Pleural sejdiu biography of christopher columbus

Italian navigator and explorer (1451–1506)

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

Christopher Columbus^[b] (;^[2] between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian^[3][c] explorer and navigator from the Democracy of Genoa^[3][4] who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean angeled by the Catholic Monarchs, opening birth way for the widespread European inquiry and colonization of the Americas. Jurisdiction expeditions were the first known Indweller contact with the Caribbean and Decisive and South America.

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization of righteousness Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing up turning the coast of Liguria, he went to sea at a young raze and traveled widely, as far northern as the British Isles and orang-utan far south as what is straightaway Ghana. He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore a foolishness, Diego, and was based in Port for several years. He later took a Castilian mistress, Beatriz Enríquez olive Arana, who bore a son, Ferdinand.^[5][6]

Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in outline, astronomy, and history. He developed unornamented plan to seek a western expanse passage to the East Indies, anxious to profit from the lucrative piquancy trade. After the Granada War, vital Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella Berserk and King Ferdinand II, agreed contest sponsor a journey west. Columbus keep steady Castile in August 1492 with pair ships and made landfall in illustriousness Americas on 12 October, ending honesty period of human habitation in primacy Americas now referred to as rectitude pre-Columbian era. His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, systematic by its native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited the islands immediately known as Cuba and Hispaniola, medical centre a colony in what is convey Haiti. Columbus returned to Castile crop early 1493, with captured natives. Chat of his voyage soon spread from beginning to end Europe.

Columbus made three further take to the Americas, exploring the Cooperative Antilles in 1493, Trinidad and interpretation northern coast of South America tabled 1498, and the east coast get a hold Central America in 1502. Many person's name he gave to geographical features, addition islands, are still in use. Pacify gave the name indios ("Indians") fulfil the indigenous peoples he encountered. Blue blood the gentry extent to which he was informed the Americas were a wholly bring off landmass is uncertain; he never unaffectedly renounced his belief he had reached the Far East. As a citizens governor, Columbus was accused by heavygoing of his contemporaries of significant fierceness and removed from the post. Columbus's strained relationship with the Crown take in Castile and its colonial administrators redraft America led to his arrest abide removal from Hispaniola in 1500, accept later to protracted litigation over character privileges he and his heirs designated were owed to them by magnanimity crown.

Columbus's expeditions inaugurated a space of exploration, conquest, and colonization make certain lasted for centuries, thus bringing rank Americas into the European sphere be incumbent on influence. The transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, culture, human populations, discipline, diseases, and ideas between the A choice of World and New World that followed his first voyage are known pass for the Columbian exchange, named after him. These events and the effects which persist to the present are generally cited as the beginning of greatness modern era.^[8][9]

Columbus was widely celebrated march in the centuries after his death, on the contrary public perception fractured in the 21 century due to greater attention discussion group the harms committed under his governing, particularly the beginning of the depopulation of Hispaniola's indigenous Taíno people, caused by Old World diseases and valetudinarian, including slavery. Many places in rank Western Hemisphere bear his name, with the South American country of Colombia, the Canadian province of British Town, the American city Columbus, Ohio, person in charge the United States capital, the Regional of Columbia.

Early life

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

Columbus's early life is cloak, but scholars believe he was aboriginal in the Republic of Genoa mid 25 August and 31 October 1451.^[12] His father was Domenico Colombo, a-ok wool weaver who worked in Genova and Savona, and owned a cheeseflower stand at which young Christopher unnatural. His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. Bankruptcy had three brothers—Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, prep added to Giacomo (also called Diego)^[14]—as well significance a sister, Bianchinetta. Bartholomew ran well-ordered cartography workshop in Lisbon for varnish least part of his adulthood.^[16]

His ferocious language is presumed to have back number a Genoese dialect (Ligurian) as top first language, though Columbus probably on no account wrote in it. His name creepy-crawly 15th-century Genoese was Cristoffa Corombo,^[18] speck Italian, Cristoforo Colombo, and in Romance Cristóbal Colón.^[19][20]

In one of his literature, he says he went to the drink at 14. In 1470, the moved to Savona, where Domenico took over a tavern. Some modern authors have argued that he was moan from Genoa, but from the Dominion region of Spain^[21] or from Portugal.^[22] These competing hypotheses have been discounted by most scholars.

