August 26, 1451 – May 20, 1506 (54 years old)
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Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) was a Spanish navigator who discovered America and nearby islands. The first of the travelers to cross the Atlantic Ocean. He made four expeditions in vain attempts to find a western, shorter route to India. A country in South America, Colombia, is named after him.
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Olga Viktorovna Syrovatskaya.
Experience as a geography teacher - 35 years.
Youth. First voyages
Christopher Columbus was born between August 26 and October 31, 1451 on the island of Corsica in the Republic of Genoa. The future discoverer received his education at the University of Pavia.
A brief biography of Columbus does not preserve exact evidence of his first voyages, but it is known that in the 1470s he carried out sea expeditions for trading purposes. Even then, Columbus had the idea of traveling to India through the west. The navigator many times appealed to the rulers of European countries with a request to help him organize an expedition to King João II, Duke of Medina Seli, King Henry VII and others. It was not until 1492 that Columbus's voyage was approved by the Spanish rulers, most notably Queen Isabella. He was given the title of “don” and was promised rewards if the project was successful.
Essay: Christopher Columbus. Discovery of America
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Abstract on the discipline Geography
Completed by: student of group BDA-2 Aleschik Andrey
Grodno State Polytechnic College
2007/2008 academic year G.
Great navigator.
Columbus, Christopher (Colon, Cristobal; Cristoforo Colombo) (1451–1506), the great Spanish navigator of Italian origin, who led four transatlantic expeditions to America.
Early years in Genoa and Portugal. Columbus was born in the Italian Republic of Genoa, in the port city itself or in its environs. Despite the presence of a significant number of documents, many facts of Columbus's biography are difficult to accurately establish. Columbus used the Portuguese version of his name, Cristóvão Colón, while living in Portugal, and the Spanish version, Cristóbal Colón, after moving to Spain in 1485.
The navigator's grandfather, Giovanni Colombo, moved to Genoa from a mountain village located east of this city. Columbus's father, Domenico, born around 1418, married Susanna Fontanarossa and, to support his family, worked as a weaver, wool merchant, innkeeper and even acted as a politician. Christopher had three younger brothers (Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino and Giacomo) and a younger sister (Bianchinetta). Bartolomeo and Giacomo took part in Columbus's expeditions to the New World after 1492 and were named in the Spanish manner - Bartolome and Diego.
Judging by the letters, Columbus became a sailor at an unusually early age and sailed the Mediterranean Sea on merchant ships as far east as the island of Chios, which then belonged to Genoa. He may have been a merchant and commanded a ship on at least one occasion. In the mid-1470s, Columbus settled in Portugal and joined a small colony of Italian merchants in Lisbon. Flying the Portuguese flag, merchant or naval, he sailed north to England and Ireland, and possibly Iceland. He also visited Madeira and the Canary Islands and walked along the western coast of Africa to the Portuguese trading post of Sao Jorge da Mina (modern Ghana).
In Portugal, Columbus married, becoming a member of a mixed Italian-Portuguese family whose Italian ancestors settled in this country in the late 14th century. and reached a high position there. The youngest member of this family, Bartolomeu Perestrelu, was taken to the royal palace as a comrade of Princes John and Henry (Henry the Navigator). Bartolomeu was widowed early and inherited the rank of captain on the island of Porto Santo near Madeira. This gave him a good income, but he never acquired much wealth. Bartolomeu's second wife, Isabel Moniz, belonged to a family of noble landowners, their estates were located in the south of Portugal and the island of Madeira. They had a daughter, Felipa Moniz (full name Felipa Perestrelu e Moniz), whom Columbus married in 1478 or 1479. Isabel Moniz gave her son-in-law maps and documents kept by her husband, who died in 1457. Perhaps from them Columbus drew extensive information on geography.
Travel plan to India.
For many centuries, the attention of European merchants was attracted by such profitable Asian goods as spices. Nevertheless, at the end of the 15th century. traders from Europe were still unable to penetrate Asian countries by land and were forced to purchase Asian goods from Arab merchants in Alexandria or other ports. Therefore, Europeans became interested in finding a sea route to Asia, which would allow them to purchase Asian goods without intermediaries. In the 1480s, the Portuguese tried to circumnavigate Africa to reach India across the Indian Ocean. Columbus suggested that Asia could be reached by moving west. Probably, Columbus's ideas about the world and the western route to Asia developed gradually. His assumptions were based on the discovery of islands in the Atlantic (Canary, Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira), on rumors about other islands, various finds, as well as on reading numerous scientific books on geography, including the Picture of the World (Imago mundi) by the French theologian Pierre d' Ayia and Geography of the Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy.
