end of the war with the Moors.
Columbus, who was driven not so much by a thirst for discovery as by a desire to get rich, carefully concealing the details of his planned journey, sent messages to the English and French monarchs. Charles and Henry did not respond to the letters, being too busy with domestic politics, but the Portuguese king sent the navigator an invitation to continue discussing the expedition.
When Christopher announced this in Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella agreed to equip a squadron of ships to search for a western route to India, although the poor Spanish treasury did not have the funds for this enterprise. The monarchs promised Columbus a title of nobility, the titles of admiral and viceroy of all the lands that he would discover, and he had to borrow money from Andalusian bankers and merchants.
Four Expeditions of Columbus
- Christopher Columbus's first expedition took place in 1492-1493. On three ships, the caravels "Pinta" (owned by Martin Alonso Pinzon) and "Nina" and the four-masted sailing ship "Santa Maria", the navigator passed through the Canary Islands, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, discovering the Sargasso Sea along the way, and reached the Bahamas. On October 12, 1492, Columbus set foot on the island of Saman, which he named San Salvador. This date is considered the day of the discovery of America.
- Columbus's second expedition took place in 1493-1496. During this campaign, the Lesser Antilles, Dominica, Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica were discovered.
- The third expedition dates from 1498 to 1500. A flotilla of six ships reached the islands of Trinidad and Margarita, marking the beginning of the discovery South America, and ended in Haiti.
- During the fourth expedition, Christopher Columbus sailed to Martinique, visited the Gulf of Honduras and explored the coast Central America along the Caribbean Sea.
Discovery of America
The process of discovering the New World lasted for many years. The most amazing thing is that Columbus, being a convinced discoverer and experienced navigator, believed until the end of his days that he had discovered the way to Asia. He considered the Bahamas, discovered in the first expedition, to be part of Japan, followed by the discovery of wonderful China, and behind it the treasured India.
What did Columbus discover and why did the new continent receive the name of another traveler? The list of discoveries made by the great traveler and navigator includes San Salvador, Cuba and Haiti, belonging to the Bahamas archipelago, and the Sargasso Sea.
Seventeen ships headed by the flagship Maria Galante set off on the second expedition. This type of ship with a displacement of two hundred tons and other ships carried not only sailors, but also colonialists, livestock, and supplies. All this time, Columbus was convinced that he had discovered Western India. At the same time, the Antilles, Dominica and Guadeloupe were discovered.
The third expedition brought Columbus's ships to the continent, but the navigator was disappointed: he never found India with its gold deposits. Columbus returned from this trip in shackles, accused of false denunciation. Before entering the port, the shackles were removed from him, but the navigator lost the promised titles and ranks.
The last voyage of Christopher Columbus ended with a shipwreck off the coast of Jamaica and a serious illness of the leader of the expedition. He returned home sick, unhappy and broken by failures. Amerigo Vespucci was a close comrade and follower of Columbus, who undertook four voyages to the New World. An entire continent is named after him, and one country in South America is named after Columbus, who never reached India.
Personal life
If you believe the biographers of Christopher Columbus, the first of whom was his own son, the navigator was married twice. The first marriage with Felipe Moniz was legal. The wife gave birth to a son, Diego. In 1488, Columbus had a second son, Fernando, from a relationship with a woman named Beatriz Enriquez de Arana.
The navigator took equal care of both sons, and even took the younger one with him on an expedition when the boy was thirteen years old. Fernando became the first to write a biography famous traveler.
Christopher Columbus with his wife Felipe Moniz Subsequently, both sons of Columbus became influential people and took high positions. Diego was the fourth Viceroy New Spain and Admiral of India, and his descendants were titled Marquises of Jamaica and Dukes of Veragua.
Fernando Columbus, who became a writer and scientist, enjoyed the favor of the Spanish emperor, lived in marble palace and had an annual income of up to 200,000 francs. These titles and wealth went to the descendants of Columbus as a sign of recognition by the Spanish monarchs of his services to the crown.
Death
After the discovery of America from his last expedition, Columbus returned to Spain as a terminally ill, aged man. In 1506, the discoverer of the New World died in poverty in a small house in Valladolid. Columbus spent his savings to pay off the debts of the participants of the last expedition.
