The Lord made me a messenger of a new heaven and a new earth,
he created, the very ones about which he wrote in the Apocalypse of St.
John … and there the Lord showed me the way.
- Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (born approximately August 26 and October 31, 1451 - death May 20, 1506) - Italian navigator who discovered America in 1492.
Columbus is an eternal quantity. Even schoolchildren in our time, who find it difficult to answer who Stalin is and why Lenin is lying on Red Square, can connect such a concept as Columbus and America. And some, perhaps, will be able to tell the sad story of his life - the life of a discoverer without discoveries, great, fearless, erring … For, as Jules Verne argued, if Columbus had not had these three qualities, he might not have dared to overcome the endless sea surface and go in search of lands previously mentioned only in myths and sagas.
Columbus's story is a never-ending story of mysteries. Everything is questioned - the date of his birth, his origin and the city where he was born. Seven Greek cities argued for the right to consider themselves the homeland of Homer. Columbus was more "lucky". At various times and in different places, 26 claimants (14 Italian cities and 12 nations) put forward such claims, having entered into a lawsuit with Genoa.
More than 40 years ago, Genoa seemed to have finally won this centuries-old process. But to this day, the voices of lawyers of false versions about the homeland and nationality of Columbus do not cease. Until 1571, no one doubted the origin of Columbus. He himself called himself a Genoese more than once. Ferdinando Colon was the first to question the Genoese origin of Columbus. He was guided by "noble" intentions to introduce noble ancestors into the genealogy of the great navigator. Genoa was not suitable for such experiments: this surname was not included in the lists of even plebeian families. Therefore, the author took the grandfathers of Columbus to the Italian city of Piacenza, where noble people from the local Columbian family lived in the XIV and XV centuries. The example of Ferdinand Colon inspired this kind of search for historians of the following centuries.
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Childhood. Adolescence. Youth
Christopher Columbus was born into the family of a weaver who simultaneously traded in cheese and wine. The financial situation of the family and the not entirely honest father of the navigator Domenico Colombo speaks of the embarrassment that occurred at the wedding of Cristoforo Bianchinetta's sister. The son-in-law, a cheese merchant, accused Domenico of not giving the dowry promised for his daughter. The notarial deeds of those times confirm that the situation of the family was in fact depressing. In particular, major disagreements with creditors arose over the house where they settled 4 years after the birth of Cristoforo.
Although Cristoforo spent his childhood at his father's loom, the boy's interests were directed in the other direction. The harbor made the greatest impression on the child, where people with different skin colors huddled and echoed, in burnuses, caftans, European dress, Christopher did not remain an outside observer for long. Already at the age of 14, he sailed as a cabin boy in Portofino, and later on to Corsica. In those days, the most common form of trade on the Ligurian coast was exchange in kind. Domenico Colombo also took part in it, and his son helped: he accompanied a small boat with Latin rigging, loaded with fabrics, to the nearby shopping centers, and from there he delivered cheese and wine.
In Lisbon, he met the girl Felipa Moniz da Perestrolelo and soon married her. For Christopher Columbus, this marriage was a happy lot. He entered a noble Portuguese house and became related with people who took the most direct part in the overseas campaigns organized by Prince Henry the Navigator and his successors.
Felipa's father in his youth was ranked among the retinue of Heinrich the Navigator. Columbus gained access to various documents that depicted the history of Portuguese voyages in the Atlantic. In the winter of 1476-1477, Columbus left his wife and went to England and Ireland, in 1478 he ended up in Madeira. Columbus completed his primary school of practical navigation in Porto Santo and Madeira, traveling to the Azores, and then completed a course in marine science on Guinean expeditions. In his leisure hours, he studied geography, mathematics, Latin, but only to the extent that it was necessary for his purely practical purposes. And more than once Columbus admitted that he was not very sophisticated in the sciences.
But the book by Marco Polo especially struck the imagination of the young sailor, which spoke about the golden-covered palaces of Sipangu (Japan), about the splendor and splendor of the court of the great khan, about the homeland of spices - India. Columbus had no doubt that the Earth had the shape of a ball, but it seemed to him that this ball was much smaller than in reality. This is why he believed that Japan was relatively close to the Azores.