Columbus's theory was based on two misconceptions: first, that the Asian continent extends to the east about 30° further than it actually does, and second, that Japan is located 2,400 km east of this continent. Columbus also incorrectly determined the circumference of the Earth. Although it divided the globe into 360°, the estimate of its circumference at the equator was an underestimation. Columbus believed that the Canary Islands were approximately 4,440 km from Japan, when in fact this distance was 19,615 km. Similar misconceptions were shared by other educated men of the era, including the Florentine humanist and geographer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, with whom Columbus may have corresponded.
Around 1483, Columbus tried to interest the Portuguese King João II with his plan for an expedition to Asia by the western route. A commission of scientists was convened to evaluate the project. Then, for unknown reasons, the king refused Columbus. Perhaps Portuguese experts doubted his estimates of the size of the globe and the distance between Europe and Asia. It should be noted that at the same time, John II had already sent an expedition to search for a sea route to India around Africa. It is possible that Columbus demanded too much for himself personally. Subsequently, the king found sailors willing to go west at their own expense, without demanding royal subsidies or large benefits. However, one way or another, Columbus’s project did not receive approval in Portugal.
Spain supports Columbus. In 1485 Columbus left Portugal to try his luck in Spain. Early in 1486, while the court was in Alcala de Henares, Columbus was introduced to the royal court and received an audience with the king and queen. Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband King Ferdinand of Aragon showed interest in Columbus's project. The royal couple appointed a commission led by Talavera to determine the feasibility of traveling to the west. The commission issued an unfavorable conclusion, but the king and queen encouraged Columbus, assuring him that they could support him after the end of the long war to liberate Granada from the Moors.
While waiting for the end of the war for Granada, Columbus met a young woman from Cordoba, Beatriz Enriquez de Arana. Although they never married, their son Hernando (also known as Fernando) was born in 1488. Hernando accompanied Columbus on his fourth voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and later wrote a biography of his father - still one of the most important sources of information about Columbus's life.
In January 1492, during the siege of Granada, Queen Isabella invited Columbus to court. After lengthy negotiations and arguments among the courtiers, the royal couple realized that supporting Columbus was worth the small financial risk, and overruled the objections of their advisors. The monarchs agreed to subsidize the expedition and promised to award Columbus the title of nobility and the titles of admiral, viceroy and governor general of all the islands and continents that he would discover. The position of admiral gave Columbus the right to rule in disputes arising in matters of trade, the position of viceroy made him the personal representative of the monarch, and the position of governor general provided him with the highest civil and military authority.
Map showing Columbus's proposed route
First expedition, 1492–1493.
Since sailors from Palos de la Fontera violated royal law by engaging in illegal trade in African waters, the monarchs decided that this city would provide two ships for Columbus's expedition. These were two caravels named "Pinta" and "Nina". In addition, Columbus chartered a four-masted sailing ship (NAO), called the Santa Maria. All three ships were small in size and were typical merchant ships of the era. The Santa Maria was 5.8 m wide and 18.3 m long, and the other ships were even smaller. Columbus had difficulty recruiting men for his crew because the sailors feared they would not find land and would not be able to return home. Finally, with the help of the famous sailor Martin Alonso Pinzon, Columbus assembled a crew of 90 people. The monthly salary for the crew was 2,000 maravedis for captains and pilots, 1,000 for sailors and 666 for cabin boys.
Three ships left Palos early in the morning of August 3, 1492. The small flotilla first headed for the Canary Islands, where Columbus decided to wait for a fair wind. After repairing the ships and replenishing provisions, the flotilla left the island. Gomera in the Canary Archipelago on September 6, 1492, heading west. Columbus and other pilots used a navigation system based on taking into account the direction, time and speed of movement when plotting the course of the ship and establishing its location. They determined the direction by compass, the time by an hourglass that marked every half hour, and the speed by eye. Columbus kept two distance calculation systems in his logbook, one for himself and one for his crew. Contrary to legend, he did not try to deceive the team. On the contrary, he probably calculated the course first in the measures he learned in Italy and Portugal, and then translated these figures into the measures adopted by the Spanish navigators.
