CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: BIOGRAPHY, PROJECTS, TRAVELS, DEATH - ARTE - 2025

Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was an explorer, navigator, merchant, and cartographer, famous for having discovered America, a land then unknown to Western Europe and the rest of the ancient world.

He was looking for a direct route that would take him from Europe to the Far East so that he could establish commercial exchanges of precious goods such as spices and silk. He wanted to find a new step, since the others were saturated and dangerous. However, when he left he found something very different.

Cristóbal Colón, by Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, via Wikimedia Commons

In what he thought would be a road to Japan, he managed to make the first European expedition to the Caribbean, Central and South America. Contrary to widely held belief, a large percentage of Europeans, especially those who could be educated, took the earth for granted as a sphere. A belief that was already inculcated from the Greek civilization.

On October 12, 1492, Columbus and his men saw the Caribbean islands for the first time, although it was not until the third voyage of the explorer in 1498 that they touched the American mainland, in the Paria peninsula, present-day Venezuela.

On May 20, 1506, Christopher Columbus died, who, unlike what has been assured, did not die in poverty, but with substantial income for his exploits in the service of Castile. His burial place has generated some controversy throughout history.

Important data

The kingdom where marine prowess flourished most rapidly in the 15th century was Portugal. After Columbus raised his plan to the Portuguese, they rejected it in the same way that so many others did. However, the monarch of Castile, although busy with internal conflicts, was interested in her proposal.

Although Isabel la Católica accepted, she made the navigator wait for several years until, finally, she decided to support the project, for which she had very little to contribute and much would gain from the result, as she did, since it was undoubtedly a success.

Among the perks that would be granted to the navigator, if his project was a success, 10% of everything that was traded in the areas that he could discover in his travels was stipulated, as well as the positions of admiral and viceroy of said lands.

In three boats, popularly known as "the three caravels", Columbus set out on August 3, 1492. When they started the journey from the Port of Palos, in Spain, the crew hoped to find a way to Japan.

Travels

After a pause in the Canary Islands, which took them until September 6, the voyage of the navigator and his men really began, who arrived in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, then went to Cuba and, finally, to La Spanish (current Santo Domingo).

He returned to Castile in March 1493, only to go to sea once more in September. On that occasion, the explorer Christopher Columbus met Guadalupe, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, until he returned to Europe in 1496.

For his third expedition, the admiral left Europe in mid-1498, arriving in Cape Verde and then on the island of Trinidad on July 31. Shortly after, he continued his explorations in the vicinity of the mouth of the Orinoco in what he called "Boca de Drago."

On August 4, 1498, the Genoese set his feet on the American continent for the first time, in a place that is now known as Macuro.

When he returned to Hispaniola, he found a mutinous population, who had even sent emissaries to Europe to accuse him of exercising a bad government of those lands.

Last trip

A Spanish official soon arrived on the island and took Christopher Columbus prisoner, who by apologizing before the kings in Spain was released, but with a reputation tainted by discredit.

His last trip took place in 1502, being an opportunity to appreciate the coast of present-day Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica. He also discovered the islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Biography

Early years

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, possibly on October 31, 1451. His mother was called Susanna Fontanarossa and his father was Domenico Colombo, a merchant who was also dedicated to the textile business.

The Genoese had 5 brothers, Bartholomew was the closest to him and he also always had inclinations, like Columbus, for life as a sailor. Giacomo, on the other hand, dedicated himself to the same business as his father and learned the trade as a weaver early on.

Giovanni passed away early. Little was known about Christopher Columbus's only sister, named Bianchetta, since she does not appear in the records of the time.

Although there are many hypotheses about its origins, in multiple documents of the time, which have been certified by experts, it was found that it came from Genoa, such as, for example, in the mayorazgo, the will of his son Diego Colón and others.

However, among the most widespread theories about his birth and lineage are those that affirm that Columbus was Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Spanish of Sephardic origin and a myriad of hypotheses that have not been supported by reliable evidence.

Education

It is thought that his formal education was extremely brief, since very early, according to himself, he went to sea. Supposedly, he began his training as a sailor at the age of 10.

However, in a biography written by his son Fernando, considered by some to be extremely flattering, it is stated that Columbus studied letters and cosmography in Pavia.

Inspiración de Colón, by Jose Maria Obregon, via Wikimedia Commons.

It is believed that he knew Latin, Genoese, Portuguese and Spanish. Although he was not excellent in any, he could successfully carry out a reading or a conversation.

He was self-taught in various subjects that were of his particular interest such as astronomy, geography and history. One of the books that had the greatest impact on his future search for the route to the East by sea was Marco Polo's Travels.

The only obstacle to his good understanding, on some occasions, was his strong religious streak, common in the men of his time.

First trips

Around 1470, the Colóns settled in a new city called Savona, because their father managed to take over a local tavern. A short time later, the young Cristóbal made his debut as a sailor on a René de Anjou ship, whose purpose was to recapture Naples.

