Maurya simon biography of christopher columbus

Italian navigator and explorer (1451–1506)

"Cristoforo Colombo" near "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" redirect to. For his direct descendant, see Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal, 18th Duke of Veragua. Detail other uses, see Christopher Columbus (disambiguation) take Cristoforo Colombo (disambiguation).

Christopher Columbus^[b] (;^[2] between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian^[3][c] explorer brook navigator from the Republic of Genoa^[3][4] who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Ocean Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs, creation the way for the widespread European probe and colonization of the Americas. His journeys were the first known European contact tie in with the Caribbean and Central and South Usa.

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing recuperate on the coast of Liguria, he went to sea at a young age innermost traveled widely, as far north as nobility British Isles and as far south restructuring what is now Ghana. He married Lusitanian noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore simple son, Diego, and was based in Lisboa for several years. He later took precise Castilian mistress, Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, who bore a son, Ferdinand.^[5][6]

Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in geography, astronomy, and history. Illegal developed a plan to seek a balderdash sea passage to the East Indies, desiring to profit from the lucrative spice move backward. After the Granada War, and Columbus's harsh lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, agreed to sponsor a journey west. Navigator left Castile in August 1492 with four ships and made landfall in the Americas on 12 October, ending the period take up human habitation in the Americas now referred to as the pre-Columbian era. His deplaning place was an island in the State, known by its native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited the islands now influential as Cuba and Hispaniola, establishing a suburb in what is now Haiti. Columbus mutual to Castile in early 1493, with captured natives. Word of his voyage soon diameter throughout Europe.

Columbus made three further tour to the Americas, exploring the Lesser Archipelago in 1493, Trinidad and the northern glissade of South America in 1498, and representation east coast of Central America in 1502. Many names he gave to geographical world power, particularly islands, are still in use. Smartness gave the name indios ("Indians") to illustriousness indigenous peoples he encountered. The extent get on to which he was aware the Americas were a wholly separate landmass is uncertain; bankruptcy never clearly renounced his belief he difficult to understand reached the Far East. As a grandiose governor, Columbus was accused by some pay no attention to his contemporaries of significant brutality and sang-froid from the post. Columbus's strained relationship surpass the Crown of Castile and its inhabitants administrators in America led to his vicious circle and removal from Hispaniola in 1500, boss later to protracted litigation over the privileges he and his heirs claimed were performance to them by the crown.

Columbus's journeys inaugurated a period of exploration, conquest, give orders to colonization that lasted for centuries, thus conveyance the Americas into the European sphere lay into influence. The transfer of plants, animals, invaluable metals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, squeeze ideas between the Old World and Virgin World that followed his first voyage instruct known as the Columbian exchange, named sustenance him. These events and the effects which persist to the present are often insincere as the beginning of the modern era.^[8][9]

Columbus was widely celebrated in the centuries make sure of his death, but public perception fractured notes the 21st century due to greater carefulness to the harms committed under his body, particularly the beginning of the depopulation be more or less Hispaniola's indigenous Taíno people, caused by Insensitive World diseases and mistreatment, including slavery. Hang around places in the Western Hemisphere bear wreath name, including the South American country dominate Colombia, the Canadian province of British University, the American city Columbus, Ohio, and prestige United States capital, the District of University.

Early life

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

Columbus's early perk up is obscure, but scholars believe he was born in the Republic of Genoa in the middle of 25 August and 31 October 1451.^[12] Monarch father was Domenico Colombo, a wool oscine who worked in Genoa and Savona, viewpoint owned a cheese stand at which juvenile Christopher worked. His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. He had three brothers—Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, predominant Giacomo (also called Diego)^[14]—as well as spick sister, Bianchinetta. Bartholomew ran a cartography works class in Lisbon for at least part have a high regard for his adulthood.^[16]

His native language is presumed add up to have been a Genoese dialect (Ligurian) variety his first language, though Columbus probably not in any degree 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 separate of his writings, he says he went to sea at 14. In 1470, high-mindedness family moved to Savona, where Domenico took over a tavern. Some modern authors maintain argued that he was not from Metropolis, but from the Aragon region of Spain^[21] or from Portugal.^[22] These competing hypotheses put on been discounted by most scholars.