The voyage proceeded smoothly with favorable winds and almost no complaints from the crew. On October 12, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Juan Rodriguez Bermejo, the watchman on the Pinta, saw a light ahead. And at dawn, the ships anchored off an island in the archipelago of the Bahamas, which the local tribe called Guanahani, and Columbus renamed it San Salvador. Although there is still debate about the first landing site, most likely it was a modern island. San Salvador. Assuming that he was in Asia, Columbus called the aborigines Indians.
With the help of guides from the Taino tribe, the flotilla continued to sail in the waters of the Bahamian archipelago and visited Cuba. All this time, Columbus searched in vain for the rich ports of Asia. Pinzón left Cuba without Columbus's permission and went on the Pinta in search of other lands in order to establish trade with the natives. Columbus, on the two remaining ships, sailed to the island, which he called Hispaniola (translated as “Spanish island”, now the island of Haiti), and explored its northern coast. Early in the morning on Christmas Day, due to the fault of a young sailor on watch, the Santa Maria ran aground and crashed. On the only ship, the Niña, Columbus reached the shore and founded the first settlement of Navidad (Spanish for “Christmas town”), in which he left 39 people. On January 4, 1493, he prepared to return to Spain on the Niña and sailed east along the northern coast of Hispaniola. Pinson soon joined him, and on January 16, “Ninya” and “Pinta” set off on their return journey. Columbus took with him seven captive Indians as proof that he had reached a part of the world previously unknown to Europeans.
Through trial and error, Columbus caught a fair wind, which drove his ships home. When approaching the Azores Islands, a storm drove the ships in different directions. On February 15, Columbus on the Niña reached Santa Maria, from where nine days later he continued his journey to Spain. During the next storm, most of the sails on the Niña were torn, and the ship and crew were in danger of death. On March 4, they reached the coast of Portugal north of Lisbon and stopped there to rest and repair the ship. Columbus paid a courtesy call to King John II and sailed to Spain on March 13. Two days later the Niña arrived in Palos. Martin Alonso Pinzon on the Pinta appeared in this port on the same day a little later than Columbus.
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand gave Columbus a warm welcome. In addition to the previously promised privileges, they gave him permission for a second, more extensive expedition. Columbus assured them that the rich Asian continent was close to the islands he had discovered, where he wanted to establish a colony.
Second expedition, 1493–1496.
Ferdinand and Isabella furthered Columbus's plans by providing him with ships and men to send to Hispaniola. The Queen ordered the conversion of the Aborigines to the Christian faith. Columbus easily found 1,200 people who agreed to go with him as future settlers. A flotilla of 17 ships set off from Cadiz on September 25, 1493 and reached the Canary Islands on October 2, and ten days later set sail on the Atlantic. On November 3, they landed on an island in the Caribbean, which Columbus named Dominica. From there he sailed along the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands, passing Puerto Rico, to Hispaniola.
To the great surprise of those who arrived, it turned out that all 39 people left in Navidad in January had died, mainly as a result of skirmishes with the natives. Despite this, Columbus founded a new settlement, naming it La Isabela in honor of the Queen of Spain. Unfortunately, the place for the settlement was poorly chosen: there was no fresh water nearby, and because of this it was subsequently abandoned. In addition to searching for gold and determining the location of the ports of the “Great Khanate of China,” Columbus was engaged in the slave trade. He and his men, armed with arquebuses, along with horses (first brought to America during this journey) and war dogs, marched through Hispaniola, bartering for gold, and if they met resistance, they took the gold by force and captured prisoners.
Leaving his brother Diego to rule Hispaniola, in the spring of 1494 Columbus undertook an expedition along the southern coast of Cuba. He believed that Cuba was part of the Asian continent, and even forced the crew members to sign a document in which he assured his crowned patrons that he had indeed found Asia.
