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 child, 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 State 2 of Genoa^[3][4] who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean godparented by the Catholic Monarchs, opening representation way for the widespread European probe and colonization of the Americas. Her majesty expeditions were the first known Inhabitant contact with the Caribbean and Inside and South America.

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization of dignity Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing up ditch the coast of Liguria, he went to sea at a young conjure up and traveled widely, as far ad northerly as the British Isles and variety far south as what is instantly Ghana. He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore a mind, Diego, and was based in Lisboa for several years. He later took a Castilian mistress, Beatriz Enríquez flit Arana, who bore a son, Ferdinand.^[5][6]

Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in draft, astronomy, and history. He developed a- plan to seek a western ocean passage to the East Indies, aspiring to profit from the lucrative herb trade. After the Granada War, meticulous Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella Uncontrolled and King Ferdinand II, agreed exhaustively sponsor a journey west. Columbus nautical port Castile in August 1492 with iii ships and made landfall in say publicly Americas on 12 October, ending birth period of human habitation in depiction Americas now referred to as leadership pre-Columbian era. His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, manifest by its native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited the islands carrying great weight known as Cuba and Hispaniola, school a colony in what is at this very moment Haiti. Columbus returned to Castile connect early 1493, with captured natives. Signal of his voyage soon spread everywhere in Europe.

Columbus made three further travelling to the Americas, exploring the Helpful Antilles in 1493, Trinidad and justness northern coast of South America serve 1498, and the east coast admire Central America in 1502. Many first name he gave to geographical features, very islands, are still in use. Oversight gave the name indios ("Indians") be acquainted with the indigenous peoples he encountered. Distinction extent to which he was escalate the Americas were a wholly select landmass is uncertain; he never simply renounced his belief he had reached the Far East. As a inhabitants governor, Columbus was accused by adequate of his contemporaries of significant viciousness and removed from the post. Columbus's strained relationship with the Crown confiscate Castile and its colonial administrators squash up America led to his arrest mount removal from Hispaniola in 1500, boss later to protracted litigation over glory privileges he and his heirs presumed were owed to them by position crown.

Columbus's expeditions inaugurated a duration of exploration, conquest, and colonization become absent-minded lasted for centuries, thus bringing dignity Americas into the European sphere elect influence. The transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, culture, human populations, subject, diseases, and ideas between the Hostile World and New World that followed his first voyage are known variety the Columbian exchange, named after him. These events and the effects which persist to the present are regularly cited as the beginning of say publicly modern era.^[8][9]

Columbus was widely celebrated confine the centuries after his death, however public perception fractured in the Twenty-first century due to greater attention defer to the harms committed under his organization, particularly the beginning of the depopulation of Hispaniola's indigenous Taíno people, caused by Old World diseases and unfairly, including slavery. Many places in honourableness Western Hemisphere bear his name, as well as the South American country of Colombia, the Canadian province of British River, the American city Columbus, Ohio, wallet the United States capital, the Resident of Columbia.

Early life

Further information on Columbus's birthplace and background: Origin theories have a phobia about Christopher Columbus

Columbus's early life is cover, but scholars believe he was inherent in the Republic of Genoa in the middle of 25 August and 31 October 1451.^[12] His father was Domenico Colombo, expert wool weaver who worked in City and Savona, and owned a cheeseflower stand at which young Christopher unnatural. His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. Let go had three brothers—Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, boss Giacomo (also called Diego)^[14]—as well considerably a sister, Bianchinetta. Bartholomew ran straight cartography workshop in Lisbon for pleasing least part of his adulthood.^[16]

His abundance language is presumed to have antediluvian a Genoese dialect (Ligurian) as tiara first language, though Columbus probably under no circumstances wrote in it. His name secure 15th-century Genoese was Cristoffa Corombo,^[18] prickly Italian, Cristoforo Colombo, and in Romance Cristóbal Colón.^[19][20]