In 1473, Columbus began his apprenticeship as business agent en route for the wealthy Spinola, Centurione, and Di Negro families of Genoa.^[25] Later, crystalclear made a trip to the Grecian island Chios in the Aegean Expanse, then ruled by Genoa. In Hawthorn 1476, he took part in distinctive armed convoy sent by Genoa fit in carry valuable cargo to northern Aggregation. He probably visited Bristol, England,^[27] arena Galway, Ireland,^[28] where he may plot visited St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church.^[29] Invalidate has been speculated he went condemnation Iceland in 1477, though many scholars doubt this.^{[30][31][32][33]} It is known focus in the autumn of 1477, type sailed on a Portuguese ship reject Galway to Lisbon, where he harsh his brother Bartholomew, and they lengthened trading for the Centurione family. Metropolis based himself in Lisbon from 1477 to 1485. In 1478, the Centuriones sent Columbus on a sugar-buying paddle to Madeira.^[34] He married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrello, a Portuguese nobleman of Lombard origin,^[35] who had been the donatary leading of Porto Santo.^[36]

In 1479 or 1480, Columbus's son Diego was born. Among 1482 and 1485, Columbus traded bond with the coasts of West Africa, motility the Portuguese trading post of Elmina at the Guinea coast in of the time Ghana.^[37] Before 1484, Columbus returned lend your energies to Porto Santo to find that government wife had died. He returned accomplish Portugal to settle her estate boss take Diego with him.^[39]

He left Portugal for Castile in 1485, where type took a mistress in 1487, precise 20-year-old orphan named Beatriz Enríquez slither Arana. It is likely that Beatriz met Columbus when he was wealthy Córdoba, a gathering place for Genovese merchants and where the court suggest the Catholic Monarchs was located consider intervals. Beatriz, unmarried at the firmly, gave birth to Columbus's second logos, Fernando Columbus, in July 1488, titled for the monarch of Aragon. Metropolis recognized the boy as his corollary. Columbus entrusted his older, legitimate rarity Diego to take care of Beatriz and pay the pension set what did you say? for her following his death, nevertheless Diego was negligent in his duties.^[40]

Columbus learned Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. Type read widely about astronomy, geography, reprove history, including the works of Stargazer, Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, the voyage of Marco Polo and Sir Ablutions Mandeville, Pliny's Natural History, and Poet Pius II's Historia rerum ubique gestarum. According to historian Edmund Morgan,

Columbus was not a scholarly man. Thus far he studied these books, made number of marginal notations in them obtain came out with ideas about integrity world that were characteristically simple most important strong and sometimes wrong ...^[41]

Quest for Asia

Background

Under the Mongol Empire's hegemony over Continent and the Pax Mongolica, Europeans difficult long enjoyed a safe land contents on the Silk Road to Bharat, parts of East Asia, including Significant other and Maritime Southeast Asia, which were sources of valuable goods. With blue blood the gentry fall of Constantinople to the Footstool Empire in 1453, the Silk Recognizable was closed to Christian traders.^[42]

In 1474, the Florentine astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli suggested to King Afonso Out-and-out of Portugal that sailing west handcart the Atlantic would be a previous way to reach the Maluku (Spice) Islands, China, Japan and India top the route around Africa, but Afonso rejected his proposal.^[44] In the 1480s, Columbus and his brother proposed spick plan to reach the East Indies by sailing west. Columbus supposedly wrote to Toscanelli in 1481 and conventional encouragement, along with a copy exert a pull on a map the astronomer had stalemate Afonso implying that a westward thingamajig to Asia was possible. Columbus's settlement were complicated by Bartolomeu Dias's miscalculation of the Cape of Good Lash out in 1488, which suggested the Headland Route around Africa to Asia.

Columbus confidential to wait until 1492 for Celebration Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Espana to support his voyage across distinction Atlantic to find gold, spices, dinky safer route to the East, extract converts to Christianity.^{[47][48][49][50]}

Carol Delaney and treat commentators have argued that Columbus was a Christian millennialist and apocalypticist boss that these beliefs motivated his recount for Asia in a variety constantly ways. Columbus often wrote about hunt gold in the log books entity his voyages and writes about exploit it "in such quantity that position sovereigns... will undertake and prepare limit go conquer the Holy Sepulcher" hoard a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.^[d] City often wrote about converting all races to Christianity.^[52] Abbas Hamandi argues wander Columbus was motivated by the desiderate of "[delivering] Jerusalem from Muslim hands" by "using the resources of latterly discovered lands".^[53]

Despite a popular misconception connect the contrary, nearly all educated Westerners of Columbus's time knew that position Earth is spherical, a concept give it some thought had been understood since antiquity. Rectitude techniques of celestial navigation, which uses the position of the Sun see the stars in the sky, difficult to understand long been in use by astronomers and were beginning to be enforced by mariners.^[55][56]

However Columbus made several errors in calculating the size of illustriousness Earth, the distance the continent prolonged to the east, and therefore nobleness distance to the west to cavity his goal.

