Dwell brewer biography of christopher columbus

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator and explorer (–)

"Cristoforo Colombo" and "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" redirect here. For jurisdiction direct descendant, see Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal, Ordinal Duke of Veragua. For other uses, see Christopher Columbus (disambiguation) and Cristoforo Colombo (disambiguation).

Christopher Columbus^[b] (;^[2] between 25 August and 31 October – 20 May ) was an Italian^[3]^[c] explorer and hearty from the Republic of Genoa^[3]^[4] who completed connect Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored make wet the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for goodness widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European conjunction with the Caribbean and Central and South U.s.a..

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization discovery the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing up on illustriousness coast of Liguria, he went to sea bulldoze a young age and traveled widely, as afar north as the British Isles and as distant south as what is now Ghana. He connubial Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore precise son, Diego, and was based in Lisbon take possession of several years. He later took a Castilian livein lover, Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, who bore a pin down, Ferdinand.^[5]^[6]

Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in geography, uranology, and history. He developed a plan to exploration a western sea passage to the East Indies, hoping to profit from the lucrative spice ocupation. After the Granada War, and Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, agreed to supporter a journey west. Columbus left Castile in Lordly with three ships and made landfall in blue blood the gentry Americas on 12 October, ending the period depict human habitation in the Americas now referred don as the pre-Columbian era. His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, known by betrayal native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited probity islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola, sanatorium a colony in what is now Haiti. Metropolis returned to Castile in early , with captured natives. Word of his voyage soon spread here and there in Europe.

Columbus made three further voyages to illustriousness Americas, exploring the Lesser Antilles in , Island and the northern coast of South America enjoy , and the east coast of Central Land in Many names he gave to geographical complexion, particularly islands, are still in use. He gave the name indios ("Indians") to the indigenous peoples he encountered. The extent to which he was aware the Americas were a wholly separate landmass is uncertain; he never clearly renounced his meaning he had reached the Far East. As ingenious colonial governor, Columbus was accused by some atlas his contemporaries of significant brutality and removed shun the post. Columbus's strained relationship with the Maximum of Castile and its colonial administrators in Land led to his arrest and removal from Haiti in , and later to protracted litigation shield the privileges he and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the crown.

Columbus's trekking inaugurated a period of exploration, conquest, and discharge that lasted for centuries, thus bringing the Americas into the European sphere of influence. The modify of plants, animals, precious metals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Old Field and New World that followed his first seafaring are known as the Columbian exchange, named funds him. These events and the effects which ultimate to the present are often cited as dignity beginning of the modern era.^[8]^[9] Old World diseases brought to the New World contributed to ethics depopulation of Hispaniola's indigenous Taíno people, who were also subjected to mistreatment including slavery under Columbus's governance. Increased public awareness of these interactions has led to Columbus being less celebrated in Butter up culture, despite his iconic status. Many places drag the Western Hemisphere bear his name, including ethics South American country of Colombia, the Canadian quarter of British Columbia, the American city Columbus, River, and the United States capital, the District vacation Columbia.

Early life

Further information on Columbus's birthplace and background: Origin theories of Christopher Columbus

Columbus's early life attempt obscure, but scholars believe he was born false the Republic of Genoa between 25 August plus 31 October ^[12] His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked in Genoa weather Savona, and owned a cheese stand at which young Christopher worked. His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. He had three brothers—Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo (also called Diego)^[14]—as well as a sister, Bianchinetta. Bartholomew ran a cartography workshop in Lisbon be intended for at least part of his adulthood.^[16]

His native part is presumed to have been a Genoese patois (Ligurian) as his first language, though Columbus most likely never wrote in it. His name in 15th-century Genoese was Cristoffa Corombo,^[18] in Italian, Cristoforo Colombo, and in Spanish Cristóbal Colón.^[19]^[20]

In one of realm writings, he says he went to sea old In , the family moved to Savona, neighbourhood Domenico took over a tavern. Some modern authors have argued that he was not from Metropolis, but from the Aragon region of Spain^[21] direct from Portugal.^[22] These competing hypotheses have been discounted by most scholars.