Tomb of Christopher Columbus Soon after the death of Christopher Columbus, the first ships began to arrive from America, loaded with gold, which the navigator so dreamed of. Many historians agree that Columbus knew that he had discovered not Asia or India, but a new, unexplored continent, but did not want to share with anyone the glory and treasures, which were one step away.
The appearance of the enterprising discoverer of America is known from photographs in history textbooks. Several films have been made about Columbus, the latest being a film co-produced by France, England, Spain and the USA, “1492: The Conquest of Paradise.” Monuments to this great man were erected in Barcelona and Granada, and his ashes were transported from Seville to Haiti.
One day, Christopher Columbus uttered the sacramental phrase: “It’s a small world,” which, in fact, became the leitmotif of his entire life. In just over 50 years of his life, this greatest navigator managed to make as many discoveries and bring untold riches for all of Europe, which would have been impossible to do in just a few centuries. The navigator did everything he could and begged the Catholic kings to achieve his main life goal - to make an expedition to the shores of the New World. In total, Columbus managed to make four voyages to the shores of America during his life.
Columbus made his first sea voyage in 1492-1493. Thus, three ships called “Santa Maria”, “Nina” and “Pinta”, with a total crew of 90 people, set sail in 1492, on August 3, from the port of Palos. The route was laid out as follows: after Canary Islands The expedition traveled west across the Atlantic Ocean, as a result of which the Sargasso Sea was discovered, and then landed on one of the islands belonging to the Bahamas archipelago. Columbus christened it San Salvador, and this happened on October 12, 1492, which is considered the official date of the discovery of America. What is noteworthy is that for a long time there was an opinion that San Salvador is the current Watling. However, in 1986, the geographer J. Judge, an American, made a computer model of the expedition, which showed that Columbus was the first to see the island of Samana, located 120 km southeast of the Watling Island.
From October 14 to October 24 of the same year, Columbus explored other Bahamian islands, but from October 28 to December 5, he discovered the territories of the northeast of the Cuban coast. December 6 was marked by the landing on the island of Haiti, after which the expedition proceeded along north coast. However, on the night of December 24-25, the Santa Maria vessel collided with a reef, but the flagship’s crew managed to escape, and the expedition was forced to turn to the shores of Spain.
On March 15, 1493, the Niña, whose crew was led by Columbus, and the Pinta return to Castile. The navigator brings with him trophies, including the natives, whom the Europeans called Indians, gold, unfamiliar vegetation, vegetables and fruits, and the plumage of some birds. Remarkably, Columbus was the first to use Indian hammocks instead of sailor berths. The first expedition caused such a powerful resonance that the so-called “Papal Meridian” was laid, which determined in which direction Spain would discover new lands, and in which direction Portugal would.
The second expedition took longer than the first - from September 25, 1493 to June 11, 1496, and it started from Cadiz. This time the flotilla included 17 ships, and their crew, according to various sources, numbered from 1.5 to 2.5 thousand people, which included colonists who decided to try their luck on open lands. In addition to the people themselves, the ships were loaded with livestock, seeds and seedlings, tools - everything that was necessary to create a public settlement. During this expedition, the colonists conquered Hispaniola and founded the city of Santo Domingo. The journey was marked by the discovery of the Virgin and Lesser Antilles Islands, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, in addition, the expedition continued to explore Cuba. What is noteworthy is that Columbus continued to be confident that he was exploring western India, but not the territories of the new continent.
The third expedition started on May 30, 1498. This time it consisted of 6 ships with 300 crew members. It was marked by the discovery of the island of Trinidad, the exploration of the Orinoco Delta and several other lands. On August 20, 1499, Christopher Columbus returned to Hispaniola, where things were going from bad to worse. What is noteworthy is that in 1498, real India was discovered by Vasco de Gama, from where he returned with irrefutable evidence - spices, and Columbus was declared a deceiver. So, in 1499, Columbus was deprived of his monopoly right to discover new territories, he himself was arrested and taken to Castile. He was saved from imprisonment only by the patronage of large financiers who had influence on the royal couple.
Columbus's fourth and final voyage
The last expedition was undertaken on May 9, 1502. This time the traveler was exploring the mainland of Central America, namely: Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. By the way, this expedition was marked by the first acquaintance with the Mayan tribe. The purpose of this voyage was to search South Sea, that is, Pacific Ocean, however, the attempts were unsuccessful, and Columbus had to return to Castile in October 1504.