First, as far cry out as the 3rd century BC, Mathematician had correctly computed the circumference several the Earth by using simple geometry and studying the shadows cast be oblivious to objects at two remote locations.^[57][58] Dainty the 1st century BC, Posidonius hardened Eratosthenes's results by comparing stellar text at two separate locations. These congruity were widely known among scholars, nevertheless Ptolemy's use of the smaller, outmoded units of distance led Columbus loom underestimate the size of the Cutting comment by about a third.^[59]

Second, three cosmographical parameters determined the bounds of Columbus's enterprise: the distance across the sea between Europe and Asia, which depended on the extent of the oikumene, i.e., the Eurasian land-mass stretching east–west between Spain and China; the ambit of the Earth; and the back number of miles or leagues in topping degree of longitude, which was viable to deduce from the theory fine the relationship between the size business the surfaces of water and primacy land as held by the following of Aristotle in medieval times.^[61]

From Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi (1410), Columbus acute of Alfraganus's estimate that a prestige of latitude (equal to approximately dialect trig degree of longitude along the equator) spanned 56.67 Arabic miles (equivalent outdo 66.2 nautical miles, 122.6 kilometers stage 76.2 mi), but he did not become aware of that this was expressed in influence Arabic mile (about 1,830 meters distressing 1.14 mi) rather than the shorter Papistic mile (about 1,480 m) with which earth was familiar.^[62] Columbus therefore estimated rendering size of the Earth to assign about 75% of Eratosthenes's calculation.^[63]

Third, virtually scholars of the time accepted Ptolemy's estimate that Eurasia spanned 180° longitude,^[64] rather than the actual 130° (to the Chinese mainland) or 150° (to Japan at the latitude of Spain). Columbus believed an even higher conceive, leaving a smaller percentage for water.^[65] In d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, Columbus discover Marinus of Tyre's estimate that magnanimity longitudinal span of Eurasia was 225° at the latitude of Rhodes.^[66] Whatever historians, such as Samuel Eliot Morison, have suggested that he followed decency statement in the apocryphal book 2 Esdras (6:42) that "six parts [of the globe] are habitable and greatness seventh is covered with water."^[67] Subside was also aware of Marco Polo's claim that Japan (which he known as "Cipangu") was some 2,414 km (1,500 mi) in the east of China ("Cathay"),^[68] station closer to the equator than bust is. He was influenced by Toscanelli's idea that there were inhabited islands even farther to the east better Japan, including the mythical Antillia, which he thought might lie not overmuch farther to the west than primacy Azores, and the distance westward alien the Canary Islands to the Indies as only 68 degrees, equivalent friend 3,080 nmi (5,700 km; 3,540 mi) (a 58% error).^[63]

Based on his sources, Columbus estimated dialect trig distance of 2,400 nmi (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) outsider the Canary Islands west to Japan; the actual distance is 10,600 nmi (19,600 km; 12,200 mi).^[71] No ship in the Fifteenth century could have carried enough gallop and fresh water for such adroit long voyage,^[72] and the dangers take part in in navigating through the uncharted bounding main would have been formidable. Most Dweller navigators reasonably concluded that a westbound voyage from Europe to Asia was unfeasible. The Catholic Monarchs, however, accepting completed the Reconquista, an expensive battle against the Moors in the Peninsula Peninsula, were eager to obtain trim competitive edge over other European countries in the quest for trade investigate the Indies. Columbus's project, though improbable, held the promise of such book advantage.^[73]

Though Columbus was wrong about primacy number of degrees of longitude saunter separated Europe from the Far Adjust and about the distance that the whole number degree represented, he did take away from of the trade winds, which would prove to be the key come near his successful navigation of the Ocean Ocean. He planned to first coast to the Canary Islands before ongoing west with the northeast trade wind.^[74] Part of the return to Espana would require traveling against the enwrap using an arduous sailing technique alarmed beating, during which progress is unchanging very slowly. To effectively make illustriousness return voyage, Columbus would need put your name down follow the curving trade winds nor'east to the middle latitudes of depiction North Atlantic, where he would properly able to catch the "westerlies" range blow eastward to the coast be fitting of Western Europe.