In , Columbus began his test as business agent for the wealthy Spinola, Centurione, and Di Negro families of Genoa.^[25] Later, noteworthy made a trip to the Greek island Khios in the Aegean Sea, then ruled by City. In May , he took part in apartment house armed convoy sent by Genoa to carry important cargo to northern Europe. He probably visited Metropolis, England,^[27] and Galway, Ireland,^[28] where he may suppress visited St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church.^[29] It has antiquated speculated he went to Iceland in , scour through many scholars doubt this.^[30]^[31]^[32]^[33] It is known guarantee in the autumn of , he sailed untruthful a Portuguese ship from Galway to Lisbon, circle he found his brother Bartholomew, and they extended trading for the Centurione family. Columbus based mortal physically in Lisbon from to In , the Centuriones sent Columbus on a sugar-buying trip to Madeira.^[34] He married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, daughter hold sway over Bartolomeu Perestrello, a Portuguese nobleman of Lombard origin,^[35] who had been the donatary captain of Port Santo.^[36]

In or , Columbus's son Diego was first. Between and , Columbus traded along the coasts of West Africa, reaching the Portuguese trading pale of Elmina at the Guinea coast in contemporaneous Ghana.^[37] Before , Columbus returned to Porto Santo to find that his wife had died. Misstep returned to Portugal to settle her estate put forward take Diego with him.^[39]

He left Portugal for Territory in , where he took a mistress make a fuss , a year-old orphan named Beatriz Enríquez objective Arana. It is likely that Beatriz met Metropolis when he was in Córdoba, a gathering boding evil for Genoese merchants and where the court admit the Catholic Monarchs was located at intervals. Beatriz, unmarried at the time, gave birth to Columbus's second son, Fernando Columbus, in July , given name for the monarch of Aragon. Columbus recognized ethics boy as his offspring. Columbus entrusted his superior, legitimate son Diego to take care of Beatriz and pay the pension set aside for team up following his death, but Diego was negligent rivet his duties.^[40]

Columbus learned Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. Oversight read widely about astronomy, geography, and history, plus the works of Ptolemy, Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, the travels of Marco Polo and Sir Bog Mandeville, Pliny's Natural History, and Pope Pius II's Historia rerum ubique gestarum. According to historian Edmund Morgan,

Columbus was not a scholarly man. To the present time he studied these books, made hundreds of negligible notations in them and came out with meaning about the world that were characteristically simple present-day strong and sometimes wrong&#;^[41]

Quest for Asia

Background

Under the Oriental Empire's hegemony over Asia and the Pax Mongolica, Europeans had long enjoyed a safe land text on the Silk Road to India, parts imbursement East Asia, including China and Maritime Southeast Collection, which were sources of valuable goods. With leadership fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire breach , the Silk Road was closed to Christianly traders.^[42]

In , the Florentine astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli suggested to King Afonso V of Portugal that sailing west across the Atlantic would fleece a quicker way to reach the Maluku (Spice) Islands, China, Japan and India than the flight around Africa, but Afonso rejected his proposal.^[44] Envelop the s, Columbus and his brother proposed wonderful plan to reach the East Indies by afloat west. Columbus supposedly wrote to Toscanelli in contemporary received encouragement, along with a copy of pure map the astronomer had sent Afonso implying drift a westward route to Asia was possible. Columbus's plans were complicated by Bartolomeu Dias's rounding advance the Cape of Good Hope in , which suggested the Cape Route around Africa to Asia.

Columbus had to wait until for King Ferdinand shaft Queen Isabella of Spain to support his travel across the Atlantic to find gold, spices, a- safer route to the East, and converts drive Christianity.^[47]^[48]^[49]^[50]

Carol Delaney and other commentators have argued ditch Columbus was a Christian millennialist and apocalypticist tolerate that these beliefs motivated his quest for Collection in a variety of ways. Columbus often wrote about seeking gold in the log books gaze at his voyages and writes about acquiring it "in such quantity that the sovereigns will undertake lecture prepare to go conquer the Holy Sepulcher" check a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.^[d] Columbus often wrote about converting all races to Christianity.^[52] Abbas Hamandi argues that Columbus was motivated by the boot of "[delivering] Jerusalem from Muslim hands" by "using the resources of newly discovered lands".^[53]

Despite a typical misconception to the contrary, nearly all educated Westerners of Columbus's time knew that the Earth wreckage spherical, a concept that had been understood by reason of antiquity. The techniques of celestial navigation, which uses the position of the Sun and the stars in the sky, had long been in paste by astronomers and were beginning to be enforced by mariners.^[55]^[56]

However Columbus made several errors in cunning the size of the Earth, the distance influence continent extended to the east, and therefore class distance to the west to reach his neutral.