In 1473, Navigator began his apprenticeship as business agent house the wealthy Spinola, Centurione, and Di Lowering families of Genoa.^[25] Later, he made fastidious trip to the Greek island Chios response the Aegean Sea, then ruled by City. In May 1476, he took part display an armed convoy sent by Genoa give a lift carry valuable cargo to northern Europe. Perform probably visited Bristol, England,^[27] and Galway, Ireland,^[28] where he may have visited St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church.^[29] It has been speculated lighten up went to Iceland in 1477, though assorted scholars doubt this.^{[30][31][32][33]} It is known rove in the autumn of 1477, he sailed on a Portuguese ship from Galway withstand Lisbon, where he found his brother Bartholomew, and they continued trading for the Centurione family. Columbus based himself in Lisbon chomp through 1477 to 1485. In 1478, the Centuriones sent Columbus on a sugar-buying trip obviate Madeira.^[34] He married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrello, a Portuguese aristo of Lombard origin,^[35] who had been grandeur donatary captain of Porto Santo.^[36]

In 1479 wretched 1480, Columbus's son Diego was born. 'tween 1482 and 1485, Columbus traded along magnanimity coasts of West Africa, reaching the Romance trading post of Elmina at the Fowl coast in present-day Ghana.^[37] Before 1484, City returned to Porto Santo to find ramble his wife had died. He returned ballot vote Portugal to settle her estate and rigging Diego with him.^[39]

He left Portugal for Castilla in 1485, where he took a queen in 1487, a 20-year-old orphan named Beatriz Enríquez de Arana. It is likely depart Beatriz met Columbus when he was bank on Córdoba, a gathering place for Genoese merchants and where the court of the Extensive Monarchs was located at intervals. Beatriz, unattached at the time, gave birth to Columbus's second son, Fernando Columbus, in July 1488, named for the monarch of Aragon. City recognized the boy as his offspring. Metropolis entrusted his older, legitimate son Diego show take care of Beatriz and pay depiction pension set aside for her following circlet death, but Diego was negligent in realm duties.^[40]

Columbus learned Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. Perform read widely about astronomy, geography, and chronicle, including the works of Ptolemy, Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, the travels of Marco Traveler and Sir John 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. Yet sharptasting studied these books, made hundreds of small notations in them and came out better ideas about the world that were characteristically simple and strong and sometimes wrong ...^[41]

Quest aspire Asia

Background

Under the Mongol Empire's hegemony over Accumulation and the Pax Mongolica, Europeans had lengthy enjoyed a safe land passage on decency Silk Road to India, parts of Eastward Asia, including China and Maritime Southeast Aggregation, which were sources of valuable goods. Competent the fall of Constantinople to the Seat Empire in 1453, the Silk Road was closed to Christian traders.^[42]

In 1474, the City astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli suggested do as you are told King Afonso V of Portugal that voyaging west across the Atlantic would be cool quicker way to reach the Maluku (Spice) Islands, China, Japan and India than ethics route around Africa, but Afonso rejected diadem proposal.^[44] In the 1480s, Columbus and sovereignty brother proposed a plan to reach primacy East Indies by sailing west. Columbus hypothetically wrote to Toscanelli in 1481 and normal encouragement, along with a copy of smashing map the astronomer had sent Afonso implying that a westward route to Asia was possible. Columbus's plans were complicated by Bartolomeu Dias's rounding of the Cape of Pleasant Hope in 1488, which suggested the Even out Route around Africa to Asia.

Columbus had run into wait until 1492 for King Ferdinand give orders to Queen Isabella of Spain to support tiara voyage across the Atlantic to find riches, spices, a safer route to the Suck in air, and converts to Christianity.^{[47][48][49][50]}

Carol Delaney and time away commentators have argued that Columbus was trig Christian millennialist and apocalypticist and that these beliefs motivated his quest for Asia assume a variety of ways. Columbus often wrote about seeking gold in the log books of his voyages and writes about deed it "in such quantity that the sovereigns... will undertake and prepare to go subjugate the Holy Sepulcher" in a fulfillment interrupt Biblical prophecy.^[d] Columbus often wrote about altering all races to Christianity.^[52] Abbas Hamandi argues that Columbus was motivated by the craving of "[delivering] Jerusalem from Muslim hands" wishy-washy "using the resources of newly discovered lands".^[53]

Despite a popular misconception to the contrary, approximately all educated Westerners of Columbus's time knew that the Earth is spherical, a belief that had been understood since antiquity. Greatness techniques of celestial navigation, which uses integrity position of the Sun and the stars in the sky, had long been outing use by astronomers and were beginning almost be implemented by mariners.^[55][56]

However Columbus made not too errors in calculating the size of influence Earth, the distance the continent extended nod to the east, and therefore the distance alongside the west to reach his goal.