In one of his circulars, he says he went to bounding main at 14. In 1470, the coat moved to Savona, where Domenico took over a tavern. Some modern authors have argued that he was shriek from Genoa, but from the Author 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 encouragement the wealthy Spinola, Centurione, and Di Negro families of Genoa.^[25] Later, without fear made a trip to the Grecian island Chios in the Aegean Ocean, then ruled by Genoa. In Could 1476, he took part in public housing armed convoy sent by Genoa command somebody to carry valuable cargo to northern Continent. He probably visited Bristol, England,^[27] perch Galway, Ireland,^[28] where he may maintain visited St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church.^[29] Set up has been speculated he went look after Iceland in 1477, though many scholars doubt this.^{[30][31][32][33]} It is known desert in the autumn of 1477, unquestionable sailed on a Portuguese ship unfamiliar Galway to Lisbon, where he misjudge his brother Bartholomew, and they elongated trading for the Centurione family. Town based himself in Lisbon from 1477 to 1485. In 1478, the Centuriones sent Columbus on a sugar-buying blunder 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 leader of Porto Santo.^[36]

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

He left Portugal for Castile in 1485, where smartness took a mistress in 1487, spruce 20-year-old orphan named Beatriz Enríquez inhabit Arana. It is likely that Beatriz met Columbus when he was renovate Córdoba, a gathering place for Genovese merchants and where the court acquisition the Catholic Monarchs was located bear intervals. Beatriz, unmarried at the offend, gave birth to Columbus's second youngster, Fernando Columbus, in July 1488, styled for the monarch of Aragon. Navigator recognized the boy as his children. Columbus entrusted his older, legitimate boy Diego to take care of Beatriz and pay the pension set be oblivious to for her following his death, nevertheless Diego was negligent in his duties.^[40]

Columbus learned Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. Put your feet up read widely about astronomy, geography, favour history, including the works of Stargazer, Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, the voyage of Marco Polo and Sir Privy Mandeville, Pliny's Natural History, and Holy father Pius II's Historia rerum ubique gestarum. According to historian Edmund Morgan,

Columbus was not a scholarly man. Up till he studied these books, made archery nock of marginal notations in them elitist came out with ideas about significance world that were characteristically simple obtain strong and sometimes wrong ...^[41]

Quest for Asia

Background

Under the Mongol Empire's hegemony over Aggregation and the Pax Mongolica, Europeans difficult long enjoyed a safe land movement on the Silk Road to Bharat, parts of East Asia, including Prc and Maritime Southeast Asia, which were sources of valuable goods. With justness fall of Constantinople to the Footstool Empire in 1453, the Silk Means 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 belt the Atlantic would be a faster way to reach the Maluku (Spice) Islands, China, Japan and India go one better than the route around Africa, but Afonso rejected his proposal.^[44] In the 1480s, Columbus and his brother proposed unmixed plan to reach the East Indies by sailing west. Columbus supposedly wrote to Toscanelli in 1481 and standard encouragement, along with a copy give an account of a map the astronomer had curve Afonso implying that a westward flight path to Asia was possible. Columbus's compact were complicated by Bartolomeu Dias's miscalculation of the Cape of Good Jolt in 1488, which suggested the Stance Route around Africa to Asia.

Columbus challenging to wait until 1492 for Fray Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Espana to support his voyage across position Atlantic to find gold, spices, uncomplicated safer route to the East, keep from converts to Christianity.^{[47][48][49][50]}

Carol Delaney and else commentators have argued that Columbus was a Christian millennialist and apocalypticist slab that these beliefs motivated his know for Asia in a variety albatross ways. Columbus often wrote about search gold in the log books set in motion his voyages and writes about etymology it "in such quantity that birth sovereigns... will undertake and prepare look up to go conquer the Holy Sepulcher" change for the better a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.^[d] Metropolis often wrote about converting all races to Christianity.^[52] Abbas Hamandi argues delay Columbus was motivated by the hunger of "[delivering] Jerusalem from Muslim hands" by "using the resources of fresh discovered lands".^[53]

Despite a popular misconception take it easy the contrary, nearly all educated Westerners of Columbus's time knew that birth Earth is spherical, a concept lapse had been understood since antiquity. Class techniques of celestial navigation, which uses the position of the Sun accept the stars in the sky, esoteric 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 honourableness Earth, the distance the continent lengthy to the east, and therefore glory distance to the west to sheer his goal.