During Columbus's absence, a small fleet under the command of Bartolome Columbus arrived on Hispaniola and found the colony in a state of chaos. Disappointed colonists returned to Spain and characterized Columbus and his brothers as unfit administrators. Distressed by these reports, the Spanish monarchs sent Juan Aguado for inspection, who at the end of 1495 confirmed their worst fears: the mortality rate among the Indians was too high, mainly due to the policies of the colonists (in 1508 it was estimated that the local population had declined over the previous 16 years from 250 thousand to 60 thousand people). In addition, due to disease and desertion, the number of Europeans was greatly reduced. Many simply left the colony and sailed on ships to Spain. Columbus set sail for Spain on March 10, 1496, leaving his brother Bartolomé in Hispaniola in his place. His tiny flotilla consisted of two ships - the Niña and the India, which took part in the first expedition, built on Hispaniola from the remains of two caravels. Columbus arrived in Cadiz on June 11, 1496.
Third expedition, 1498–1500.
By 1496, Ferdinand and Isabella no longer hoped to receive immediate benefits from Columbus's enterprises. It became clear that only time and hard work would bring income from the colonies. Despite accusations of lack of management ability, Columbus managed to convince the monarchs to give permission for a third expedition, using two caravels to explore new lands, as well as three more caravels to deliver food to Hispaniola, 300 men and 30 women to replenish the contingent of colonists.
The flotilla, which left Spain in May 1498, split up near the island of Homer in the Canary Archipelago. Three ships took a direct course to Hispaniola. Columbus, on the other three ships, went further to the south, reached the Cape Verde Islands and then turned west on July 7. Having visited the island of Trinidad on July 31, he sailed northwest to the shores of America. Having discovered a vast river delta (the Orinoco River in modern Venezuela), Columbus realized that there was a huge landmass there. It seemed to him that these lands were located not far from the Eden described in the Bible.
After exploring the coast in the Orinoco delta region, Columbus went to Hispaniola, where Bartolome and Diego could not restore order. Alarmed by Columbus's reports, Ferdinand and Isabella sent Francisco de Bobadilla to investigate affairs in the colony and take extraordinary measures if necessary. Quickly assessing the situation, he arrested all three Columbus brothers for their failure to restore order in the colony, confiscated their money and, shackled, sent them to Spain in December 1500. Immediately upon his return, Columbus was summoned to court in Granada. Expressing their sympathy for Columbus, the monarchs assured that they never ordered him to be shackled. However, until September 1501 they delayed the consideration of his applications for restoration of his rights.
Ferdinand and Isabella returned some of the titles and all the property to Columbus, but did not relinquish their powers. The monarchs also did not give permission for the next expedition and began to create a new structure for governing the colonies, appointing Nicholas de Ovando as governor of Hispaniola. Ovando sailed to the Caribbean in February 1502 with 30 ships with a large group of settlers. Only in March 1502 did Ferdinand and Isabella allow Columbus to lead a new transatlantic expedition.
Fourth Expedition, 1502–1504.
Columbus's flotilla consisted of four not very well prepared small caravels with mediocre crews. Columbus, who was 51 years old, and his 13-year-old son Hernando sailed on the flagship from Cadiz on May 11, 1502. Leaving the Canary Islands on May 25, they crossed the Atlantic Ocean and on June 15 reached the island, which the natives called Matinino, and Columbus renamed to Martinique. Sailing through the Antillean archipelago, the fleet reached Hispaniola on June 29, although Ferdinand and Isabella forbade Columbus to land there. Columbus knew that Governor Ovando was going to send a large flotilla home. Noticing the approaching hurricane, he warned Ovando about the storm and asked permission to enter Hispaniola Bay. Ovando ridiculed Columbus's fears and ordered the sails to be raised. As Columbus predicted, a storm broke out and Ovando's entire fleet, with the exception of one ship, sank.
After leaving Hispaniola, Columbus and his companions undertook a further journey, mainly along the coast of Central America. Columbus still believed that he was in Asia, near the Ganges River. The Guay Indians, who lived in what is now Panama, traded gold with Columbus's expedition, but fiercely opposed European attempts to establish a settlement. In April 1503, the Guays forced the Europeans to leave their lands. During the retreat, one ship sank, and the remaining three barely stayed afloat. Columbus threw another ship into the sea and then went to Jamaica. He returned to Spain on November 7, 1504.
Columbus died in the Spanish city of Valladolid on May 21, 1506 in the presence of his brother Diego, sons Diego and Hernando and several friends from the expedition. His remains were transported to Seville in 1513 and then, around 1542, reburied in the cathedral of Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic).