In general, the importance of Columbus’s expeditions cannot be overestimated, but his contemporaries treated them very negligently, realizing their value only half a century after his death, when navigators began to bring great amount gold and silver from Peru and Mexico. For reference, when recalculated, the royal treasury spent only 10 kg of gold on equipment for the first voyage, but it received many times more - 3 million kilograms of the treasured yellow metal.
Christopher Columbus is the most a famous person from the era of great geographical discoveries.
He became famous for giving the world an entire unexplored continent.
Despite a certain breakthrough in research and navigation, Columbus's achievements were realized only after a while. After the conquistadors conquered states in the northern Andes, including Mexico and Peru, when the Spanish crown began to fill with gold and silver, only then did Spain understand the extent to which the discovery made by Columbus was important. His legacy is colossal. The District of Columbia in the USA, a river, the Columbia Plateau and many cities are named in honor of the great navigator.
From the biography of Christopher Columbus:
Historians and modern researchers argue that the biography of Christopher Columbus contains more gaps and unknowns than reliable facts.
Much information about Columbus is still in question, because the discoverer lived more than 500 years ago, but there are still quite interesting historical facts about him.
The exact date of birth of the navigator remains unknown, as well as where his remains went after burial. Presumably, Columbus was born in 1451. The question of where the famous navigator Christopher Columbus was born also remains open to this day. 4 Spanish cities, as well as 2 Portuguese and 2 Italian, claim the right to be called the birthplace of Columbus.
The question of the origin of Columbus remains controversial. He is considered to be among the Portuguese, and the Spaniards (mostly), and the Greeks, and sometimes also among the Jews. Regarding the latter, there are only guesses; apart from the presence of Jews in the expedition and the postponement of the voyage from the day of the Jewish holiday, there is no other reliable evidence.
Most sources refer to him as the "Spanish navigator". However, judging by the surviving family documents, he was born and raised in Genoa, a town on the Italian coast in Liguria. The names of his parents are precisely known: his father is Domenico Colombo, and his mother is Susanna Fontanarossa. Most often, Genoa is called the birthplace of Columbus, but what is reliably known is that he lived there from the age of 12, but there are no exact facts that he was born there.
In Genoa there remains the house where Christopher’s father, Dominico Colombo, lived and worked. He was a cloth weaver and guardian of the city gates, so historians know quite a bit about him. It follows that, most likely, the traveler was Italian.
It is known that Christopher Columbus was born into a poor family. Indeed, his family was not rich, but this did not prevent Columbus from receiving a good education - according to some sources, he graduated from the University of Pavia.
Columbus spoke and wrote Spanish, but had a dialect characteristic of the Portuguese. He studied Latin and Greek, in which he kept diaries. But all this most likely points to his varied hobbies, and does not reveal the mysteries of his origin.
In the images of Christopher Columbus we see a serious face with large eyes and an elongated hairstyle, but all the portraits were painted after the navigator passed away. The portraits of Columbus were created based on the descriptions of friends and the remaining expedition team: huge blue eyes, a hooked nose, red hair that turned gray early due to frequent movements and stress.
It is known that the surname of Christopher's father is Colombo. In fact, this is an Italian variation of the usual “Columbus”. Colon - in Spain, Colom - in Portugal, all this means “dove” and comes from the name Columbus in Latin. In fact, his surname in the Russian version is Golubev.
He first set foot on board a ship when he was barely 14, and from then on he did not part with the sea until his death.
According to historians, Christopher Columbus died quite young, he was only 54 years old, this happened in 1506. Columbus was first buried in spanish city Seville. In 1540, the Spanish King Charles V decided to fulfill the will of the deceased, and the ashes of the navigator were sent overseas and reburied in Santo Domingo. After part of the island of Haiti ceded to France, the coffin was transported to Havana. In 1898 he was returned to Haiti and then sent back to Seville.
There were suggestions that the remains of a completely different person were not transported to Seville. But these rumors were refuted only at the beginning of the 21st century. Spanish geneticists compared the DNA of the alleged remains of Columbus and his brother Diego. Scientists said the examination showed “absolute similarity.”
Travels and sea expeditions of Christopher Columbus:
In fact, the discovery of a new continent was never the goal of Columbus's voyages. Since theories that the Earth was not flat had already been confirmed, the geographer drew up a project for the fastest road to southern Asia. To be more precise - India.
