I. Christopher Columbus: Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451. He was inspired by merchants and mariners. As a teenager, he joined the crew of a merchant ship. In his twenties, he settled in Lisbon with his brother, making maps for a living. Later on, he married a woman whose father had connections with the captains on Henry the Navigator’s ship. The couple settled in Madeira as Columbus visited multiple trading posts on the west coast of Africa. During his sailing trips, Columbus read some books that stimulated his curiosity, such as Natural History, written by Pliny. He also had copies of Marco Polo and D’Ailly. One Major Influence in Columbus’ time was Paolo Dal Pozzo Toscanelli, who believed that the travel westward was only 1/3 of the Globe. He had a map made in Lisbon. When Columbus heard about that map, he asked for a copy, and began to plan a trip so he could prove the theoretical geography. A) Columbus Discovers America: Ever since Columbus started thinking about a voyage westward, he proposed it before the Portuguese court, that eventually refused the proposition explaining that such a voyage would be too long, not to mention too costly. Next, he tried the Spanish court. For several years the idea was rejected for the same reasons until finally, in 1492, Spain’s Isabella and Ferdinand approved this trip. First Expedition: On August 3 that year, he took off from the Spanish port of Paolos with three ships-the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria-, with almost 90 crew members. This trip, never attempted before, needed God on the side of the sailors aboard: Columbus himself, Amerigo Vespucci, and Verrazzano… After six days, he landed on the Canary Islands, where he rested his ships. Columbus sailed southwest, and... ... middle of paper ... ... and after sixty-four days of seamanship, the ships advanced onto to what’s today Cape San Rocco, on August 16, 1501, on the Brazilian coast. Vespucci described it as it was heaven on Earth. From August 1501, until June 1502, Amerigo had travelled the Southern Hemisphere and over 3300 miles. He then thought that all these lands he came across might just be a continent (terra ferma) not just a stream of islands. He got back to Lisbon, and landed in July 1502 with a triumphant expedition. Works Cited Vespucci was “introduced to lively Florentine cultural societies of the renaissance” (Masini, 1998, p. 5) Vespucci was “introduced to lively Florentine cultural societies of the renaissance” (Masini, 1998, p. 5) that the distance between Europe and the eastern shore of Asia was short, indeed, that Spain was closer to China westward than eastward” (Morgan, October 2009)
Gregorio Dati, Diary, in Gene Brucker (ed), Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence (Waveland Press, 1991) p. 107
He left from Spain with six ships, three to deliver supplies to the colonies in the New World, and three for the exploration to find a more direct route to Asia, which Columbus believed he would find. He sailed to the Canary islands, then west across the Atlantic. On this voyage, Columbus got stuck in the “horse latitudes”, areas where the wind is especially calm. During this time, the crews ran low on water. They reached land on the 31th of July, in present day Trinidad. The quantity of fresh water entering the ocean had Columbus conclude he was on a continent. He concluded that the “Garden of Eden” was on this new continent. In the next months, Columbus continued to explore the surrounding areas, looking for gold and the Garden of Eden. Columbus sailed to one of his previous settlements to find citizens there rebelling against the tyrannic rule he had established there. The exact date of his return to Europe was unknown, however in 1500, the Spanish crown stripped him of his Governor
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was a self-made man who worked his way up to being the Captain of a merchant vessel. He gained the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for an expedition to the Indies. With the support of the Spanish monarchy, he set off to find a new and faster trade route to the Indies. Upon the arrival of his first voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, a “royal official and an early supporter of his venture,” in February 1493 (35). The epistle, letter, entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” was copied and then distributed in Spain before being translated and spread throughout Europe. The Letter is held in such regard with the people as it is considered the first printed description of the new world. Through his description of the nature of the islands, Columbus decided the future fate of the islands. His description of the vast beauty of the nature around him, declares both the economic and nationalistic motivations for colonizing the new world.
Christopher Columbus was a famous navigator and explorer who was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Columbus wanted to claim land for Spain so he could be rich and spread religion. He originally set out to find the East Indies for many reasons. One was that he hoped to establish trade routes and colonies in order to gain wealth. Another was that there were now bigger guns that could be strapped on ships so he felt that his voyage had more of a chance of being successful. The main reasons for his exploration was that he wanted to find a western route to Asia to find the riches that Marco Polo talked about in his book. So basically he was not courageous, he was just greedy. He intended on arriving in Japan on his first voyage, but instead, he arrived at the Bahamas archipelago. He ended up making numerous voyages and claiming the lands he visited for the Spanish Empire. Columbus continued voyages creating the first lasting European conta...
In a much busier world (Spain), lived a very adventurous, religious, and loyal man named Christopher Columbus. Born in Genoa, Italy, Christopher Columbus was the son of a very skilled weaver. He was an expert sailor, thus earning the title of “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” for himself after his successful expeditions. He had a favorite ship, Santa Maria although he had two other ships (Nina and Pinta). Like most sailors of his time, he knew that the world was round. However, he assumed the world was smaller and he believed he could go on a successful expedition to Asia in search of wealth.