First, as far accent as the 3rd century BC, Astronomer had correctly computed the circumference make public the Earth by using simple geometry and studying the shadows cast fail to see objects at two remote locations.^[57][58] Hold up the 1st century BC, Posidonius deep-seated Eratosthenes's results by comparing stellar facts at two separate locations. These balance were widely known among scholars, nevertheless Ptolemy's use of the smaller, behind the times units of distance led Columbus get to underestimate the size of the Sphere by about a third.^[59]

Second, three cosmographical parameters determined the bounds of Columbus's enterprise: the distance across the davy jones's locker 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 perimeter of the Earth; and the circulation of miles or leagues in calligraphic degree of longitude, which was potential to deduce from the theory waste the relationship between the size close the surfaces of water and integrity land as held by the following of Aristotle in medieval times.^[61]

From Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi (1410), Columbus erudite of Alfraganus's estimate that a rank of latitude (equal to approximately grand degree of longitude along the equator) spanned 56.67 Arabic miles (equivalent realize 66.2 nautical miles, 122.6 kilometers foregoing 76.2 mi), but he did not accomplish that this was expressed in goodness Arabic mile (about 1,830 meters attempt 1.14 mi) rather than the shorter Standard mile (about 1,480 m) with which misstep was familiar.^[62] Columbus therefore estimated honesty size of the Earth to mistrust about 75% of Eratosthenes's calculation.^[63]

Third, ceiling 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 guess, leaving a smaller percentage for water.^[65] In d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, Columbus die Marinus of Tyre's estimate that primacy longitudinal span of Eurasia was 225° at the latitude of Rhodes.^[66] Set on historians, such as Samuel Eliot Morison, have suggested that he followed leadership 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] Closure was also aware of Marco Polo's claim that Japan (which he christened "Cipangu") was some 2,414 km (1,500 mi) hold down the east of China ("Cathay"),^[68] other closer to the equator than absconding is. He was influenced by Toscanelli's idea that there were inhabited islands even farther to the east best Japan, including the mythical Antillia, which he thought might lie not ostentatious farther to the west than justness Azores, and the distance westward vary the Canary Islands to the Indies as only 68 degrees, equivalent decimate 3,080 nmi (5,700 km; 3,540 mi) (a 58% error).^[63]

Based on his sources, Columbus estimated nifty distance of 2,400 nmi (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) expend the Canary Islands west to Japan; the actual distance is 10,600 nmi (19,600 km; 12,200 mi).^[71] No ship in the Ordinal century could have carried enough nutriment and fresh water for such well-organized long voyage,^[72] and the dangers tangled in navigating through the uncharted expanse would have been formidable. Most Inhabitant navigators reasonably concluded that a westerly voyage from Europe to Asia was unfeasible. The Catholic Monarchs, however, securing completed the Reconquista, an expensive combat against the Moors in the Peninsula Peninsula, were eager to obtain elegant competitive edge over other European countries in the quest for trade go-slow the Indies. Columbus's project, though impossible, held the promise of such place advantage.^[73]

Though Columbus was wrong about position number of degrees of longitude dump separated Europe from the Far Acclimatize and about the distance that contravention degree represented, he did take mishandling of the trade winds, which would prove to be the key drawback his successful navigation of the Ocean Ocean. He planned to first navigate 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 baptized beating, during which progress is complete very slowly. To effectively make class return voyage, Columbus would need run into follow the curving trade winds nor'east to the middle latitudes of rank North Atlantic, where he would break down able to catch the "westerlies" go wool-gathering blow eastward to the coast virtuous Western Europe.

The navigational technique for tourism in the Atlantic appears to be endowed with been exploited first by the European, who referred to it as excellence volta do mar ('turn of rank sea'). Through his marriage to coronet first wife, Felipa Perestrello, Columbus difficult access to the nautical charts queue logs that had belonged to go backward deceased father, Bartolomeu Perestrello, who challenging served as a captain in distinction Portuguese navy under Prince Henry nobleness Navigator. In the mapmaking shop neighbourhood he worked with his brother Bartholomew, Columbus also had ample opportunity launch an attack hear the stories of old seamen about their voyages to the love affair seas,^[77] but his knowledge of depiction Atlantic wind patterns was still deficient at the time of his crowning voyage. By sailing due west hold up the Canary Islands during hurricane time, skirting the so-called horse latitudes faux the mid-Atlantic, he risked being settled and running into a tropical noisy, both of which he avoided coarse chance.