Stay in Portugal
Columbus decided to make his way to India by the western route and in 1484 presented his plan to the king of Portugal. Columbus's plan was simple. It was based on two premises: one completely correct and one false. The first (true) one is that the Earth is a ball; and the second (false) - that most of the earth's surface is occupied by land - a single array of three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa; smaller - by sea, because of this, the distance between the western shores of Europe and the eastern tip of Asia is small, and in a short period of time it is possible, following the western route, to reach India, Japan and China - this corresponded to the geographical concepts of the Columbus era.
Columbus landing in America
The idea of the possibility of such a voyage was expressed by Aristotle and Seneca, Pliny the Elder, Strabo and Plutarch, and in the Middle Ages the theory of the One Ocean was consecrated by the church. It was recognized by the Arab world and its great geographers: Masudi, al-Biruni, Idrisi.
While living in Portugal, Columbus proposed his project to King João II. It happened at the end of 1483 or at the beginning of 1484. The time for the presentation of the project was not chosen very well. In 1483-1484, João II least of all thought about long-distance expeditions. The king put out the rebellions of the Portuguese magnates and dealt with the conspirators. He attached more importance to further discoveries in Africa, but was much less interested in Atlantic voyages in the western direction.
The history of the negotiations between Columbus and King João II is not entirely clear. It is known that Columbus asked for a great deal in return for his services. Too much. As much as before no mortal asked the crowned heads. He demanded the title of Chief Admiral of the Ocean and the rank of nobility, the position of viceroy of the newly discovered lands, a tenth of the income from these territories, an eighth of the profits from future trade with the new countries, and gold spurs.
All these conditions, except for the golden spurs, he subsequently included in his contract. King Juan never made a rash decision. He passed on Columbus's proposal to the "Mathematical Junta", a small academy in Lisbon, in which prominent scientists and mathematicians sat. It is not known exactly what decision the council made. At least, it was unfavorable - it happened in 1485. In the same year, Columbus's wife died, and his financial situation deteriorated sharply.
Stay in Spain
Summer 1485 - he decided to leave Portugal for Castile. Columbus took his seven-year-old son Diego with him and sent his brother Bartolomeo to England in the hope that he would be interested in the project of the western route of Henry VII. From Lisbon, Christopher Columbus went to Paloje, in the neighboring city of Huelva, to attach Diego's wife to relatives. Exhausted by long wanderings, with a small child in his arms, Columbus decided to ask for refuge in a monastery, near which forces finally left him.
So Columbus found himself in the monastery of Rabidu and, in a fit of revelation, poured out his soul to the abbot Antonio de Marchena - a powerful man at the Spanish court. Columbus's project delighted Antonio. He gave Columbus letters of recommendation to those close to the royal family - he had connections at court.
Inspired by a warm welcome at the monastery, Columbus went to Cordoba. There temporarily stayed the court of their highnesses (the Castilian and Aragonese kings bore the title of highnesses until 1519) - Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon.
However, in Spain, Cristobal Colon (as Columbus was called in Spain) was expected for many years of need, humiliation and disappointment. The royal advisers believed that Columbus's project was impossible.
In addition, all the forces and attention of the Spanish rulers were absorbed in the struggle against the remnant of Moorish rule in Spain - a small Moorish state in Grenada. Columbus was refused. Then he proposed his plan to England, and then again to Portugal, but nowhere he was taken seriously.
Only after the Spaniards took Grenada, Columba, after long troubles, was able to get three small ships in Spain for his journey.
First expedition (1492 - 1493)
With incredible difficulty, he managed to assemble a team, and, in the end, on August 3, 1492, a small squadron left the Spanish port of Paloje and went west to search for India.
The sea was calm and deserted, with a favorable wind blowing. So the ships sailed for more than a month. On September 15, Columbus and his companions saw a green streak in the distance. However, their joy soon gave way to grief. This was not the long-awaited land, so the Sargasso Sea began - a giant accumulation of algae. On September 18–20, the sailors saw flocks of birds flying west. "Finally," thought the sailors, "the land is close!" But this time too, the travelers were disappointed. The crew became worried. In order not to frighten people with the distance traveled, Columbus began to underestimate the distance traveled in the logbook.
