The Life of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus, Cristobal Colon or Cristofo Colombo all refer to the same man who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in search for gold and other valuable treasures for the kingdom of Spain. His intentions were to reach India and China, something that Marco Polo had achieved centuries earlier by traveling along the Silk Road. Polo was merely an observer of the cultures he encountered and he also created excellent relations with the far eastern governments.

But Columbus had other goals in mind. He wanted to be the "Christ-Bearer", to spread the Christian faith to all corners of the world and to become something like Jesus Christ himself. By doing this he wanted to raise the name of Columbus to nobility and make himself one of Spain's most prominent figures. He wanted to exceed Marco Polo's achievements by reaching India and China by sea and thus reaching his destination far faster than Polo. But as we all know now he mistakenly confused the Americas for India and thus today we call the natives of the Americas "Indians".

Even though Columbus is the best know western explorer of the New World, he was not the first. According to Badertscher, the Vikings lead by Leif Erikson had established a small colony on Labrador called "Vinland" approximately in 1000 A.D. The misconception that Columbus was the man that discovered the Americas is still a huge problem today. The fact is that the Americas were inhabited by the indigenous people way earlier than Columbus was even born.

Before the year of 1492, the year the first Europeans set foot on the Americas, the "New World" had a larger population than Europe, with Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City) being the largest and most advanced city. Unlike European cities Tenochtitlan had fresh running water, botanical gardens and perfectly clean streets for its time. In the eye of the natives Columbus was an ignorant man who was blinded by his own goals and dreams to commit such a mistake of ignoring the beauty of the indigenous cultures that had flourished in the Americas for thousands of years.

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451 to Domenico Colombo and Susanna Fontana-Rossa. His father Domenico owned a tavern and was also a professional weaver. Christopher was the eldest of four children. The city of Genoa was an important port city and the exposure of ships and sailors had a great effect on Columbus. According to what he had told his son Ferdinand, Columbus first voyage on a ship happened when he was merely 14 years old. His fascination for navigation took him to Lisbon, Portugal in 1476 where he worked on a Portuguese ship. A great example of what Columbus was willing to do for the sake of navigation was evident when the vessel he was working on attacked his home town of Genoa.

What man could ever do such thing than Christopher Columbus himself? During his years in Lisbon he learned a great deal about navigation. Lisbon was one of the world's greatest trading centers and home to several strong naval characters. It was during this time when Columbus first was exposed to the idea of reaching the Far East. His mentor, Paolo Toscanelli, an astronomer from Florence, Italy, taught Columbus principles of science and encouraged him to continue pursuing his dream of exploring the Far East by sea. Columbus would make several important voyages including to the far north all the way up to Iceland and also to Guinea on the west coast of Africa. These journeys, especially the one to Guinea, would prove to be one of the main reasons why Columbus chose to start his crossing of the Atlantic in the latitude of the Canaries. He observed a "fast moving river of water in the ocean running from the Canaries to the Bahamas".

After the death of his wife Filipa Perestello y Moniz in 1483, Columbus was determined to find a westward path to India and China. He was constantly in search of support for his long lived dream but he was turned down by most of the majesties of Western Europe. The country that finally gave him their support was the kingdom of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella saw an opportunity to increase their territory by claiming new lands and to hopefully find invaluable treasures in the Far East. They provided Columbus with three small ships; the Niña, the Pinta and Santa Maria. Santa Maria, the biggest ship, was the one that Columbus would reside on for the majority of the trip.

The biggest task that Columbus faced was who he was going to choose to accompany him on the trip. The most important figure to mention was Martin Pinzón, a highly respected sea captain that had many years of experience as a navigator. Columbus would later realize that bringing Pinzón along was a huge mistake. The confrontations he had with Pinzón were very frustrating for him. Columbus spotted land after two months of sailing along the Atlantic and he claimed a number of islands for Spain, including the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba and Jamaica. Pinzón did not want to follow Columbus's orders and thus he and a crew of men separated from the other two boats and went to find gold on their own on the Pinta. But the lack of gold forced them to rejoin Columbus's ships and head back to Spain. Columbus was not pleased with Pinzón and did not really want him back on his expedition, but because of Pinzón's popularity amongst the crewmembers Columbus could not deny him an entry. During the preparation for the return to Spain "Santa Maria" was shipwrecked and they had to rely on the Pinta and the Niña.