Christopher Columbus was a renaissance explorer in 1492. he was sent by queen Isabelle and king Ferdinand of Spain to look for a trade route to east Asia
In 1451, Christopher Columbus was born. He was born in a city called Genoa, which is now in present day Italy. Columbus’ father was a wool weaver, wool merchant, tavern keeper, and a political appointee. When he was growing up he was very limited with his education, but he still read a ton of books when he finished childhood. Columbus always had a passion for sailing for sailing even at a young age, he was always wondering about the world. During the 1490’s there was a lot going on at this time such as
Lemaitre, Alain J., and Erich Lessing. Florence and the renaissance: the quattrocento. paris: Terrail, 1993.
The story of Christopher Columbus begins in the city of Genoa in the year 1451. Columbus was the oldest of five children. He went to grammar school but left school at an early age and began sailing on Genoese ships in the Mediterranean. The sailing experience that Columbus gained sailing in the Mediterranean was the base for his sailing knowledge. Between 1476 and 1785, Columbus lived in Portugal. While in Portugal, Christopher Columbus expanded his knowledge of sailing and navigation. The time that Columbus spent in Portugal helped in his later voyages across the Atlantic.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator who sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in search for the all-water route to Asia, but instead achieved fame for making landfall in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus' plan was based in part on two major miscalculations. First, he underestimated the circumference of the world by about 25 per cent. Columbus also mistakenly believed that most of the world consisted of land rather than water. This mistake led him to conclude that Asia extended much farther east than it actually did. In 1492, Columbus embarked on his first voyage. Queen Isabella of Spain ordered that the port of Palos supply him with three ships the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria. A total of about 90 crew members sailed aboard the three ships. In addition to the officers and sailors, the expedition included a translator, three physicians, a servant for each captain, a secretary, and an accountant. On October 12, 1492, at 2:00 in the morning he spouted a small island, which he called San Salvador. In January, the Santa Maria was wrecked off the coast of Espanola. The Nina, with Columbus in command, along with the Pinta began the homeward voyage in January 1493. The storms drove the ships first to the Azores and then to Lisbon, Columbus arrived in Palos, Spain, in March. He was enthusiastically received by the Spanish Monarchs. Columbus planned immediately for a second expedition, with about 1500 men, which left Spain in September 1493. They landed on the island of Dominica, Gaudeloupe. His stop at Puerto Rico is the closest he came to setting foot on land that would later form part of the United States, the main foundation for the claim that Columbus “discovered America.”
In 1492 Columbus set out to find a shorter route to Asia by sailing west to get east.
Christopher Columbus was one of the most legendary sailors and explorers of all time. Christopher Columbus , an italian explorer, was born in the year of 1451 in the Republic of Genoa. Christopher Columbus was a teenager when he first set sail the ocean in 1465. He became a sailor in 1476 and started to travel many places before going on his largest voyage in 1480. In 1492, Christopher Columbus exploration to the New World linked Europe and the Americas. His discoveries enlightened the globe and started a new age of exploration. His standards and morals changed the history of the whole globe. He was known for traveling for all types of reasons for many foreign monarchs. But why would a monarch from one country be interested in employing an explorer from a foreign country to complete such an important task?
There were many routes that Europeans used to trade with Asia; the latest water route was discovered in 1488, by Bartolomeu Dias. He sailed around the southern tip of Africa (the Cape of Good Hope) to Asia. Also, during the time of Christopher Columbus, scholars had a good idea that the world was indeed round and not flat. Columbus thought that by traveling the Atlantic westward, he would find Asia. However, he had much trouble getting anyone to fund his expedition. He proposed his ideas to the crowns of England, and Portugal, and other countries, but no one would sponsor his voyage due to several reasons. One main reason was that Columbus proposed the Atlantic to be shorter than many scholars believed it to be. But once the new monarchs of Spain started to rule they decided to fund Columbus’ voyage, in thinking this would be a great way to spread Christianity, and increase their wealth. Columbus ended up with a business contract with the King and Queen of Spain, entitling him to 10% of all
As other famous explorers before him such as Sir John Mandeville and Marco Polo also made accounts of their travels, it is clear that Columbus was influenced by them in the way in which he wrote his accounts. One way in particular, is his use of the unknown as a “marvel” (Ferdman, SH 1994) either because he had been influenced by Mandeville and Polo to such an extent the he belived that it was the only style in which a travel account should be written; or because he lacked the words to describe the unknown, to be able to write about it in a way that was believable by the Europeens who would have had no prior experience with it, hence he felt the best way was to make it a marvel and something with which they could relate;or even it was Columbus's desired belief that the things he reported seeing there actually existed, due to his conversance with Polo and Mandevilles'
On the first trip on Aug. 3, 1492, Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa María, commanded by Columbus himself, the Pinta under Martín Pinzón, and the Niña under Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. After halting at the Canary Islands, he sailed due west from Sept. 6 until Oct. 7, when he changed his course to the southwest. On Oct. 10 a small mutiny was quelled, and on Oct. 12 he landed on a small island (Watling Island; or San Salvadort) in the Bahamas group. He took possession for Spain and, with impressed natives aboard, discovered other islands in the neighborhood. On Oct. 27 he sighted Cuba and on Dec. 5 reached Hispaniola. On Christmas Eve the Santa María was wrecked on the north coast of Hispaniola, and Columbus, leaving men there to found a colony, hurried back to Spain on the Niña. His reception was all he could wish; according to his contract with the Spanish sovereigns he was made “admiral of the ocean sea” and governor-general of all new lands he had discovered or should discover.