Exploration

Christopher Columbus

olumbus was an Italian-Spanish explorer born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy to a weaver. Columbus possibly followed his father's footsteps as a weaver, as well as possibly has been a merchant in Genoa's busy port. The first certain fact we know was that in the 1470's he journeyed to the island of Khios (in the Aegean Sea). He later sailed with an England-bound fleet in 1476 when they were supposedly attacked by pirates. Columbus' ship was apparently wrecked off Portugal's Coast, and Columbus swam to shore. He later lived in Lisbon where Bartholomew, his brother, a cartographer, was living. Columbus married there in 1479, and in 1480 his only child Diego Columbus was born.

From calculations made with maps and charts and his actual travels, Christopher Columbus deduced (incorrectly) that the globe was in fact 25% smaller than people thought. He also believed the world was mostly covered by land. He therefore believed that a short route to Asia would be to sail west; however at this time the Americans had never been discovered. After presenting his ideas in 1484 to King John the second of Portugal, he was disappointed. He was rejected: the court mariners doubted his new ideas regarding the earth's size, and Portuguese ships were on the verge of discovering a route to the East via Southern Africa.

Rejected, Columbus later moved to Spain. Numerous important personalities supported his ideas. In 1486 he was introduced to Queen Isabella the First of Castille, however, once again a royal marine investigation found faults in Columbus' plans. At about this time Columbus was romantically involved with Beatriz Enriquez (after his wife's death), who bore his second son Ferdinand.

In April 1494 Columbus's search for support was over: Ferdinand the Fifth and Isabella the First of Spain agreed to sponsor his mission, and signed a contract with Columbus. They agreed that Columbus was entitled to ten percent of precious metals found within his territory. He would also become viceroy over all the land he claimed.

The First Voyage.

On August the 3rd 1492, Columbus and his 90 - man crew set off from Palos, Spain. His party included two caravels, the Pinta and Nina (each 50 feet long), and the Santa Maria, a 115-foot ship. Columbus was in command of the latter; Martin Alonzo Pinzon and his brother Vincente Yanez Pinzon commanded the caravels.

After 3 days the expedition stopped at the Canary Islands due to the Pinta's damaged mast. A month later they set sail again. After travelling due west, on October the 7^th Columbus changed course to southwest at Marin - Pinzon's proposal. Five days later land was sighted and the fleet landed in Guanahani in the Bahamas (this island could possibly have been Saman Cay). Columbus claimed the land, as well as subsequent discoveries, for Spain. The other islands claimed included Cuba (named Juana in honor of a Spanish princess) and Hispaniola (then named Espanola and which now includes the Dominican Republic as well as Haiti). All this while Columbus believed this was Asian land, and that the dumbfounded native were Asians. More than two months later the Santa Maria was wrecked off Espanola's coast and a fort was made of her remains. Only about 40 men were assigned to stay at La Navidad when Columbus returned to England with the Nina and Pinta in January 1493. The journey home was peppered with storms, driving the small fleet first to the Azores and then to Lisbon. In March Columbus landed in Palos, Spain.

The court happily received him, and Columbus' rewards were fulfilled. A noble title was also bestowed on him.

The Second Voyage.

Columbus was eager to return to the New World, and in late 1493 he set off with a 17 ship fleet and 1500 man crew. They landed in Dominica, Guadeloupe and Antiqua before landing at La Navidad on 27^th November. There Columbus saw the makeshift fort destroyed and all his men killed. Abandoning the damage, Columbus set up a colony near today's Cape Isabella, Dominican Republic. The colony of Isabella was the first European settlement in the New World.

In spring 1494 he set off on an investigatory journey where he inspected Cuba and Jamaica. He maintained Cuba was a part of the Asian mainland, not an independent island.

Upon his return to Isabella in September, he discovered that the crew was in serious dispute and disagreements. Some had even left for Portugal to voice their gripes.

In the meantime, Columbus had another problem to deal with. Due to the European's expeditions cruel treatment of the natives, their kindliness had given way to open malevolence. In March of 1495, Columbus had overthrown the natives in a battle. He then sent many of them to Spain as slaves, who were sent back to the New World at Isabella's objection.

Hereafter, suspicions arose and in 1495 a royal inquiry was sent to the New World, so Columbus traveled to Spain to inquire of the Crown why his expedition was being criticized. Isabella and Ferdinand spurned the criticism of the expedition, and assured Columbus that they would sponsor a fleet to travel back to the New World. However, the nobility and public's interest in the Americas had subsided, as it seemed to be unproductive. Only in about 1497 was Columbus able to return to the New World where he had beforehand established a second capital, Santo Domingo, and where he had left his brother Bartholomew in charge.

The Third Voyage:

Two months after leaving Spain on May 30, 1498, Columbus landed at Trinidad. He named this tri-peak island after the Holy Trinity. Hereafter he sighted land (Venezuela) and after travelling along its coast he entered the gulf of Paria. Here, at the Orinoco River mouth, he and some crewmembers went ashore to investigate the land, which they still believed to be Asian. Once he resumed the journey, other islands were sighted (including Margarita).

He then headed for Santo Domingo, and upon his arrival on 31 August, he discovered that some of the colonies were opposing his brother, Bartholomew. He tried to quell the uprising. He also tried to increase efforts to convert the natives to Christianity. As well as all this, he increased the mining of gold.

Back in Spain, those opposing Columbus and his efforts were convincing the court that he should no longer be governor. Consequently, Francisco de Bobadilla replaced Columbus as governor in May 1499. Upon his arrival in the New World more than a year later, he had Columbus and his brother arrested, put in shackles and sent to Spain, where, after much time, they were excused. They received rewards, however weren't restored to their previous positions. Later, Nicolas de Ovando replaced Bobadilla as governor of Espanola.

Fourth Voyage

After appealing for consent to undertake a 4^th expedition, Columbus was assigned to 4 caravels in bad stages of disrepair. Banned from stopping at Espanola, he left Cadiz, Spain, in the spring of 1502.

After crossing the Atlantic in 3 weeks, the expedition anchored outside Santo Domingo. Despite his vessels' desperate condition and an imminent hurricane, Columbus's party was denied entry. The storm destroyed a Spanish fleet on its way to Spain, which was carrying Bobadilla. However, Columbus' gold, which was n board, was spared.

Once he had done what he could to repair his caravel, Columbus explored the area of the Honduras before travelling south along the Central American coast. He was trying to find the passage to the west and the Pacific Ocean. Although they arrived at Panama in January 1503 and set up a colony there, it had to be deserted. Insurrection had taken over his crew's co-operation, and the hostility of the natives was a serious problem. Attempting to reach Espanola with 2 vessels, they wrecked off Jamaica's coast in June 1503. Surviving off food that the natives were forced to supply, Columbus sent a message to Espanola, yet help arrived over a year later (consciously deferred by Ovando). On 28 June the deserted expedition headed for Santo Domingo before heading for Spain. After the arrival in Sanlucar de Barrameda n November 7, Columbus never sailed again.

In the last years of his life, Columbus lived in illness. He tried desperately with the court to receive all the privileges and rewards he had earned, but in vain. Nevertheless, Columbus was quite wealthy. On May 20 1506 he died inValladolid, and his remains were first sent to Santo Domingo, and then possibly to Havana, Cuba, before possibly being returned to Seville in 1899. Wherever his present resting-place is, Columbus will live on as one of the most famous navigators and explorers; one, who in search of the Eastern riches stumbled upon lands in the Caribbean Sea and it's surrounds. It is incorrect to say Columbus set out to discover America, for he only did so by accident.