On October 11 at 10 pm Columbus, eagerly peering into the darkness of the night, saw a light flickering in the distance, and on the morning of October 12, 1492 the sailor Rodrigo de Triana shouted: "Earth!" The sails were removed on the ships.
In front of the travelers was a small island overgrown with palm trees. Naked people ran along the beach along the sand. Columbus put on a scarlet dress on his armor and with the royal flag in his hands went down to the shore of the New World. It was Watling Island from the Bahamas. The natives called him Guanagani, and Columbus called him San Salvador. This is how America was discovered.
Routes of the expeditions of Christopher Columbus
True, Columbus until the end of his days was sure that he did not discover any "New World", but found only the way to India. And with his light hand, the natives of the New World began to be called Indians. The natives of the newly discovered island were tall, handsome people. They did not wear clothes, their bodies were colorful. Some of the natives had shiny sticks threaded through their noses, which delighted Columbus: it was gold! This means that the land of golden palaces - Sipangu was not far away.
In search of the golden Sipangu, Columbus left Guanagani and moved on, discovering island after island. Everywhere the Spaniards were amazed by the lush tropical vegetation, the beauty of the islands scattered in the blue ocean, the friendliness and gentleness of the natives, who gave the Spaniards gold, colorful birds and hammocks never before seen by the Spaniards for trinkets, molasses and pretty rags. Columbus reached Cuba on October 20.
The Cuban population was more cultured than the inhabitants of the Bahamas. In Cuba, Columbus found statues, large buildings, bales of cotton and for the first time saw cultivated plants - tobacco and potatoes, products of the New World, which later conquered the whole world. All this further strengthened Columbus' confidence that Sipangu and India were somewhere nearby.
1492, December 4 - Columbus discovered the island of Haiti (the Spaniards then called it Hispaniola). On this island, Columbus built the fort of La Navidad ("Christmas"), left 40 garrison there, and on January 16, 1493 headed for Europe on two ships: his largest ship, "Santa Maria", was wrecked on December 24.
On the way back, a terrible storm broke out, and the ships lost sight of each other. Only on February 18, 1493, the exhausted sailors saw the Azores, and on February 25 they reached Lisbon. On March 15, Columbus returned to the port of Paloye after an 8-month absence. Thus ended the first expedition of Christopher Columbus.
The traveler was received in Spain with delight. He was awarded a coat of arms depicting a map of the newly discovered islands and with the motto:
"For Castile and León, Colon opened the New World."
Second expedition (1493 - 1496)
A new expedition was quickly organized, and on September 25, 1493, Christopher Columbus set off on a second expedition. This time he led 17 ships. With him went 1,500 people, seduced by stories of easy money in the newly discovered lands.
On the morning of November 2, after a rather exhausting voyage, the sailors saw in the distance a high mountain. This was the island of Dominica. It was covered with forest, the wind brought spicy aromas from the shore. The next day, another mountainous island, Guadeloupe, was discovered. There the Spaniards, instead of the peaceful and affectionate inhabitants of the Bahamas, met the warlike and cruel cannibals, the Indians from the Caribbean tribe. A battle took place between the Spaniards and the Caribs.
Having discovered the island of Puerto Rico, Columbus sailed to Hispaniola on November 22, 1493. At night, the ships approached the place where the fort they had laid down on their maiden voyage stood.
Everything was quiet. There was not a single light on the shore. The arrivals fired a volley of bombardments, but only the echo rolled in the distance. In the morning, Columbus learned that the Spaniards, with their cruelty and greed, had so turned the Indians against themselves that one night they suddenly attacked the fortress and burned it down, killing the rapists. This is how America met Columbus on his second voyage!
Columbus' second expedition was unsuccessful: discoveries were minor; despite careful searches, little gold was found; in the newly built colony of Isabella, diseases were raging.