After work received in 1474 from the astronomer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli, Christopher Columbus first thought about a sea expedition. Toscanelli's works indicated that before eastern countries, such as Japan, China and India, can be reached by sea much faster if you sail to the west. According to Paolo Toscanelli's map, the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan was no more than 5,000 kilometers.
Christopher Columbus, based on ancient knowledge about the sphericity of the earth and geographical maps XV century, began his own calculations. The first country Columbus planned to sail to was Japan, and not India, as many believe.
Advanced calculations for that time turned out to be incorrect; no one assumed that an immense piece of land would interfere with the ships on their way across the Atlantic.
Columbus had no intention of discovering a new continent: he only wanted to find a new, shorter route to India, from where spices were supplied to Europe, which were very expensive. In 1485, he tried to convey his idea to the Spanish king, but he succeeded in realizing his dream only after 7 years: the court scientists could not understand how one could reach India, which is located in the east, if one sails to the west?
It was possible to go on an expedition only in 1492. There is reliable information that among Columbus’s sailors there were many prisoners: those who wanted to voluntarily go into the unknown. These “gentlemen of fortune” were already ready to rebel: the voyage lasted several weeks before the sailors saw land. They were already in a panic and did not believe in the successful outcome of the expedition.
Columbus himself had no doubt that he had reached the shores of India, which is why the indigenous population of America is called Indians. Columbus and his companions were never able to find the spices here that so attracted European merchants. Then the navigator concluded that he had ended up in the poorest part of India.
The admiral did not limit himself to his most famous expedition. In search of India, 4 large-scale voyages were made. It was planned to create a permanent colony; livestock and seeds of cultivated plants were brought with them. They even tried to enslave the Indians to work for the Spanish treasury, but their work did not bring much income.
In total, Columbus made 4 trips to the shores of the New World, but he never realized that this was not India. After the second expedition, the navigator proposed to the Spanish monarch to populate new lands with criminals serving time in prisons. On the one hand, this reduced treasury expenses for their maintenance, and on the other, it made it possible to increase the number of Europeans in the colony. Along with artisans and priests, thousands of criminal colonists poured into the new continent. Subsequently, this did not play a good role, since in the occupied lands, after a while, uprisings of former prisoners broke out one after another.
After leaving the ship, Christopher Columbus was still confident that he had reached Asia. The new territory was recognized as part of China, Japan or India. These countries, previously called eastern, became western for quite a long time. The fact is that Columbus never set foot on the continent we know. The most he was able to explore was the present-day Bahamas. The first island he discovered was named San Salvador; it was discovered on October 12, 1492, which is recognized as the date of the arrival of Europeans in America. Several other Bahamian islands were explored on the same expedition.
Despite the fact that Columbus was unable to find spices, it was on his ships that potatoes, tobacco, corn, and tomatoes were delivered to Europe. And the Indians saw grapes for the first time, as well as strange animals - horses.
His first returns were triumphant: ships full of rubber, tobacco, potatoes and corn were greeted with honors in Europe. Only gold and spices were not found in “pseudo-India,” so later the admiral was deprived of the rights to his discoveries, and was even considered a charlatan. Spain needed colonies and jewelry, which it finally received after the death of Columbus. His work was recognized when silver and gold were brought from the open territories.
Columbus did not visit India. This statement was made by the Portuguese Vasco da Gama, who actually sailed to India and brought spices and Indian fabrics as proof. The Spanish authorities recognized that the lands reached by Columbus were not “Western India” at all, which means that honors for these lands were canceled for Columbus. And this is after three expeditions! However, he was able to get permission for a fourth. There was too much confidence in calculations and hypotheses. When he returned, he admitted that there was an “insurmountable barrier” between the Atlantic and India that could not be crossed.
New open continent was not named after Columbus, it received its name after another navigator - the Florentine Amerigo Vespucci. After all, it was Vespucci who proved that Columbus discovered not a short route to India, but a new continent.
15 interesting facts from the life of Christopher Columbus:
1.Christopher Columbus never knew that he discovered America. Only after his death it became known that this was not East Asia. The breakthrough was made by Amerigo Vespucci, after whom the continent was named.
2. It took Columbus 7 years to convince the king and queen of Spain and their scientific advisers to help him organize an expedition across the ocean.