Whilst heading back for Spain the ships were separated again, this time by a great storm that almost swept them of their feet. Columbus was forced to land in Portugal while Pinzón arrived in Spain. Pinzón tried to complain about the way Columbus was running the expedition but the monarchs refused to see him. When Columbus returned to Spain he was seen as a hero for finding and claiming the new islands for the mother country. Pinzón died not long after returning to Spain due to illnesses he had developed during the voyage.

Columbus did not waste much time after returning from his first voyage. He immediately started planning for his next expedition. This time the monarchs would supply him with relatively more money and ships than the last time. One of the reasons was because Ferdinand and Isabella had heard that the king of Portugal was setting sail for the New World as well in order to claim new lands. They did not want to be left behind in the race for gold and this was to the advantage of Columbus. They supplied him with 17 ships and 1,200 men either volunteered or were chosen to accompany him. Doctors, generals, clergymen, journalist and other professionals were all part of his crew.

A number of other islands were discovered during the second voyage. Some of them were St Croix, The Virgin Islands, Antigua and Hispaniola. But the Spaniards were devastated to find out that their countrymen who were left behind on Hispaniola from the first voyage were slaughtered by the native population. Not a single Spaniard was spared of his life during this time.

In Hispaniola, Columbus and his men founded the city of Isabella. There they built huts and planted crops. This was the time when the popularity of Columbus started to decline. His men started to complain about his leadership. They were complaining about the amount of work they were forced to do and that they did not have enough food to eat. The fact that 400 of the men including Columbus himself were struck by malaria did not make it any easier on the explorer either. Columbus was forced to return back to Spain in 1496 to respond to the allegations made against him.

In 1498 Columbus set sail for yet another expedition in which he reached the South American mainland. During this period he was involved in a feud with the Spanish government and was sent back to Spain again, this time in chains. The government was supporting Columbus's enemies and he found himself in deep trouble. Ferdinand and Isabella were not pleased with the way Columbus was treated and set him free, but he was banned from any further journeys to the New World.

Despite the fact that he was banned, Columbus made one final journey against the monarchs' will and sailed to the coast of Central America. He spent his last year's lonely and sad feeling as if he had failed. He couldn't realize how important his explorations were for future European involvement in the Americas and that he had put two new continents on European maps.

Even though Columbus is famous for being one of the world's most talented and courageous explorers, some people see him as the main reason for their suffrage, these people are the natives of the Americas.

The first encounter by Columbus and his men with the natives of the Caribbean islands was at first very astonishing for both parts. The Spanish were delighted to finally have reached land after endless weeks on the ships. The natives were almost crying out of joy because they thought that the Spaniards, with their light skins and unusual clothing, were Gods sent from heaven. The Spanish were also very excited to see the native's physical appearances and celebrations started right after the Spanish got off their boats. The natives gave the Spanish gold trinkets and received glass beads and brass bells in return. Columbus himself was well respected by the chief of the natives and received a golden crown as a token of appreciation. Both men respected each other and everything seemed to have been going on well.

But Columbus took the gifts he received from the natives as a sign of weakness and thought that the natives were turning over their lands to him. It did not take long until Columbus claimed the lands for the kingdom of Spain. The natives did not interpret what intensions laid behind the arrival of the Spanish ships, but they would soon become aware of what they were facing, but only to discover that they were helpless. The Spaniard's armor and weapons were too advanced for the natives to handle and the excitement of having their "God-like" creatures in their lands turned into hatred and suspicion. The explorations of Columbus paved the way for other European explorers to come over to the New World and run their violent and cruel expeditions to the disadvantage of the natives.