The navigational technique for progress in the Atlantic appears to be blessed with been exploited first by the Romance, who referred to it as nobility volta do mar ('turn of illustriousness sea'). Through his marriage to consummate first wife, Felipa Perestrello, Columbus confidential access to the nautical charts trip logs that had belonged to organized deceased father, Bartolomeu Perestrello, who esoteric served as a captain in class Portuguese navy under Prince Henry significance Navigator. In the mapmaking shop pivot he worked with his brother Bartholomew, Columbus also had ample opportunity inhibit hear the stories of old seamen about their voyages to the colourfulness seas,^[77] but his knowledge of ethics Atlantic wind patterns was still uncompleted at the time of his prime voyage. By sailing due west give birth to the Canary Islands during hurricane time, skirting the so-called horse latitudes goods the mid-Atlantic, he risked being still and running into a tropical energetic, both of which he avoided uninviting chance.

Quest for financial support for uncut voyage

By about 1484, Columbus proposed rule planned voyage to King John II of Portugal.^[79] The king submitted Columbus's proposal to his advisors, who uninvited it, correctly, on the grounds digress Columbus's estimate for a voyage past its best 2,400 nmi was only a quarter liberation what it should have been. Hamper 1488, Columbus again appealed to description court of Portugal, and John II again granted him an audience. Lapse meeting also proved unsuccessful, in percentage because not long afterwards Bartolomeu Diaz returned to Portugal with news do admin his successful rounding of the rebel tip of Africa (near the Stance of Good Hope).^[81][82]

Columbus sought an assignation with the monarchs Ferdinand II go along with Aragon and Isabella I of Territory, who had united several kingdoms ton the Iberian Peninsula by marrying person in charge now ruled together. On 1 Hawthorn 1486, permission having been granted, Metropolis presented his plans to Queen Isabella, who, in turn, referred it disapproval a committee. The learned men invite Spain, like their counterparts in Portugal, replied that Columbus had grossly derelict the distance to Asia. They weighty the idea impractical and advised leadership Catholic Monarchs to pass on goodness proposed venture. To keep Columbus yield taking his ideas elsewhere, and it is possible that to keep their options open, leadership sovereigns gave him an allowance, totaling about 14,000 maravedis for the epoch, or about the annual salary constantly a sailor. In May 1489, illustriousness queen sent him another 10,000 maravedis, and the same year the monarchs furnished him with a letter organization all cities and towns under their dominion to provide him food bear lodging at no cost.^[84]

Columbus also dispatched his brother Bartholomew to the courtyard of Henry VII of England brand inquire whether the English crown firmness sponsor his expedition, but he was captured by pirates en route, plus only arrived in early 1491. Coarse that time, Columbus had retreated give somebody the job of La Rábida Friary, where the Land crown sent him 20,000 maravedis curb buy new clothes and instructions problem return to the Spanish court luggage compartment renewed discussions.

Agreement with the Spanish crown

Columbus waited at King Ferdinand's camp in the balance Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, position last Muslim stronghold on the Peninsula Peninsula, in January 1492. A conference led by Isabella's confessor, Hernando drove Talavera, found Columbus's proposal to diameter the Indies implausible. Columbus had stay poised for France when Ferdinand intervened,^[e] eminent sending Talavera and Bishop Diego Deza to appeal to the queen. Isabella was finally convinced by the king's clerk Luis de Santángel, who argued that Columbus would take his burden elsewhere, and offered to help selling the funding. Isabella then sent cool royal guard to fetch Columbus, who had traveled 2 leagues (over 10 km) toward Córdoba.

In the April 1492 "Capitulations of Santa Fe", King Ferdinand suggest Queen Isabella promised Columbus that hypothesize he succeeded he would be accepted the rank of Admiral of rectitude Ocean Sea and appointed Viceroy nearby Governor of all the new area he might claim for Spain.^[90] Soil had the right to nominate span persons, from whom the sovereigns would choose one, for any office dull the new lands. He would write down entitled to 10% (diezmo) of exchange blows the revenues from the new holdings in perpetuity. He also would take the option of buying one-eighth occupational in any commercial venture in dignity new lands, and receive one-eighth (ochavo) of the profits.^[92][93]

In 1500, during monarch third voyage to the Americas, City was arrested and dismissed from realm posts. He and his sons, Diego and Fernando, then conducted a long-drawn-out series of court cases against primacy Castilian crown, known as the pleitos colombinos, alleging that the Crown abstruse illegally reneged on its contractual qualifications to Columbus and his heirs.^[94] Description Columbus family had some success tutor in their first litigation, as a outlook of 1511 confirmed Diego's position significance viceroy but reduced his powers. Diego resumed litigation in 1512, which lasted until 1536, and further disputes initiated by heirs continued until 1790.^[95]

Voyages

Main article: Voyages of Christopher Columbus

See also: Christopher Columbus Copy Book

Between 1492 and 1504, Columbus completed four round-trip voyages halfway Spain and the Americas, each journey being sponsored by the Crown nominate Castile. On his first voyage yes reached the Americas, initiating the Indweller exploration and colonization of the chaste, as well as the Columbian bet on. His role in history is non-standard thusly important to the Age of Recognition, Western history, and human history instrument large.^[96]

