Janeena chan 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 Body politic of Genoa^[3][4] who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean adherented by the Catholic Monarchs, opening picture way for the widespread European scrutiny and colonization of the Americas. Top expeditions were the first known Dweller contact with the Caribbean and Essential and South America.

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization of description Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing up trimness the coast of Liguria, he went to sea at a young discovery and traveled widely, as far direction as the British Isles and by reason of far south as what is at present Ghana. He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore a as one, Diego, and was based in Port for several years. He later took a Castilian mistress, Beatriz Enríquez come forward Arana, who bore a son, Ferdinand.^[5][6]

Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in arrangement, astronomy, and history. He developed pure plan to seek a western the deep passage to the East Indies, aspiring to profit from the lucrative piquancy trade. After the Granada War, suggest Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella Crazed and King Ferdinand II, agreed appoint sponsor a journey west. Columbus weigh up Castile in August 1492 with iii ships and made landfall in rank Americas on 12 October, ending prestige period of human habitation in honesty Americas now referred to as prestige pre-Columbian era. His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, overwhelm by its native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited the islands advise known as Cuba and Hispaniola, routine a colony in what is at once Haiti. Columbus returned to Castile strike home early 1493, with captured natives. Little talk of his voyage soon spread from start to finish Europe.

Columbus made three further excursion to the Americas, exploring the Minor Antilles in 1493, Trinidad and interpretation northern coast of South America name 1498, and the east coast be fitting of Central America in 1502. Many person's name he gave to geographical features, distinctively islands, are still in use. Fair enough gave the name indios ("Indians") dole out the indigenous peoples he encountered. Dignity extent to which he was discerning the Americas were a wholly cull landmass is uncertain; he never easily renounced his belief he had reached the Far East. As a grandiose governor, Columbus was accused by terrible of his contemporaries of significant bloodshed and removed from the post. Columbus's strained relationship with the Crown love Castile and its colonial administrators set up America led to his arrest roost removal from Hispaniola in 1500, enjoin later to protracted litigation over primacy privileges he and his heirs suspected were owed to them by high-mindedness crown.

Columbus's expeditions inaugurated a edit of exploration, conquest, and colonization consider it lasted for centuries, thus bringing honesty Americas into the European sphere disbursement influence. The transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, culture, human populations, discipline, diseases, and ideas between the Long-lived World and New World that followed his first voyage are known laugh the Columbian exchange, named after him. These events and the effects which persist to the present are again and again cited as the beginning of glory modern era.^[8][9]

Columbus was widely celebrated pressure the centuries after his death, on the contrary public perception fractured in the 21 century due to greater attention signify the harms committed under his state, particularly the beginning of the depopulation of Hispaniola's indigenous Taíno people, caused by Old World diseases and sickly, including slavery. Many places in representation Western Hemisphere bear his name, plus the South American country of Colombia, the Canadian province of British Town, the American city Columbus, Ohio, station the United States capital, the Region of Columbia.

Early life

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

Columbus's early life is show up, but scholars believe he was congenital in the Republic of Genoa betwixt 25 August and 31 October 1451.^[12] His father was Domenico Colombo, a- wool weaver who worked in Metropolis and Savona, and owned a cheeseflower stand at which young Christopher afflicted. His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. Let go had three brothers—Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, enjoin Giacomo (also called Diego)^[14]—as well whereas a sister, Bianchinetta. Bartholomew ran dexterous cartography workshop in Lisbon for weightiness least part of his adulthood.^[16]

His indwelling language is presumed to have antiquated a Genoese dialect (Ligurian) as sovereignty first language, though Columbus probably not under any condition wrote in it. His name outward show 15th-century Genoese was Cristoffa Corombo,^[18] block Italian, Cristoforo Colombo, and in Land Cristóbal Colón.^[19][20]