3.After the second expedition, Christopher Columbus informed the Spanish king that he had reached the Asian continent. To develop new lands, he insisted on attracting not free settlers, but criminals from prisons.
4. After the first expedition, when Columbus's team was returning home, it was caught in a storm. Columbus's ship washed up on the shores of Portugal; he had the audacity to ridicule the stupidity of King Juan II because the king had refused to support his naval expedition 15 years earlier. Only the fear of getting involved in a war with Spain prevented Juan II from hanging the insolent man.
5. The crew of Columbus's ships consisted of prisoners serving their sentences - no one else agreed to voluntarily participate in the dangerous voyage. After all, it was impossible to predict in advance how long this journey would last, and what dangers might be encountered along the way.
6. During the fourth expedition, the Spaniards landed on an island they called Costa Rica (“rich coast”). They believed that there were large deposits of gold on the island, but they were mistaken: Costa Rica is extremely poor in anything valuable.
7. Christopher Columbus had two sons - legitimate, Diego, and illegitimate, Fernando, who lived in Spain, from a relationship with Beatriz Enriquez de Arana. Soon after the death of their father they became very wealthy people and received enormous incomes in their time.
8. In addition to vegetables and tobacco, Christopher Columbus brought to our dacha such a convenient attribute of a dacha holiday as a hammock. During their stay on the island of San Salvador, the sailors saw an ingenious invention local residents– hammock. It was from that moment that ships began to be equipped with comfortable bunks made of mesh and sails.
9.Columbus called the population of the lands he discovered Indians, being sure that he sailed to the shores of India.
10. The future discoverer set excessive conditions for the expeditions: appoint him viceroy of the open lands, and also confer the title of “chief admiral of the sea-ocean.” King Ferdinand called him impudent.
11.When, during the last expedition, Columbus’s team came across aggressive Indians who swore not to give their resources and natural wealth to the Europeans anymore, the admiral resorted to cunning. By simple calculations, a lunar eclipse was predicted for February 29, 1504, which was a terrible celestial sign for the natives. When Columbus warned the natives and said that he would pray for them only if the food supply continued. The plan worked - the expedition was saved.
12.V last years During his life, Columbus was very ill, and the complete refusal of the authorities to give him privileges for his travels was a blow to him.
13.Despite his love for gold, the traveler died almost penniless. He gave everything he had to help the crew, who were stuck at sea for a year after a shipwreck.
14.Columbus died in 1506, in poverty and disgrace, being seriously ill. Only years later the significance of his discoveries was rightfully recognized.
15.The film company Columbia Pictures is named after Columbus.
Christopher Columbus. Navigator statue in New York
photo from the Internet
Set sail from Cadiz on September 25, 1493. Instead of the insignificant flotilla which he had had at his disposal the previous year, he had seventeen ships under his command; Together with him, 1,200 people sailed on the second voyage, among whom were miners, artisans, and farmers, but the hidalgos (representatives of the nobility) were especially numerous. The expedition set out with the goal of not only making new discoveries, but also establishing colonies, obtaining gold from newly discovered lands, and converting local pagans to Christianity. Columbus took with him his brother Diego and twelve clergy, including the papal vicar, Benedictine monk Bernardo Boyle.
Portrait of Christopher Columbus. Artist S. del Piombo, 1519
The whole year of the second voyage was devoted to research and new discoveries. Columbus discovered and visited the island of Dominica (November 3, 1493), Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico (during the same month). On November 27, he arrived at Fort Navidad, which he had previously founded in Haiti and was now devastated by the natives. Alonso Ojeda began to explore the interior of Hispaniola (Haiti), looked for gold there and began to develop mines. Columbus, carried away by curiosity, again sailed along the coast of Cuba; he so wanted to make sure that these were the shores of the Asian continent that he made his sailors swear before the royal notary that it was indeed not an island, but a continent. If he had time to stock up on enough provisions, he intended to continue sailing along the coast to the Red Sea and return from his second trip to Spain by the Mediterranean Sea, or to go around the southern tip of Africa in order to amaze the Portuguese. On his way back he saw Jamaica and finally arrived on the island of Isabella on September 4, 1494.
