Christopher Columbus was a very intelligent and dedicated Italian explorer that accounted for many great explorations and discoveries. He was born to a semi-large family, with three brothers and a sister. His father, Domenico Colombo, was a wool weaver; his mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. He was considered a seaman, Catholic, and was a self-taught cartographer. He had several jobs throughout his younger years, business agent for families in Genoa. He also traveled with the Portuguese to Iceland and Africa, during his teenage years.
Christopher Columbus theorized that the Earth was round, so he had planned to travel to the Indies by going westward. In 1476, pirates attacked his ship, causing it to sink; forced to swim to the Portuguese shore, he ended up near Henry the Navigator’s academy. He decided to travel to Lisbon, Portugal once he had reached the shore to visit his brother, Bartolomeu Columbus. In Lisbon, he met Filipa Perestrella de Moniz, whom he later married. When he married her, it caused him to settle in Lisbon for a few years. She gave him one son, Diego, but her life came to an end in 1485. After her death, Columbus moved to Spain with his son. In 1487, Columbus acquired a mistress, Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, causing rumors to arise about him moving on from his first wife. His mistress apparently gave Columbus a second child, Ferdinand. Columbus never claimed Ferdinand as his son, though. In Spain, he searched for money to fund his explorations. He pleaded for King John II to finance his journey, but was denied. He later found Spanish monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, to support his explorations.
Ferdinand and Isabella funded Columbus’ voyage to explore Asia, the plan was titled “The Enterprise of the Indies”. Christopher Columbus set sail for his first journey on August 3, 1492. He was accompanied by 104 men scattered between the three ships, the Pinta, Niña, and Santa Maria. He lost many men from diseases and hunger, but on October 12th, 1492, “Tierra, Tierra” was shouted to exclaim the sighting of land. The land that was discovered was claimed for Spain and named San Salvador, meaning “Holy Savior”, since it was supposed to be Asian land, even though it was actually present-day Bahamas. He interacted with the natives, calling them Indians, because he thought the area found was the Indies. Later, he sailed to Cuba, which he thought was Asia and Hispaniola, which was thought to be Japan. The Santa Maria crashed near Hispaniola, leaving 38 men stranded. Columbus decided to head home on January 16, 1493.
Ferdinand and Isabella were pleased by Columbus’ vast discoveries for Spain, so they sponsored several more voyages. On his second voyage, he set out to create colonies for Spain. In September 1493, Columbus gathered 17 ships and 1500 men to explore the Americas. The Caribs were encountered and fought; they were sent to Spain as slaves. He continued to sail until he reached the Dominican Republic fort named Isabela, from there he sent 12 ships back with gold and spices to Spain to please the monarchs. Columbus kept trying to fight with the natives, like the Arawaks, even though he promised “no violence with the natives” to Isabella. Since he broke his promise, Isabella was disappointed and it would take 2 years for Columbus to convince them to fund any more of his adventures.
Columbus finally convinced Ferdinand and Isabella to fund his third voyage, which consisted of a small fleet that did not leave until May 30, 1498. He was delayed because he could not find a crew, ships, nor supplies for his journey. He explored Trinidad on August 1, 1498, then traveled to the Orinoco River in Venezuela. He later returned to Hispaniola, only to find a new governor. The new governor threw Columbus’ and his brother into chains and sent them back to Spain to be imprisoned. In Spain, they stayed in chains for five weeks, until they were let free on December 12, 1500. Columbus had claimed a lot of land for Spain, so he felt betrayed when they jailed him and his brother. After imprisonment, Columbus wrote two books, with the help of his son and brother. The first book was published in 1502, with the title of “Book of Privileges”. He wrote his book about the rewards that he was entitled to from the monarchs. His second book was not written until after his fourth journey.
Columbus was granted his fourth and final journey in 1502. His last voyage sailed to the Honduras and southward along the coast of Central America. He attempted to reach shelter in Santo Domingo, but the governor would not allow Columbus and his crew to explore, even with a hurricane arising. Columbus was forced to continue, sailing causing him to later discover Panama. He realized Panama was unsuitable for settlement because of the native’s hostility against the settlers, extremely saturated soil, and bleak weather. He was forced out by natives, but he could not immediately leave because his ships began to leak. Columbus finally left with a chartered boat in September 1504.
Columbus returned to Spain in 1504 and in that same year Queen Isabella died. Columbus continued to beg for more sponsoring from Ferdinand, but was constantly rejected since he was ill. While still in Cordoba, Columbus authored his final book, “Book of Prophecies” in 1505. He used this book to describe his achievements in a Christian context by using Bible passages. He finally gave up on his final dreams of exploring and moved to a house in the Spanish city of Valladolid in 1506. He died in his house on May 20, 1506. Throughout his life, he continued to believe that the Caribbean was close to Asia.
After his death, he was remembered as the first European to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and the first European to travel to San Salvador, Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Bahamas. On the other hand, the natives of those islands may remember Columbus as a horrible man since he brought epidemic/diseases upon them. Columbus is considered a legend because he had discovered a whole new continent for Spain. Columbus Day is a holiday dedicated to celebrating his discovery of the Americas, but it is a very controversial topic on who discovered the Americas. Many people believe the Vikings have prior, but Columbus is the only documented voyage to the Americas. His discovery was not the only reason behind his fame, he also sparked the age of exploration. Columbus will forever be remembered as a brave and fearless explorer, who had colonized the Americas.