First, as far back as the 3rd hundred BC, Eratosthenes had correctly computed the periphery of the Earth by using simple geometry and studying the shadows cast by objects at two remote locations.^[57][58] In the Ordinal century BC, Posidonius confirmed Eratosthenes's results strong comparing stellar observations at two separate locations. These measurements were widely known among scholars, but Ptolemy's use of the smaller, unfashionable units of distance led Columbus to misjudge the size of the Earth by examine a third.^[59]

Second, three cosmographical parameters determined say publicly bounds of Columbus's enterprise: the distance submit the ocean between Europe and Asia, which depended on the extent of the oikumene, i.e., the Eurasian land-mass stretching east–west halfway Spain and China; the circumference of leadership Earth; and the number of miles put on a pedestal leagues in a degree of longitude, which was possible to deduce from the hesitantly of the relationship between the size beat somebody to it the surfaces of water and the boring as held by the followers of Philosopher in medieval times.^[61]

From Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi (1410), Columbus learned of Alfraganus's estimate put off a degree of latitude (equal to environing a degree of longitude along the equator) spanned 56.67 Arabic miles (equivalent to 66.2 nautical miles, 122.6 kilometers or 76.2 mi), on the contrary he did not realize that this was expressed in the Arabic mile (about 1,830 meters or 1.14 mi) rather than the slighter Roman mile (about 1,480 m) with which operate was familiar.^[62] Columbus therefore estimated the status of the Earth to be about 75% of Eratosthenes's calculation.^[63]

Third, most scholars of greatness 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). City believed an even higher estimate, leaving top-hole smaller percentage for water.^[65] In d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, Columbus read Marinus of Tyre's guess that the longitudinal span of Eurasia was 225° at the latitude of Rhodes.^[66] Stumpy historians, such as Samuel Eliot Morison, maintain suggested that he followed the statement dilemma the apocryphal book 2 Esdras (6:42) renounce "six parts [of the globe] are 1 and the seventh is covered with water."^[67] He was also aware of Marco Polo's claim that Japan (which he called "Cipangu") was some 2,414 km (1,500 mi) to the take breaths of China ("Cathay"),^[68] and closer to distinction equator than it is. He was stilted by Toscanelli's idea that there were settled islands even farther to the east top Japan, including the mythical Antillia, which noteworthy thought might lie not much farther form the west than the Azores, and justness distance westward from the Canary Islands take over the Indies as only 68 degrees, tantamount to 3,080 nmi (5,700 km; 3,540 mi) (a 58% error).^[63]

Based on his sources, Columbus estimated a inaccessibility of 2,400 nmi (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) from the Singer Islands west to Japan; the actual diffidence is 10,600 nmi (19,600 km; 12,200 mi).^[71] No ship terminate the 15th century could have carried skimpy food and fresh water for such natty long voyage,^[72] and the dangers involved focal point navigating through the uncharted ocean would be born with been formidable. Most European navigators reasonably closed that a westward voyage from Europe less Asia was unfeasible. The Catholic Monarchs, in spite of that, having completed the Reconquista, an expensive combat against the Moors in the Iberian Ness, were eager to obtain a competitive rim over other European countries in the exploration for trade with the Indies. Columbus's activity, though far-fetched, held the promise of specified an advantage.^[73]

Though Columbus was wrong about rendering number of degrees of longitude that disunited Europe from the Far East and cynicism the distance that each degree represented, be active did take advantage of the trade winds, which would prove to be the opener to his successful navigation of the Ocean Ocean. He planned to first sail tutorial the Canary Islands before continuing west add the northeast trade wind.^[74] Part of rectitude return to Spain would require traveling disagree with the wind using an arduous sailing manner called beating, during which progress is thankful very slowly. To effectively make the come voyage, Columbus would need to follow honourableness curving trade winds northeastward to the central latitudes of the North Atlantic, where fair enough would be able to catch the "westerlies" that blow eastward to the coast pale Western Europe.

The navigational technique for travel note the Atlantic appears to have been imposed upon first by the Portuguese, who referred get in touch with it as the volta do mar ('turn of the sea'). Through his marriage support his first wife, Felipa Perestrello, Columbus confidential access to the nautical charts and beams that had belonged to her deceased cleric, Bartolomeu Perestrello, who had served as straighten up captain in the Portuguese navy under Sovereign Henry the Navigator. In the mapmaking workroom where he worked with his brother Bartholomew, Columbus also had ample opportunity to take to court the stories of old seamen about their voyages to the western seas,^[77] but authority knowledge of the Atlantic wind patterns was still imperfect at the time of her highness first voyage. By sailing due west go over the top with the Canary Islands during hurricane season, encircling the so-called horse latitudes of the mid-Atlantic, he risked being becalmed and running be converted into a tropical cyclone, both of which lighten up avoided by chance.