Everything there was in a bad situation. The colonists, who were among the adventurers who were not accustomed to obeying their superiors, constantly sent new complaints to Spain. The natives, who were subjected to various forms of violence and forced to work in the mines, rebelled against the conquerors. With the help of Ojeda, Columbus soon restored order there, but this brilliant navigator was such a bad administrator that he incurred general hatred. He was accused of rude treatment, of arrogance, and especially of the fact that he was not a Spaniard, but a Genoese. Fortunately for Columbus, his brother Bartolomeo, an energetic, intelligent, brave and very experienced man in everything related to navigation, came to his aid. Columbus appointed him to the position adelantado, that is, the territorial governor, but this governor was also a Genoese native. Even the clergy were so frightened by the strange antics of the admiral who had fallen into religious hypochondria that they refused to help him. In Spain, only denunciations were received about Columbus's inability and his despotism.
Spanish monarchs Ferdinand And Isabel finally they were forced to send a commissioner to investigate the case (August October 1495); this commissioner, Juan Aguado, was convinced of the pitiful situation of the colony and in this sense wrote his report to the king. Columbus, wanting to prevent the danger that threatened him, decided to go to Spain with Aguado (in March 1496). He could no longer count on the same enthusiastic reception that he received after his return from the first expedition. However, even after the second journey he was kindly received at court. He was again confirmed in all his honorable positions, and all the former privileges were again granted to him; he even petitioned for his brother’s confirmation to the rank of “adelantado.”
Christopher Columbus is a legendary explorer and seafarer, considered the discoverer of the American continent. In addition, it was Columbus who was the first to map the Sargasso and Caribbean Seas, the Bahamas and the Antilles. Christopher Columbus is the first known explorer to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
The biography of Columbus cannot be perceived as true in its content, since real facts it is extremely difficult to find information about his origin and life up to the first expedition. History so developed that even the ship's log, in which Christopher Columbus recorded information about his voyage to New World, i.e. the most significant historical document of this voyage has not survived. The biography of Christopher Columbus is briefly as follows...
Childhood and youth
Italian by origin. Born in Genoa between August 25 and October 31, 1451 in the family of wool weaver Domenico Colombo (the exact date is not established). The sources also contain the name Cristobal Colon, apparently an Italian transcription. In general, very little is known about childhood and adolescence. The right to be called the homeland of the navigator is actually disputed by 6 cities in Italy and Spain, i.e. Genoa is also not certain.
Christopher's mother, Susanna Fontanarossa, was the daughter of a weaver. Christopher had 3 younger brothers - Bartolome (about 1460), Giacomo (about 1468), Giovanni Pellegrino, who died very early, and a sister, Bianchinetta.
Documentary evidence from the time shows that the family's financial situation was deplorable. Particularly large financial problems arose because of the house into which the family moved when Christopher was 4 years old. Much later, on the foundations of that house in Santo Domingo, where Cristoforo spent his childhood, a building was erected called “Casa di Colombo” (Spanish: Casa di Colombo - “House of Columbus”). In 1887, an inscription appeared on the facade of the house: “ No parental home can be more revered than this».
Since Colombo the elder was a respected artisan in the city, in 1470 he was sent on an important mission to Savona to discuss with the weavers the issue of introducing uniform prices for textile products. Apparently, this is why Dominico moved with his family to this city, where after the death of his wife and youngest son, as well as after his eldest sons left home and Bianca’s marriage, he increasingly began to seek solace in a glass of wine.
Since the future discoverer of America grew up near the sea, from childhood he was attracted by the sea. From his youth, Christopher was distinguished by faith in omens and divine providence, morbid pride and a passion for gold. He had a remarkable mind, versatile knowledge, a talent for eloquence and the gift of persuasion. It is known that after studying a little at the University of Pavia, around 1465 the young man entered service in the Genoese fleet and at a fairly early age began to sail as a sailor in the Mediterranean Sea on merchant ships. After some time, he was seriously wounded and temporarily left the service.
Life in Portugal
Somewhere in the mid-1470s. Christopher settled in Portugal, joined the community of Italian merchants in Lisbon and, under the Portuguese flag, sailed north to England, Ireland and Iceland. He visited Madeira, the Canary Islands, walked along west coast Africa to modern Ghana.
In Portugal, he advantageously married Felipe Moniz de Palestrello, who was the daughter of the governor of that country. The wedding took place in 1479, a year later their son was born, who was named Diego. Columbus moved his wife to Genoa, and he continued to travel.