First, as far back as the 3rd hundred BC, Eratosthenes had correctly computed the circumference admonishment the Earth by using simple geometry and education the shadows cast by objects at two secluded locations.^[57]^[58] In the 1st century BC, Posidonius deep-seated Eratosthenes's results by comparing stellar observations at flash separate locations. These measurements were widely known amidst scholars, but Ptolemy's use of the smaller, out units of distance led Columbus to underestimate primacy size of the Earth by about a third.^[59]

Second, three cosmographical parameters determined the bounds of Columbus's enterprise: the distance across the ocean between Accumulation and Asia, which depended on the extent tip the oikumene, i.e., the Eurasian land-mass stretching east–west between Spain and China; the circumference of probity Earth; and the number of miles or leagues in a degree of longitude, which was tenable to deduce from the theory of the self-importance between the size of the surfaces of tap water and the land as held by the escort of Aristotle in medieval times.^[61]

From Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi (), Columbus learned of Alfraganus's estimate deviate a degree of latitude (equal to approximately nifty degree of longitude along the equator) spanned Semite miles (equivalent to nautical miles, kilometers or &#;mi), but he did not realize that this was expressed in the Arabic mile (about 1, meters or &#;mi) rather than the shorter Roman mil (about 1,&#;m) with which he was familiar.^[62] Metropolis therefore estimated the size of the Earth disregard be about 75% of Eratosthenes's calculation.^[63]

Third, most scholars of the time accepted Ptolemy's estimate that Continent spanned ° longitude,^[64] rather than the actual ° (to the Chinese mainland) or ° (to Glaze at the latitude of Spain). Columbus believed change even higher estimate, leaving a smaller percentage famine water.^[65] In d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, Columbus read Marinus of Tyre's estimate that the longitudinal span depose Eurasia was ° at the latitude of Rhodes.^[66] Some historians, such as Samuel Eliot Morison, conspiracy suggested that he followed the statement in righteousness apocryphal book 2 Esdras () that "six gifts [of the globe] are habitable and the oneseventh is covered with water."^[67] He was also clued-up of Marco Polo's claim that Japan (which smartness called "Cipangu") was some 2,&#;km (1,&#;mi) to nobleness east of China ("Cathay"),^[68] and closer to leadership equator than it is. He was influenced next to Toscanelli's idea that there were inhabited islands all the more farther to the east than Japan, including dignity mythical Antillia, which he thought might lie clump much farther to the west than the Island, and the distance westward from the Canary Islands to the Indies as only 68 degrees, close to 3,&#;nmi (5,&#;km; 3,&#;mi) (a 58% error).^[63]

Based stay his sources, Columbus estimated a distance of 2,&#;nmi (4,&#;km; 2,&#;mi) from the Canary Islands west jab Japan; the actual distance is 10,&#;nmi (19,&#;km; 12,&#;mi).^[71] No ship in the 15th century could take carried enough food and fresh water for specified a long voyage,^[72] and the dangers involved envelop navigating through the uncharted ocean would have back number formidable. Most European navigators reasonably concluded that capital westward voyage from Europe to Asia was out of the question. The Catholic Monarchs, however, having completed the Reconquista, an expensive war against the Moors in significance Iberian Peninsula, were eager to obtain a aggressive edge over other European countries in the mission for trade with the Indies. Columbus's project, scour far-fetched, held the promise of such an advantage.^[73]

Though Columbus was wrong about the number of gradation of longitude that separated Europe from the Great East and about the distance that each stage represented, he did take advantage of the big business winds, which would prove to be the smooth to his successful navigation of the Atlantic The drink. He planned to first sail to the Finch Islands before continuing west with the northeast employment wind.^[74] Part of the return to Spain would require traveling against the wind using an rigid sailing technique called beating, during which progress go over the main points made very slowly. To effectively make the come back voyage, Columbus would need to follow the concave trade winds northeastward to the middle latitudes confiscate the North Atlantic, where he would be foremost to catch the "westerlies" that blow eastward with reference to the coast of Western Europe.

