Christopher Columbus' History of Genocide

2512 Words6 Pages

Much of Christopher Columbus’s early life is of a mystery. Even his nationality was a point of debate for many years. He has been claimed by the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Norwegians, and Jews (Hurst 1) but many historians have now agreed that he was born of Italian origin. Columbus was born in 1451, in Genoa Italy, to a family of weavers. Genoa was a major mercantile center like its counterpart, Venice. Going by the motto “In the name of God and Profit”, Genoa hosted profitable trade lines to the Near East that were cutoff when the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453 (Hurst 2)”. Columbus would have been exposed to the religious calamity firsthand at an early age leading to him leaving his place of birth. He is said to have been introduced to the sailing life when he was 14 years of age when “he left his home to become a ship’s mate on a Portuguese fleet to Africa (Hurst 1).” While with the fleet, that is where he would have been exposed to many of the things that years later shaped his own expedition. He sailed north from Africa, to “England, Ireland, and even Iceland when he was 25 years of age (Hurst 2).” In Africa, he would have learned of the gold and slave trade and even catch glimpses of the New World from shipmates. As a southern European, Columbus probably wouldn’t have known about the Viking’s explorations to what is now Newfoundland seeing as it occurred 500 years prior to Columbus’s time and had faded to mere Norse myth. It is said that “by not staying in the New World, or at least broadcasting their findings more widely, the Vikings forfeited the historical credit many think is their due” but that is all subjective (Hurst). But on the other hand, Columbus would have heard of mysterious stories about ... ... middle of paper ... ... found in knowing that Christopher Columbus’s life ended in misery and failure. Works Cited "Columbus' Letter to the King and Queen of Spain (1494)." n.pag. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 19 Aug 2013.Holmgren, Virginia C. "The Unheralded Story of Columbus." Sea Frontiers. Feb. 1992: 34-41. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Aug 2013. Hurst, Lynda. "The First Immigrant." Toronto Star (Toronto, Canada). Oct. 12 1991: D1+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Aug 2013 Montague, Peter. "Celebrating Columbus Day." Ecologist. Dec. 1999: 468-470. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Aug 2013. Toolis, Kevin. "Saint or Sinner?" European (London, England). March 29-31 1991: 9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Aug 2013. West, Delno C. and Kling Augus. The Libro de las Profecias of Christopher Columbus. Gainecville: University of Florida Press,1991. Print

Open Document