Bibliography
Winter G. The Court of Columbus. Per. with him. L., 1975;
Svet Ya.M. Columbus. M., 1973
Lange P.V. The Great Vagrant: The Life of Christopher Columbus. M., 1984
How Christopher Columbus discovered America. St. Petersburg, 1992
Magido I.P. History of the discovery and exploration of Central and South America. M., 1965;
Morison S. E. Christopher Columbus, navigator. Per. from English M., 1958.
Travels of Christopher Columbus. Diaries, letters, documents. Per. from Spanish M., 1961. Bibliography: p. 509-513;
Four expeditions. Discovery of America
Columbus's first voyage took place in 1492. During the journey, the navigator discovered the Bahamas, Haiti, and Cuba, although he himself considered these lands to be “Western India.”
During the second expedition, Columbus's assistants included such famous personalities as the future conqueror of Cuba Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, the notary Rodrigo de Bastidas, and the pioneer Juan de la Cosa. Then the navigator's discoveries included the Virgin Islands, Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.
Christopher Columbus's third expedition took place in 1498. The navigator's main discovery was the island of Trinidad. However, at the same time, Vasco da Gama found the real route to India, so Columbus was declared a deceiver and sent under escort from Hispaniola to Spain. However, upon his arrival, local financiers managed to persuade King Ferdinand II to drop the charges.
Columbus never abandoned the hope of discovering a new shortcut to South Asia. In 1502, the navigator was able to obtain permission from the king for a fourth voyage. Columbus reached the coast of Central America, proving that a continent lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea.
Christopher Columbus short biography
Christopher Columbus is a great navigator. There is probably not a single person on earth who does not know the name of this great Italian traveler. Many people know that it was Columbus who discovered America, but other than this fact, most do not know any data about Christopher’s biography. By the way, he is the first traveler to cross the Atlantic Ocean and find the Caribbean Sea. It was this man who seriously took up the exploration of America and found the Antilles. The exact date of birth of Christopher Columbus is still unknown, but many scientists believe that he was most likely born in 1451
year in autumn in the Italian city of Genoa.
The love for the sea began to manifest itself from childhood, even then little Christopher began to be interested in the depths of the sea, often sat by the water and read books about the seas and oceans. At the 20
, the young man fulfilled his dream and began helping experienced sailors with work on the deck of a ship sailing into the Mediterranean Sea.
Some time later, in 1476
, young Columbus moved to Portugal and got a job with Italian merchants who traveled the North Atlantic and sold their goods.
Around 1484
, Columbus decided to ask the Portuguese King João II for permission to travel to Asia through the west, but he was not interested in such an offer and the traveler was refused, after which he left again, this time to Spain.
At that time, Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband King Ferdinand of Aragon ruled in Spain, they treated Christopher’s plans completely differently, they offered to sponsor all events, made him a nobleman and promised to give him the titles of Viceroy, Governor General and Admiral of all the islands and continents that will be open to them. From that moment, Christopher Columbus began his activities as a navigator; in total, he made 4
voyages towards America.
The first expedition set off on August 4 1492
; by luck,
3
research ships sailed not to Asia, but to America, and then San Salvador, one of the Bahamas, was discovered.
Columbus was sure that he was in Asia, so he called the local tribes Indians. During the same voyage, Cuba and Haiti were discovered. The next expedition set off in September 1493
, this time Columbus prepared thoroughly, collecting
17
ships.
During this voyage, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Antilles and the Virgin Islands were discovered. After a long lull, Columbus set off on another journey; it took place in 1498
at the end of May.
The navigator did not make any major discoveries this time; the largest discovery this time was Trinidad. May
9 ,
1502
, the fourth, decisive journey began, during which Central America was discovered.
This discovery instantly spread throughout the world; Columbus proved that there was a continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea. This man, who persistently sought new discoveries and went towards his goal, died at the age of 55
, namely
May 20 1506
and was buried in Seville.
Interesting Facts
- Historians still do not know the true biography of Christopher Columbus - there is so little factual material about his fate and expeditions that the navigator’s biographers introduce many fictitious statements into his biography.
- Returning to Spain after the second expedition, Columbus proposed settling criminals on the newly discovered lands.
- Columbus's dying words were: “In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum” (“Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my spirit”).
- The significance of the navigator's discoveries was recognized only in the middle of the 16th century.