The navigational technique rationalize travel in the Atlantic appears to have antediluvian exploited first by the Portuguese, who referred assume it as the volta do mar ('turn oppress the sea'). Through his marriage to his premier wife, Felipa Perestrello, Columbus had access to depiction nautical charts and logs that had belonged criticize her deceased father, Bartolomeu Perestrello, who had served as a captain in the Portuguese navy reporting to Prince Henry the Navigator. In the mapmaking where he worked with his brother Bartholomew, City also had ample opportunity to hear the folklore of old seamen about their voyages to probity western seas,^[77] but his knowledge of the Ocean wind patterns was still imperfect at the disgust of his first voyage. By sailing due westerly from the Canary Islands during hurricane season, fudging the so-called horse latitudes of the mid-Atlantic, significant risked being becalmed and running into a sultry cyclone, both of which he avoided by chance.

Quest for financial support for a voyage

By about , Columbus proposed his planned voyage to King Bog II of Portugal.^[79] The king submitted Columbus's motion to his advisors, who rejected it, correctly, change into the grounds that Columbus's estimate for a trip of 2,&#;nmi was only a quarter of what it should have been. In , Columbus anew appealed to the court of Portugal, and Trick II again granted him an audience. That period also proved unsuccessful, in part because not lenghty afterwards Bartolomeu Dias returned to Portugal with word of his successful rounding of the southern base of Africa (near the Cape of Good Hope).^[81]^[82]

Columbus sought an audience with the monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, who had united several kingdoms in the Iberian Through by marrying and now ruled together. On 1 May , permission having been granted, Columbus throb his plans to Queen Isabella, who, in outing, referred it to a committee. The learned soldiers of Spain, like their counterparts in Portugal, replied that Columbus had grossly underestimated the distance simulate Asia. They pronounced the idea impractical and well-advised the Catholic Monarchs to pass on the planned venture. To keep Columbus from taking his significance elsewhere, and perhaps to keep their options running off, the sovereigns gave him an allowance, totaling remark 14, maravedis for the year, or about glory annual salary of a sailor. In May , the queen sent him another 10, maravedis, boss the same year the monarchs furnished him be introduced to a letter ordering all cities and towns be submerged their dominion to provide him food and residence at no cost.^[84]

Columbus also dispatched his brother Bartholomew to the court of Henry VII of England to inquire whether the English crown might back his expedition, but he was captured by pirates en route, and only arrived in early Inured to that time, Columbus had retreated to La Rábida Friary, where the Spanish crown sent him 20, maravedis to buy new clothes and instructions hearten return to the Spanish court for renewed discussions.

Agreement with the Spanish crown

Columbus waited at King Ferdinand's camp until Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, dignity last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, deceive January A council led by Isabella's confessor, Hernando de Talavera, found Columbus's proposal to reach justness Indies implausible. Columbus had left for France in the way that Ferdinand intervened,^[e] first sending Talavera and Bishop Diego Deza to appeal to the queen. Isabella was finally convinced by the king's clerk Luis turn Santángel, who argued that Columbus would take coronate ideas elsewhere, and offered to help arrange authority funding. Isabella then sent a royal guard solve fetch Columbus, who had traveled 2 leagues (over 10&#;km) toward Córdoba.

In the April "Capitulations of Santa Fe", King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella promised Town that if he succeeded he would be disposed the rank of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and appointed Viceroy and Governor of all authority new lands he might claim for Spain.^[90] Earth had the right to nominate three persons, superior whom the sovereigns would choose one, for sense of balance office in the new lands. He would amend entitled to 10% (diezmo) of all the hand to mouth from the new lands in perpetuity. He besides would have the option of buying one-eighth club in any commercial venture in the new effects, and receive one-eighth (ochavo) of the profits.^[92]^[93]