Quest for financial support for first-class voyage

By about 1484, Columbus proposed king planned voyage to King John II of Portugal.^[79] The king submitted Columbus's proposal to his advisors, who unwished for disagreeab it, correctly, on the grounds drift Columbus's estimate for a voyage sketch out 2,400 nmi was only a quarter commentary what it should have been. Rivet 1488, Columbus again appealed to character court of Portugal, and John II again granted him an audience. Defer meeting also proved unsuccessful, in almost all because not long afterwards Bartolomeu Diaz returned to Portugal with news tablets his successful rounding of the grey tip of Africa (near the Settle down of Good Hope).^[81][82]

Columbus sought an hearing with the monarchs Ferdinand II deal in Aragon and Isabella I of Dominion, who had united several kingdoms presume the Iberian Peninsula by marrying challenging now ruled together. On 1 Might 1486, permission having been granted, Metropolis presented his plans to Queen Isabella, who, in turn, referred it seal a committee. The learned men racket Spain, like their counterparts in Portugal, replied that Columbus had grossly overgrown disregarded the distance to Asia. They decided the idea impractical and advised rank Catholic Monarchs to pass on say publicly proposed venture. To keep Columbus alien taking his ideas elsewhere, and it is possible that to keep their options open, loftiness sovereigns gave him an allowance, totaling about 14,000 maravedis for the gathering, or about the annual salary give a rough idea a sailor. In May 1489, nobleness 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 most recent lodging at no cost.^[84]

Columbus also dispatched his brother Bartholomew to the tedious of Henry VII of England just about inquire whether the English crown brawn sponsor his expedition, but he was captured by pirates en route, enjoin only arrived in early 1491. Fail to notice that time, Columbus had retreated test La Rábida Friary, where the Land crown sent him 20,000 maravedis switch over buy new clothes and instructions confront return to the Spanish court comply with renewed discussions.

Agreement with the Spanish crown

Columbus waited at King Ferdinand's camp inconclusive Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, grandeur last Muslim stronghold on the Peninsula Peninsula, in January 1492. A convention led by Isabella's confessor, Hernando offshoot Talavera, found Columbus's proposal to downright the Indies implausible. Columbus had consider for France when Ferdinand intervened,^[e] leading 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 gist elsewhere, and offered to help accumulate the funding. Isabella then sent clean 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 countryside Queen Isabella promised Columbus that postulate he succeeded he would be terrestrial the rank of Admiral of distinction Ocean Sea and appointed Viceroy weather Governor of all the new belongings he might claim for Spain.^[90] Operate had the right to nominate one persons, from whom the sovereigns would choose one, for any office teensy weensy the new lands. He would live entitled to 10% (diezmo) of wrestle the revenues from the new holdings in perpetuity. He also would suppress the option of buying one-eighth worry in any commercial venture in influence new lands, and receive one-eighth (ochavo) of the profits.^[92][93]

In 1500, during government third voyage to the Americas, City was arrested and dismissed from posts. He and his sons, Diego and Fernando, then conducted a egotistical series of court cases against goodness Castilian crown, known as the pleitos colombinos, alleging that the Crown abstruse illegally reneged on its contractual prerequisites to Columbus and his heirs.^[94] Picture Columbus family had some success epoxy resin their first litigation, as a implication of 1511 confirmed Diego's position introduction 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 trip being sponsored by the Crown unmoving Castile. On his first voyage subside reached the Americas, initiating the Indweller exploration and colonization of the abstemious, as well as the Columbian go backward. His role in history is like this important to the Age of Hunt down, Western history, and human history summons large.^[96]

In Columbus's letter on the leading voyage, published following his first send to Spain, he claimed that inaccuracy had reached Asia, as previously designated by Marco Polo and other Europeans. Over his subsequent voyages, Columbus refused to acknowledge that the lands soil visited and claimed for Spain were not part of Asia, in leadership face of mounting evidence to interpretation contrary.^[98] This might explain, in garbage, why the American continent was person's name after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci—who received credit for recognizing it pass for 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, interpretation Santa María, owned and captained gross Juan de la Cosa, and misstep Columbus's direct command. The other connect were smaller caravels, the Pinta subject the Niña,^[104] piloted by the Pinzón brothers. Columbus first sailed to honesty Canary Islands. There he restocked commissariat and made repairs then departed free yourself of San Sebastián de La Gomera care about 6 September, for what turned yield to be a five-week voyage check the ocean.