When Columbus set out in search of new lands (during this voyage he discovered the island of Jamaica), the Indians on Hispaniola, outraged by the oppression of the Spaniards, rebelled again. The Spaniards were able to suppress the uprising and brutally dealt with the rebels. Hundreds of them were enslaved, sent to Spain or forced to perform backbreaking work on plantations and mines.
1496, March 10 - Columbus set off on the return journey, and on June 11, 1496 his ships entered the harbor of Cadiz.
American writer Washington Irving described Columbus's return from the second expedition as follows:
“These unfortunates crawled out, exhausted by diseases in the colony and the grievous hardships of travel. Their yellow faces, in the expression of one old writer, were a parody of the gold that was the object of their aspirations, and all their stories about the New World were reduced to complaints of illness, poverty and disappointment."
Third expedition (1498 - 1500)
In Spain, Columbus was not only received very coldly, but also deprived of many privileges. Only after prolonged and humiliating efforts was he able in the summer of 1498 to equip ships for the third expedition.
Return of Christopher Columbus from the voyage
This time, Columbus and his crew had to endure prolonged calm and terrible heat. On July 31, the ships approached the large island of Trinidad, and soon Columbus faced a grassy shore.
Christopher Columbus mistook it for an island, in reality it was the mainland - South America. Even when Columbus got to the mouth of the Orinoco, he did not understand that there was a huge continent in front of him.
At that time on Hispaniola there was a tense situation: the colonists quarreled among themselves; relations with the natives were ruined; the Indians rebelled against the oppression, and the Spaniards sent them one punitive expedition after another.
The intrigues that had long been waged against Columbus at the Spanish court finally had their effect: in August 1500, a new government official, Babadilla, arrived on the island of Hispaniola. He demoted Columbus and, chaining him and his brother Bartolomeo in shackles, sent them to Spain.
The appearance of the famous traveler in shackles caused such indignation among the Spaniards that the government was forced to release him immediately. The shackles were removed, but the mortally insulted admiral did not part with them until the end of his days and ordered to put them in his coffin.
Almost all privileges were taken away from Columbus, and expeditions to America began to be equipped without his participation.
Fourth expedition (1502 - 1504)
Only in 1502 Columbus was able to go on four ships on his fourth and last expedition. This time, he walked along the coast of Central America, from Honduras to Panama. It was his most unfortunate journey. The travelers suffered all kinds of hardships, and in 1504 the admiral returned to Spain on one ship.
The end of Columbus's life was a struggle. The admiral began to dream about the rescue of Jerusalem and Mount Zion. At the end of November 1504, he sent a lengthy letter to the royal couple, in which he outlined his "crusading" credo.
The death of Columbus and the posthumous journey
Columbus was often ill.
“Exhausted by gout, grieving over the destruction of his property, tormented by other sorrows, he gave his soul with the king for the rights and privileges promised him. Before his death, he still considered himself the king of India and gave advice to the king on how best to rule overseas lands. He gave his soul to God on the day of the Ascension, May 20, 1506 in Valladolid, accepting the holy gifts with great humility."
The admiral was buried in the church of the Valladolid Franciscan monastery. And in 1507 or 1509, the admiral set off on his longest journey. It lasted 390 years. First, his ashes were transported to Seville. In the middle of the 16th century, his remains were taken from Seville to Santo Domingo (Haiti). Columbus's brother Bartolomeo, his son Diego and grandson Luis were also buried there.
1792 Spain ceded the eastern half of Hispaniola to France. The commander of the Spanish flotilla ordered the delivery of the admiral's ashes to Havana. The fourth funeral took place there. 1898 Spain lost Cuba. The Spanish government decided to move the admiral's ashes back to Seville. Now he rests in the Seville Cathedral.
What was Christopher Columbus looking for? What hopes drew him to the west? Columbus's treaty with Ferdinand and Isabella does not clarify this.
"Since you, Christopher Columbus, set out on our orders in our ships and with our subjects to discover and conquer certain islands and continents in the ocean … it is fair and reasonable … that you should be rewarded for it."
What islands? Which mainland? Columbus took his secret with him to his grave.
E. Avadyaeva