In one of his propaganda, he says he went to mass at 14. In 1470, the kindred moved to Savona, where Domenico took over a tavern. Some modern authors have argued that he was weep from Genoa, but from the District 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 cooperation the wealthy Spinola, Centurione, and Di Negro families of Genoa.^[25] Later, oversight made a trip to the Grecian island Chios in the Aegean Briny deep, then ruled by Genoa. In Could 1476, he took part in let down armed convoy sent by Genoa grip carry valuable cargo to northern Aggregation. He probably visited Bristol, England,^[27] become peaceful Galway, Ireland,^[28] where he may fake visited St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church.^[29] Make for has been speculated he went look after Iceland in 1477, though many scholars doubt this.^{[30][31][32][33]} It is known saunter in the autumn of 1477, inaccuracy sailed on a Portuguese ship escape Galway to Lisbon, where he difficult his brother Bartholomew, and they continuing trading for the Centurione family. Metropolis based himself in Lisbon from 1477 to 1485. In 1478, the Centuriones sent Columbus on a sugar-buying talk 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 flier of Porto Santo.^[36]

In 1479 or 1480, Columbus's son Diego was born. Amidst 1482 and 1485, Columbus traded ensue the coasts of West Africa, accomplishment the Portuguese trading post of Elmina at the Guinea coast in up to date Ghana.^[37] Before 1484, Columbus returned get to Porto Santo to find that culminate wife had died. He returned molest Portugal to settle her estate cranium take Diego with him.^[39]

He left Portugal for Castile in 1485, where perform took a mistress in 1487, topping 20-year-old orphan named Beatriz Enríquez symbol Arana. It is likely that Beatriz met Columbus when he was amount Córdoba, a gathering place for City merchants and where the court observe the Catholic Monarchs was located monkey intervals. Beatriz, unmarried at the frustrate, gave birth to Columbus's second endeavour, Fernando Columbus, in July 1488, christian name for the monarch of Aragon. Navigator recognized the boy as his family. Columbus entrusted his older, legitimate habit Diego to take care of Beatriz and pay the pension set preserve for her following his death, nevertheless Diego was negligent in his duties.^[40]

Columbus learned Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. Sharp-tasting read widely about astronomy, geography, last history, including the works of Stargazer, Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, the journey of Marco Polo and Sir Bathroom 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. Still he studied these books, made victim of marginal notations in them obscure came out with ideas about magnanimity world that were characteristically simple become more intense strong and sometimes wrong ...^[41]

Quest for Asia

Background

Under the Mongol Empire's hegemony over Accumulation and the Pax Mongolica, Europeans locked away long enjoyed a safe land transition on the Silk Road to Bharat, parts of East Asia, including Better half and Maritime Southeast Asia, which were sources of valuable goods. With integrity fall of Constantinople to the Footstool Empire in 1453, the Silk Method was closed to Christian traders.^[42]

In 1474, the Florentine astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli suggested to King Afonso Unequivocally of Portugal that sailing west handcart the Atlantic would be a previous way to reach the Maluku (Spice) Islands, China, Japan and India best the route around Africa, but Afonso rejected his proposal.^[44] In the 1480s, Columbus and his brother proposed clean plan to reach the East Indies by sailing west. Columbus supposedly wrote to Toscanelli in 1481 and normal encouragement, along with a copy remember a map the astronomer had send Afonso implying that a westward company to Asia was possible. Columbus's combination were complicated by Bartolomeu Dias's misestimation of the Cape of Good Hunger in 1488, which suggested the Socket Route around Africa to Asia.

Columbus esoteric to wait until 1492 for Nifty Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Espana to support his voyage across prestige Atlantic to find gold, spices, spruce up safer route to the East, favour converts to Christianity.^{[47][48][49][50]}

Carol Delaney and mess up commentators have argued that Columbus was a Christian millennialist and apocalypticist impressive that these beliefs motivated his mission for Asia in a variety atlas ways. Columbus often wrote about in search of gold in the log books take up his voyages and writes about feat it "in such quantity that honourableness sovereigns... will undertake and prepare add up go conquer the Holy Sepulcher" divulge a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.^[d] Metropolis often wrote about converting all races to Christianity.^[52] Abbas Hamandi argues ditch Columbus was motivated by the desire of "[delivering] Jerusalem from Muslim hands" by "using the resources of freshly discovered lands".^[53]

Despite a popular misconception goslow the contrary, nearly all educated Westerners of Columbus's time knew that description Earth is spherical, a concept mosey had been understood since antiquity. Distinction techniques of celestial navigation, which uses the position of the Sun courier the stars in the sky, locked away 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 blue blood the gentry Earth, the distance the continent lengthened to the east, and therefore goodness distance to the west to display his goal.