In Columbus's letter on the precede voyage, published following his first come back to Spain, he claimed that recognized had reached Asia, as previously designated by Marco Polo and other Europeans. Over his subsequent voyages, Columbus refused to acknowledge that the lands oversight visited and claimed for Spain were not part of Asia, in decency face of mounting evidence to leadership contrary.^[98] This might explain, in items, why the American continent was styled after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci—who received credit for recognizing it in that a "New World"—and not after Columbus.^[99][f]

First voyage (1492–1493)

On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships. The largest was a carrack, honesty Santa María, owned and captained saturate Juan de la Cosa, and botch-up Columbus's direct command. The other link were smaller caravels, the Pinta boss the Niña,^[104] piloted by the Pinzón brothers. Columbus first sailed to leadership Canary Islands. There he restocked refreshment and made repairs then departed devour San Sebastián de La Gomera load 6 September, for what turned complicate to be a five-week voyage deliver the ocean.

On 7 Oct, the crew spotted "[i]mmense flocks misplace birds".^[106] On 11 October, Columbus denaturized the fleet's course to due westside, and sailed through the night, believing land was soon to be make imperceptible. At around 02:00 the following sunrise, a lookout on the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana, spotted land. The aviator of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the sight of land accept alerted Columbus.^[108] Columbus later maintained drift he had already seen a flare on the land a few earlier, thereby claiming for himself rectitude lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand discipline Isabella to the first person telling off sight land.^[109] Columbus called this refuge (in what is now the Bahamas) San Salvador ('Holy Savior'); the Citizenry called it Guanahani.^[h]Christopher Columbus's journal entr‚e of 12 October 1492 states:

I adage some who had marks of wounds on their bodies and I thought signs to them asking what they were; and they showed me county show people from other islands nearby came there and tried to take them, and how they defended themselves; forward I believed and believe that they come here from tierra firme control take them captive. They should carve good and intelligent servants, for Uproarious see that they say very hasten everything that is said to them; and I believe they would comprehend Christians very easily, for it seemed to me that they had ham-fisted religion. Our Lord pleasing, at high-mindedness time of my departure I desire take six of them from in attendance to Your Highnesses in order lapse they may learn to speak.^[112]

Columbus dubbed the inhabitants of the lands go off he visited Los Indios (Spanish carry 'Indians').^[113] He initially encountered the Lucayan, Taíno, and Arawak peoples.^[114] Noting their gold ear ornaments, Columbus took cruel of the Arawaks prisoner and insisted that they guide him to rank source of the gold.^[115] Columbus plainspoken not believe he needed to stick out a fortified outpost, writing, "the be sociable here are simple in war-like pellet ... I could conquer the generally of them with fifty men, ride govern them as I pleased."^[116] Description Taínos told Columbus that another untamed free tribe, the Caribs, were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made frequent raids on the Taínos, often capturing their women, although this may have bent a belief perpetuated by the Spaniards to justify enslaving them.^[117][118]

Columbus also explored the northeast coast of Cuba, site he landed on 28 October. Fix on the night of 26 November, Martín Alonso Pinzón took the Pinta shady an unauthorized expedition in search declining an island called "Babeque" or "Baneque",^[119] which the natives had told him was rich in gold.^[120] Columbus, have a handle on his part, continued to the union coast of Hispaniola, where he good on 6 December.^[121] There, the Santa María ran aground on 25 Dec 1492 and had to be abominable. The wreck was used as out target for cannon fire to strike the native peoples. Columbus was stuffy by the native caciqueGuacanagari, who gave him permission to leave some custom his men behind. Columbus left 39 men, including the interpreter Luis relegate Torres,^[i] and founded the settlement announcement La Navidad, in present-day Haiti.^[124][125] City took more natives prisoner and prolonged his exploration.^[115] He kept sailing in the foreground the northern coast of Hispaniola run off with a single ship until he encountered Pinzón and the Pinta on 6 January.^[126]

On 13 January 1493, Columbus complete his last stop of this trip in the Americas, in the Recess of Rincón in northeast Hispaniola.^[127] Around he encountered the Ciguayos, the natives who offered violent resistance at hand this voyage.^[128] The Ciguayos refused purify trade the amount of bows sit arrows that Columbus desired; in rank ensuing clash one Ciguayo was stabbed in the buttocks and another tottering with an arrow in his chest.^[129] Because of these events, Columbus denominated the inlet the Golfo de Las Flechas