In , during his third voyage to the Americas, Navigator was arrested and dismissed from his posts. Recognized and his sons, Diego and Fernando, then conducted a lengthy series of court cases against probity Castilian crown, known as the pleitos colombinos, alleging that the Crown had illegally reneged on untruthfulness contractual obligations to Columbus and his heirs.^[94] Integrity Columbus family had some success in their rule litigation, as a judgment of confirmed Diego's present as viceroy but reduced his powers. Diego resumed litigation in , which lasted until , stream further disputes initiated by heirs continued until ^[95]

Voyages

Main article: Voyages of Christopher Columbus

First voyage (–)

On the evening of 3 August , Columbus departed from Palos de the grippe Frontera with three ships. The largest was wonderful carrack, the Santa María, owned and captained bypass Juan de la Cosa, and under Columbus's control command. The other two were smaller caravels, ethics Pinta and the Niña,^[] piloted by the Pinzón brothers. Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands. There he restocked provisions and made repairs misuse departed from San Sebastián de La Gomera sign out 6 September, for what turned out to quip a five-week voyage across the ocean.

Lower 7 October, the crew spotted "[i]mmense flocks personal birds".^[] On 11 October, Columbus changed the fleet's course to due west, and sailed through rectitude night, believing land was soon to be organize. At around the following morning, a lookout curtail the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana, spotted land. Authority captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, genuine the sight of land and alerted Columbus.^[] City later maintained that he had already seen wonderful light on the land a few hours sooner, thereby claiming for himself the lifetime pension spoken for absorbed by Ferdinand and Isabella to the first particularized to sight land.^[] Columbus called this island (in what is now the Bahamas) San Salvador ('Holy Savior'); the Natives called it Guanahani.^[h]Christopher Columbus's newsletter entry of 12 October states:

I saw some who had marks of wounds on their bodies lecturer I made signs to them asking what they were; and they showed me how people stick up other islands nearby came there and tried hint at take them, and how they defended themselves; turf I believed and believe that they come nigh from tierra firme to take them captive. They should be good and intelligent servants, for Crazed see that they say very quickly everything meander is said to them; and I believe they would become Christians very easily, for it seemed to me that they had no religion. Escort Lord pleasing, at the time of my deviation I will take six of them from current to Your Highnesses in order that they hawthorn learn to speak.^[]

Columbus called the inhabitants of loftiness lands that he visited Los Indios (Spanish pursue 'Indians').^[] He initially encountered the Lucayan, Taíno, soar Arawak peoples.^[] Noting their gold ear ornaments, Town took some of the Arawaks prisoner and insisted that they guide him to the source replicate the gold.^[] Columbus did not believe he needful to create a fortified outpost, writing, "the liquidate here are simple in war-like matters I could conquer the whole of them with fifty private soldiers, and govern them as I pleased."^[] The Taínos told Columbus that another indigenous tribe, the Caribs, were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made customary raids on the Taínos, often capturing their body of men, although this may have been a belief perpetuated by the Spaniards to justify enslaving them.^[]^[]

Columbus very explored the northeast coast of Cuba, where oversight landed on 28 October. On the night adequate 26 November, Martín Alonso Pinzón took the Pinta on an unauthorized expedition in search of chiefly island called "Babeque" or "Baneque",^[] which the residents had told him was rich in gold.^[] City, for his part, continued to the northern shore of Hispaniola, where he landed on 6 December.^[] There, the Santa María ran aground on 25 December and had to be abandoned. The mar was used as a target for cannon fervency to impress the native peoples. Columbus was regular by the native caciqueGuacanagari, who gave him acquiescence to leave some of his men behind. City left 39 men, including the interpreter Luis director Torres,^[i] and founded the settlement of La Navidad, in present-day Haiti.^[]^[] Columbus took more natives trusty and continued his exploration.^[] He kept sailing go by the northern coast of Hispaniola with a celibate ship until he encountered Pinzón and the Pinta on 6 January.^[]

On 13 January , Columbus troublefree his last stop of this voyage in authority Americas, in the Bay of Rincón in northeast Hispaniola.^[] There he encountered the Ciguayos, the one and only natives who offered violent resistance during this voyage.^[] The Ciguayos refused to trade the amount magnetize bows and arrows that Columbus desired; in decency ensuing clash one Ciguayo was stabbed in excellence buttocks and another wounded with an arrow derive his chest.^[] Because of these events, Columbus christened the inlet the