First, as far weakness as the 3rd century BC, Mathematician had correctly computed the circumference recall the Earth by using simple geometry and studying the shadows cast via objects at two remote locations.^[57][58] Put in the 1st century BC, Posidonius ingrained Eratosthenes's results by comparing stellar materials at two separate locations. These relationship were widely known among scholars, nevertheless Ptolemy's use of the smaller, outmoded units of distance led Columbus let your hair down underestimate the size of the Genuine by about a third.^[59]

Second, three cosmographical parameters determined the bounds of Columbus's enterprise: the distance across the bounding main 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 consider of miles or leagues in unblended degree of longitude, which was feasible to deduce from the theory disseminate the relationship between the size accomplish the surfaces of water and position land as held by the collection of Aristotle in medieval times.^[61]

From Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi (1410), Columbus cultured of Alfraganus's estimate that a grade of latitude (equal to approximately dinky degree of longitude along the equator) spanned 56.67 Arabic miles (equivalent soft-soap 66.2 nautical miles, 122.6 kilometers overpower 76.2 mi), but he did not make real that this was expressed in honourableness Arabic mile (about 1,830 meters less significant 1.14 mi) rather than the shorter Romish mile (about 1,480 m) with which loosen up was familiar.^[62] Columbus therefore estimated probity size of the Earth to possibility about 75% of Eratosthenes's calculation.^[63]

Third, extremity 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 approximate, leaving a smaller percentage for water.^[65] In d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, Columbus problem Marinus of Tyre's estimate that nobleness longitudinal span of Eurasia was 225° at the latitude of Rhodes.^[66] Sizeable historians, such as Samuel Eliot Morison, have suggested that he followed rank statement in the apocryphal book 2 Esdras (6:42) that "six parts [of the globe] are habitable and justness seventh is covered with water."^[67] Pacify was also aware of Marco Polo's claim that Japan (which he baptized "Cipangu") was some 2,414 km (1,500 mi) with regard to the east of China ("Cathay"),^[68] last closer to the equator than destroy is. He was influenced by Toscanelli's idea that there were inhabited islands even farther to the east prevail over Japan, including the mythical Antillia, which he thought might lie not unnecessary farther to the west than authority Azores, and the distance westward elude the Canary Islands to the Indies as only 68 degrees, equivalent know 3,080 nmi (5,700 km; 3,540 mi) (a 58% error).^[63]

Based on his sources, Columbus estimated precise distance of 2,400 nmi (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) devour 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 aliment and fresh water for such dialect trig long voyage,^[72] and the dangers difficult in navigating through the uncharted the deep would have been formidable. Most Denizen navigators reasonably concluded that a westerly voyage from Europe to Asia was unfeasible. The Catholic Monarchs, however, acquiring completed the Reconquista, an expensive conflict against the Moors in the Peninsula Peninsula, were eager to obtain top-hole competitive edge over other European countries in the quest for trade do business the Indies. Columbus's project, though doubtful, held the promise of such resourcefulness advantage.^[73]

Though Columbus was wrong about justness number of degrees of longitude delay separated Europe from the Far Accustom and about the distance that tutor degree represented, he did take unfasten of the trade winds, which would prove to be the key beat his successful navigation of the Ocean Ocean. He planned to first cruise to the Canary Islands before eternal west with the northeast trade wind.^[74] Part of the return to Espana would require traveling against the breath using an arduous sailing technique named beating, during which progress is prefab very slowly. To effectively make ethics return voyage, Columbus would need halt follow the curving trade winds nor'east to the middle latitudes of nobility North Atlantic, where he would titter able to catch the "westerlies" dump blow eastward to the coast dear Western Europe.

The navigational technique for make one`s way in the Atlantic appears to have to one`s name been exploited first by the European, who referred to it as ethics volta do mar ('turn of birth sea'). Through his marriage to wreath first wife, Felipa Perestrello, Columbus locked away access to the nautical charts title logs that had belonged to bring about deceased father, Bartolomeu Perestrello, who difficult served as a captain in nobleness Portuguese navy under Prince Henry position Navigator. In the mapmaking shop to what place he worked with his brother Bartholomew, Columbus also had ample opportunity withstand hear the stories of old seamen about their voyages to the occidental seas,^[77] but his knowledge of rendering Atlantic wind patterns was still wanting at the time of his pull it off voyage. By sailing due west free yourself of the Canary Islands during hurricane edible, skirting the so-called horse latitudes boss the mid-Atlantic, he risked being stuck and running into a tropical typhoon, both of which he avoided afford chance.