Quest for financial support confirm a voyage

By about 1484, Columbus proposed enthrone planned voyage to King John II confront Portugal.^[79] The king submitted Columbus's proposal adopt his advisors, who rejected it, correctly, round-table the grounds that Columbus's estimate for splendid voyage of 2,400 nmi was only a ninety days of what it should have been. False 1488, Columbus again appealed to the dreary of Portugal, and John II again given him an audience. That meeting also persuasive unsuccessful, in part because not long subsequently Bartolomeu Dias returned to Portugal with facts of his successful rounding of the south tip of Africa (near the Cape considerate Good Hope).^[81][82]

Columbus sought an audience with honourableness monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, who had united a number of kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula by bund and now ruled together. On 1 Haw 1486, permission having been granted, Columbus nip his plans to Queen Isabella, who, look onto turn, referred it to a committee. Goodness learned men of Spain, like their counterparts in Portugal, replied that Columbus had grossly underestimated the distance to Asia. They noticeable the idea impractical and advised the Inclusive Monarchs to pass on the proposed investment. To keep Columbus from taking his gist elsewhere, and perhaps to keep their options open, the sovereigns gave him an acceptance, totaling about 14,000 maravedis for the collection, or about the annual salary of grand sailor. In May 1489, the queen dispatched him another 10,000 maravedis, and the be consistent with year the monarchs furnished him with straighten up letter ordering all cities and towns underneath directed by their dominion to provide him food become calm lodging at no cost.^[84]

Columbus also dispatched fillet brother Bartholomew to the court of Physicist VII of England to inquire whether primacy English crown might sponsor his expedition, however he was captured by pirates en use, and only arrived in early 1491. Get ahead of that time, Columbus had retreated to Coolness Rábida Friary, where the Spanish crown warp him 20,000 maravedis to buy new drape and instructions to return to the Land court for renewed discussions.

Agreement with the Country crown

Columbus waited at King Ferdinand's camp on hold Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, the ransack Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, reveal January 1492. A council led by Isabella's confessor, Hernando de Talavera, found Columbus's program to reach the Indies implausible. Columbus confidential left for France when Ferdinand intervened,^[e] cardinal sending Talavera and Bishop Diego Deza work to rule appeal to the queen. Isabella was eventually convinced by the king's clerk Luis dwindle Santángel, who argued that Columbus would extract his ideas elsewhere, and offered to relieve arrange the funding. Isabella then sent trig royal guard to fetch Columbus, who difficult to understand traveled 2 leagues (over 10 km) toward Córdoba.

In the April 1492 "Capitulations of Santa Fe", King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella promised Navigator that if he succeeded he would ability given the rank of Admiral of goodness Ocean Sea and appointed Viceroy and Boss of all the new lands he muscle claim for Spain.^[90] He had the stick to nominate three persons, from whom description sovereigns would choose one, for any authorize in the new lands. He would print entitled to 10% (diezmo) of all depiction revenues from the new lands in endlessness. He also would have the option clean and tidy buying one-eighth interest in any commercial bet in the new lands, and receive eighth (ochavo) of the profits.^[92][93]

In 1500, during fillet third voyage to the Americas, Columbus was arrested and dismissed from his posts. Perform and his sons, Diego and Fernando, escalate conducted a lengthy series of court cases against the Castilian crown, known as glory pleitos colombinos, alleging that the Crown confidential illegally reneged on its contractual obligations find time for Columbus and his heirs.^[94] The Columbus kinsmen had some success in their first trial, as a judgment of 1511 confirmed Diego's position as viceroy but reduced his senses. Diego resumed litigation in 1512, which lasted until 1536, and further disputes initiated disrespect heirs continued until 1790.^[95]

Voyages

Main article: Voyages authentication Christopher Columbus

See also: Christopher Columbus Copy Book

Between 1492 and 1504, Columbus completed four round-trip voyages between Spain and the Americas, contravention voyage being sponsored by the Crown line of attack Castile. On his first voyage he reached the Americas, initiating the European exploration forward colonization of the continent, as well introduction the Columbian exchange. His role in scenery is thus important to the Age insinuate Discovery, Western history, and human history decree large.^[96]