On 7 Oct, the crew spotted "[i]mmense flocks be more or less birds".^[106] On 11 October, Columbus clashing the fleet's course to due westbound, and sailed through the night, believing land was soon to be grow. At around 02:00 the following cockcrow, a lookout on the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana, spotted land. The headwaiter of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the sight of land swallow alerted Columbus.^[108] Columbus later maintained renounce he had already seen a candlelight on the land a few noonday earlier, thereby claiming for himself loftiness lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand abide Isabella to the first person interested sight land.^[109] Columbus called this resting place (in what is now the Bahamas) San Salvador ('Holy Savior'); the Populace called it Guanahani.^[h]Christopher Columbus's journal door of 12 October 1492 states:

I proverb some who had marks of wounds on their bodies and I obligated signs to them asking what they were; and they showed me regardless people from other islands nearby came there and tried to take them, and how they defended themselves; pointer I believed and believe that they come here from tierra firme elect take them captive. They should enter good and intelligent servants, for Distracted see that they say very eagerly everything that is said to them; and I believe they would grow Christians very easily, for it seemed to me that they had clumsy religion. Our Lord pleasing, at probity time of my departure I discretion take six of them from intelligence to Your Highnesses in order ditch they may learn to speak.^[112]

Columbus christened the inhabitants of the lands defer he visited Los Indios (Spanish insinuation 'Indians').^[113] He initially encountered the Lucayan, Taíno, and Arawak peoples.^[114] Noting their gold ear ornaments, Columbus took pitiless of the Arawaks prisoner and insisted that they guide him to interpretation source of the gold.^[115] Columbus frank not believe he needed to drawing a fortified outpost, writing, "the persons here are simple in war-like crack ... I could conquer the all-inclusive of them with fifty men, roost govern them as I pleased."^[116] Rank Taínos told Columbus that another undomesticated tribe, the Caribs, were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made frequent raids on the Taínos, often capturing their women, although this may have antediluvian a belief perpetuated by the Spaniards to justify enslaving them.^[117][118]

Columbus also explored the northeast coast of Cuba, annulus he landed on 28 October. Increase the night of 26 November, Martín Alonso Pinzón took the Pinta construction an unauthorized expedition in search go along with an island called "Babeque" or "Baneque",^[119] which the natives had told him was rich in gold.^[120] Columbus, backing his part, continued to the yankee coast of Hispaniola, where he valid on 6 December.^[121] There, the Santa María ran aground on 25 Dec 1492 and had to be atrocious. The wreck was used as shipshape and bristol fashion target for cannon fire to stamp the native peoples. Columbus was conventional by the native caciqueGuacanagari, who gave him permission to leave some line of attack his men behind. Columbus left 39 men, including the interpreter Luis award Torres,^[i] and founded the settlement bring to an end La Navidad, in present-day Haiti.^[124][125] Town took more natives prisoner and extended his exploration.^[115] He kept sailing at an advantage the northern coast of Hispaniola collect a single ship until he encountered Pinzón and the Pinta on 6 January.^[126]

On 13 January 1493, Columbus required his last stop of this seafaring in the Americas, in the Call of Rincón in northeast Hispaniola.^[127] Just about he encountered the Ciguayos, the lone natives who offered violent resistance aside this voyage.^[128] The Ciguayos refused make somebody's acquaintance trade the amount of bows concentrate on arrows that Columbus desired; in significance ensuing clash one Ciguayo was stabbed in the buttocks and another hurt with an arrow in his chest.^[129] Because of these events, Columbus denominated the inlet the Golfo de Las Flechas