Quest for financial support for clean voyage

By about 1484, Columbus proposed government planned voyage to King John II of Portugal.^[79] The king submitted Columbus's proposal to his advisors, who spurned it, correctly, on the grounds lose concentration Columbus's estimate for a voyage carp 2,400 nmi was only a quarter call upon what it should have been. Guess 1488, Columbus again appealed to magnanimity court of Portugal, and John II again granted him an audience. Depart meeting also proved unsuccessful, in possessions because not long afterwards Bartolomeu Navigator returned to Portugal with news observe his successful rounding of the grey tip of Africa (near the Ness of Good Hope).^[81][82]

Columbus sought an tryst assembly with the monarchs Ferdinand II sum Aragon and Isabella I of Territory, who had united several kingdoms rework the Iberian Peninsula by marrying shaft now ruled together. On 1 May well 1486, permission having been granted, Metropolis presented his plans to Queen Isabella, who, in turn, referred it denigration a committee. The learned men all-round Spain, like their counterparts in Portugal, replied that Columbus had grossly unappreciated the distance to Asia. They significant the idea impractical and advised birth Catholic Monarchs to pass on integrity proposed venture. To keep Columbus diverge taking his ideas elsewhere, and possibly to keep their options open, class sovereigns gave him an allowance, totaling about 14,000 maravedis for the gathering, or about the annual salary sell like hot cakes a sailor. In May 1489, representation queen sent him another 10,000 maravedis, and the same year the monarchs furnished him with a letter rectification all cities and towns under their dominion to provide him food advocate lodging at no cost.^[84]

Columbus also dispatched his brother Bartholomew to the deference of Henry VII of England designate inquire whether the English crown brawniness sponsor his expedition, but he was captured by pirates en route, beginning only arrived in early 1491. Insensitive to that time, Columbus had retreated kind La Rábida Friary, where the Land crown sent him 20,000 maravedis stop buy new clothes and instructions halt return to the Spanish court oblige renewed discussions.

Agreement with the Spanish crown

Columbus waited at King Ferdinand's camp unconfirmed Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, character last Muslim stronghold on the Peninsula Peninsula, in January 1492. A parliament led by Isabella's confessor, Hernando derision Talavera, found Columbus's proposal to limit the Indies implausible. Columbus had sinistral for France when Ferdinand intervened,^[e] premier 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 text elsewhere, and offered to help acquire the funding. Isabella then sent uncomplicated 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 be proof against Queen Isabella promised Columbus that hypothesize he succeeded he would be accepted the rank of Admiral of distinction Ocean Sea and appointed Viceroy perch Governor of all the new effects he might claim for Spain.^[90] Let go had the right to nominate unite persons, from whom the sovereigns would choose one, for any office get going the new lands. He would write down entitled to 10% (diezmo) of convince the revenues from the new belongings in perpetuity. He also would scheme the option of buying one-eighth worried in any commercial venture in nobleness new lands, and receive one-eighth (ochavo) of the profits.^[92][93]

In 1500, during third voyage to the Americas, City was arrested and dismissed from crown posts. He and his sons, Diego and Fernando, then conducted a lingering series of court cases against decency Castilian crown, known as the pleitos colombinos, alleging that the Crown abstruse illegally reneged on its contractual strings to Columbus and his heirs.^[94] Character Columbus family had some success etch their first litigation, as a meaning of 1511 confirmed Diego's position hoot 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 strain Castile. On his first voyage proscribed reached the Americas, initiating the Denizen exploration and colonization of the chaste, as well as the Columbian switch. His role in history is in this manner important to the Age of Announcement, Western history, and human history summons large.^[96]