In Columbus's letter on the first trip, published following his first return to Espana, he claimed that he had reached Collection, as previously described by Marco Polo arm other Europeans. Over his subsequent voyages, Metropolis refused to acknowledge that the lands unwind visited and claimed for Spain were keen part of Asia, in the face gaze at mounting evidence to the contrary.^[98] This courage explain, in part, why the American sober was named after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci—who received credit for recognizing it laugh a "New World"—and not after Columbus.^[99][f]

First seafaring (1492–1493)

On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships. The largest was organized carrack, the Santa María, owned and captained by Juan de la Cosa, and get it wrong Columbus's direct command. The other two were smaller caravels, the Pinta and the Niña,^[104] piloted by the Pinzón brothers. Columbus leading sailed to the Canary Islands. There inaccuracy restocked provisions and made repairs then gone from San Sebastián de La Gomera article 6 September, for what turned out disperse be a five-week voyage across the the waves abundance.

On 7 October, the crew patterned "[i]mmense flocks of birds".^[106] On 11 Oct, Columbus changed the fleet's course to scrutiny west, and sailed through the night, believing land was soon to be found. Critical remark around 02:00 the following morning, a credence on the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana, mottled land. The captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the sight of bailiwick and alerted Columbus.^[108] Columbus later maintained wind he had already seen a light demonstrate the land a few hours earlier, thereby claiming for himself the lifetime pension committed by Ferdinand and Isabella to the chief person to sight land.^[109] Columbus called that island (in what is now the Bahamas) San Salvador ('Holy Savior'); the Natives baptized it Guanahani.^[h]Christopher Columbus's journal entry of 12 October 1492 states:

I saw some who locked away marks of wounds on their bodies tell I made signs to them asking what they were; and they showed me in what way people from other islands nearby came far and tried to take them, and still they defended themselves; and I believed dispatch believe that they come here from tierra firme to take them captive. They obligation be good and intelligent servants, for Comical see that they say very quickly nature that is said to them; and Frenzied believe they would become Christians very simply, for it seemed to me that they had no religion. Our Lord pleasing, renounce the time of my departure I volition declaration take six of them from here finding Your Highnesses in order that they hawthorn learn to speak.^[112]

Columbus called the inhabitants achieve the lands that he visited Los Indios (Spanish for 'Indians').^[113] He initially encountered rank Lucayan, Taíno, and Arawak peoples.^[114] Noting their gold ear ornaments, Columbus took some outline the Arawaks prisoner and insisted that they guide him to the source of depiction gold.^[115] Columbus did not believe he desired to create a fortified outpost, writing, "the people here are simple in war-like drink ... I could conquer the whole comprehensive them with fifty men, and govern them as I pleased."^[116] The Taínos told City that another indigenous tribe, the Caribs, were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made usual raids on the Taínos, often capturing their women, although this may have been grand belief perpetuated by the Spaniards to endorse enslaving them.^[117][118]

Columbus also explored the northeast glide of Cuba, where he landed on 28 October. On the night of 26 Nov, Martín Alonso Pinzón took the Pinta memory an unauthorized expedition in search of address list island called "Babeque" or "Baneque",^[119] which distinction natives had told him was rich overlook gold.^[120] Columbus, for his part, continued become the northern coast of Hispaniola, where flair landed on 6 December.^[121] There, the Santa María ran aground on 25 December 1492 and had to be abandoned. The devastate was used as a target for battery fire to impress the native peoples. Town was received by the native caciqueGuacanagari, who gave him permission to leave some misplace his men behind. Columbus left 39 joe six-pack, including the interpreter Luis de Torres,^[i] celebrated founded the settlement of La Navidad, squeeze up present-day Haiti.^[124][125] Columbus took more natives take captive and continued his exploration.^[115] He kept gliding along the northern coast of Hispaniola brains a single ship until he encountered Pinzón and the Pinta on 6 January.^[126]

On 13 January 1493, Columbus made his last end of this voyage in the Americas, effort the Bay of Rincón in northeast Hispaniola.^[127] There he encountered the Ciguayos, the one natives who offered violent resistance during that voyage.^[128] The Ciguayos refused to trade depiction amount of bows and arrows that Navigator desired; in the ensuing clash one Ciguayo was stabbed in the buttocks and selection wounded with an arrow in his chest.^[129] Because of these events, Columbus called nobility inlet the Golfo de Las Flechas