When was cristoforo colombo born

His father was a weaver and small-time merchant. As a teenager, Christopher went to sea, travelled extensively and eventually made Portugal his base. It was here that he initially attempted to gain royal patronage for a westward voyage to the Orient - his 'enterprise of the Indies'.

When this failed, and appeals to the French and English courts were also rejected, Columbus found himself in Spain, still struggling to win backing for his project. Ten weeks later, land was sighted. On 12 October, Columbus and a group of his men set foot on an island in what later became known as the Bahamas. Believing that they had reached the Indies, the newcomers dubbed the natives 'Indians'.

Initial encounters were friendly, but indigenous populations all over the New World were soon to be devastated by their contact with Europeans. Columbus landed on a number of other islands in the Caribbean, including Cuba and Hispaniola, and returned to Spain in triumph. In Columbus set sail from Palos in Spain with three ships. Two, the Nina and the Pinta were caravels — small ships with triangular sails.

The third, the Santa Maria , was a nao — a larger square-rigged ship. The ships were small, between 15 and 36 metres long. Between them they carried about 90 men. After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean for 10 weeks, land was sighted by a sailor called Rodrigo Bernajo although Columbus himself took the credit for this. He landed on a small island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador.

He claimed the island for the King and Queen of Spain, although it was already populated. This initial encounter opened up the 'New World' to European colonisation, which would come to have a devastating impact on indigenous populations. On Christmas Day , the Santa Maria hit a rock and was wrecked. Columbus transferred to the Nina and left behind the 39 crewmembers of the Santa Maria on the island of Hispaniola. He wanted them to start a new settlement.

Columbus reached Spain in March , and claimed his reward in riches. He was also given new titles. Columbus made three more journeys across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. He was sure that he had found Cipangu Japan , but it was actually Cuba. Conditions were so bad that Spanish authorities had to send a new governor to take over.

The admiral was welcomed with great honours and triumphant celebrations. Thanks to the new missions new islands and territories were discovered up to Panama, but dissatisfaction began to spread among the crew members and at the Spanish court, due to the fact that the immense promised treasure had not been found.

The good fortune of Cristoforo Colombo soon vanished, he was even arrested for a short period of time, before obtaining the permission to sail one last time. After the fourth travel he then decided to retire to private life in Valladolid, where he died in , essentially by accident. The heirs faced a long trial against the inland revenue in order to maintain the obtained privileges. Privacy Policy and Legal Notice.

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