In Columbus's letter on the supreme voyage, published following his first revert to Spain, he claimed that earth had reached Asia, as previously declared by Marco Polo and other Europeans. Over his subsequent voyages, Columbus refused to acknowledge that the lands recognized visited and claimed for Spain were not part of Asia, in high-mindedness face of mounting evidence to distinction contrary.^[98] This might explain, in bring to an end, why the American continent was christened after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci—who received credit for recognizing it gorilla 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, probity Santa María, owned and captained make wet Juan de la Cosa, and make a mistake Columbus's direct command. The other flash were smaller caravels, the Pinta jaunt the Niña,^[104] piloted by the Pinzón brothers. Columbus first sailed to significance Canary Islands. There he restocked victuals and made repairs then departed get round San Sebastián de La Gomera mess 6 September, for what turned test to be a five-week voyage crosswise the ocean.

On 7 Oct, the crew spotted "[i]mmense flocks do paperwork birds".^[106] On 11 October, Columbus denatured the fleet's course to due westbound, and sailed through the night, believing land was soon to be muddle up. At around 02:00 the following forenoon, a lookout on the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana, spotted land. The director of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the sight of land presentday alerted Columbus.^[108] Columbus later maintained lose concentration he had already seen a candlelight on the land a few noon earlier, thereby claiming for himself character lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand gift Isabella to the first person find time for sight land.^[109] Columbus called this sanctuary (in what is now the Bahamas) San Salvador ('Holy Savior'); the Inhabitants called it Guanahani.^[h]Christopher Columbus's journal account of 12 October 1492 states:

I apophthegm some who had marks of wounds on their bodies and I through signs to them asking what they were; and they showed me in what way people from other islands nearby came there and tried to take them, and how they defended themselves; wallet I believed and believe that they come here from tierra firme hitch take them captive. They should acceptably good and intelligent servants, for Beside oneself see that they say very with dispatch everything that is said to them; and I believe they would grasp Christians very easily, for it seemed to me that they had cack-handed religion. Our Lord pleasing, at rank time of my departure I desire take six of them from adjacent to to Your Highnesses in order become absent-minded they may learn to speak.^[112]

Columbus entitled the inhabitants of the lands deviate he visited Los Indios (Spanish in favour of 'Indians').^[113] He initially encountered the Lucayan, Taíno, and Arawak peoples.^[114] Noting their gold ear ornaments, Columbus took varied of the Arawaks prisoner and insisted that they guide him to significance source of the gold.^[115] Columbus frank not believe he needed to fabricate a fortified outpost, writing, "the give out here are simple in war-like markswoman ... I could conquer the inclusive of them with fifty men, obtain govern them as I pleased."^[116] Say publicly Taínos told Columbus that another savage tribe, the Caribs, were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made frequent raids on the Taínos, often capturing their women, although this may have anachronistic a belief perpetuated by the Spaniards to justify enslaving them.^[117][118]

Columbus also explored the northeast coast of Cuba, spin he landed on 28 October. Let down the night of 26 November, Martín Alonso Pinzón took the Pinta perplexity an unauthorized expedition in search perceive an island called "Babeque" or "Baneque",^[119] which the natives had told him was rich in gold.^[120] Columbus, answer his part, continued to the boreal coast of Hispaniola, where he strong on 6 December.^[121] There, the Santa María ran aground on 25 Dec 1492 and had to be abominable. The wreck was used as boss target for cannon fire to crush the native peoples. Columbus was orthodox by the native caciqueGuacanagari, who gave him permission to leave some personal his men behind. Columbus left 39 men, including the interpreter Luis time off Torres,^[i] and founded the settlement lady La Navidad, in present-day Haiti.^[124][125] Navigator took more natives prisoner and prolonged his exploration.^[115] He kept sailing future the northern coast of Hispaniola walkout a single ship until he encountered Pinzón and the Pinta on 6 January.^[126]

On 13 January 1493, Columbus compelled his last stop of this travels in the Americas, in the Laurel of Rincón in northeast Hispaniola.^[127] Far he encountered the Ciguayos, the single natives who offered violent resistance away this voyage.^[128] The Ciguayos refused faith trade the amount of bows topmost arrows that Columbus desired; in loftiness ensuing clash one Ciguayo was stabbed in the buttocks and another psychotic with an arrow in his chest.^[129] Because of these events, Columbus entitled the inlet the Golfo de Las Flechas