In 1473 Columbus became an apprentice to a commercial agent for various houses of great renown in the Republic of Genoa. With them he began his journeys through the old continent in which he learned how to function at sea.

His first trip in the field of commerce took him to Chíos, a territory of Genoa in the Aegean. In May 1479 he left for northern Europe, where he was in Bristol (England), Galway (Ireland) and, presumably, in 1477 Columbus traveled to Iceland.

When the Genoese returned to Lisbon, where there was a headquarters of one of the commercial firms for which he worked, he found that his brother Bartolomé had settled in the city.

During that period he got to know the Portuguese routes followed by local merchants. He was surely in the Canary Islands and some say that he was able to reach Guinea.

Marriage

During Christopher Columbus's stay in Lisbon he met a girl from a noble family named Felipa Moniz Perestrello, daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrello and his wife, Isabel Moniz.

Bartolomeu Perestrello was a colonizer of the Madeira Islands and had great connections with local royalty; Furthermore, Felipa was commander of the Order of Santiago in Lisbon, whose master was the Portuguese king.

Colón and Moniz were married around 1479 and their son Diego was born in 1480. At that time, Columbus was engaged in trade on the Portuguese route and tried to convince the King of Portugal to support him in his undertaking on the route to Cipango.

Seeing that he would not get the approval of the Portuguese, Columbus left for Spain, probably in 1485. Approximately three years later, he returned to Portugal to look for his son Diego, because during his absence Felipa died.

New love

Christopher Columbus had another partner although he did not marry her. She met Beatriz Enríquez de Arana in Spain. She was a young orphan who was about 20 years old.

With the Spanish he had a single son named Fernando, who was born in 1488 and was legitimized by the Genoese navigator. When Columbus died, he left his heir, Diego, in charge of taking care of the well-being of his concubine, although the explorer's son did not pay much attention to his stepmother.

Columbus Project

Christopher Columbus statue, Barcelona, ​​Spain. By nosolomarcas, via Pixabay

The Silk Road was one of the most important trade roads of the Middle Ages. Hundreds of coveted goods were transported by it from the Far East to Europe, where they were traded.

One of the most famous merchants for having described his stay and travels through the Mongol Empire at its peak was Marco Polo, in whose biography the landscapes and riches of the lands he knew were immortalized.

Following the division of the Kublai Khan territory and the subsequent fall of Constantinople to the Muslims, safety for travelers attempting to trade in the area was not guaranteed.

Paolo dal Pozo Toscanelli had made a map showing his calculated locations of Europe, Japan and China. He presented it to Alfonso V, King of Portugal, but it did not arouse interest in the monarch. He then sent a copy to Columbus around 1474.

In the map that Toscanelli made and to which Columbus had access, he located Japan close to where Mexico actually is. Arrived 1480, Christopher Columbus's interest in finding the best way to Cipango arose.

Faults

However, there was a large miscalculation in the Toscanelli and consequently Columbus measurements: the original distance was in Arabian miles and not Italian.

So, the Genoese thought to find Cipango, approximately 2,500 nautical miles between the Antillias and Japan. Actually, there are 10,700 nautical miles between the Canary Islands and Japan.

It is important to note that the belief that Columbus was one of the few who thought that the earth was round is wrong, since since Aristotle's time it was taken for granted that the planet was a sphere.

The most accurate approximations about the size of the earth were those carried out by Eratosthenes in the third century BC, which about two hundred years later were confirmed by Posidonius.

Financing

The kingdom most famous for the exploits of its navigators in Europe during the times of Alfonso V and his son Juan II, was Portugal. While Christopher Columbus was established in Lisbon he tried to get close to the king's ear to find financing for his expedition to the Indies.

Between 1483 and 1485 the Portuguese king kept Columbus in suspense, but considered that three experts should analyze his plan: Diego Ortiz, Master Rodrigo and Master Vizinho explained that the project was very expensive and risky, in addition to noting the errors in the calculations of the Genoese.

Consequently, Portugal said no to Columbus's plan, although it continued to support other sailors whose requests were much more modest.

Fortune did not change for Columbus's plan in his native Genoa, nor in neighboring Venice. The same thing happened when he was brought before the King of England, for which Bartolomé Colón was commissioned.

Spanish hope

The kingdom of Castile was the next objective for Christopher Columbus. According to some, he arrived around 1485 and became friends with some friars, who saw fit to recommend him to Hernando de Talavera, Queen Isabel's confessor.

The Genoese went to Córdoba, where the Cortes were established at that time, and thanks to the help of Talavera, the queen granted him an audience in 1486. ​​Isabel explained that he should submit it for consideration, but while the matter was being resolved, she granted him a pension.

The 12,000 maravedis weren't much, but they did help keep the flame of hope lit within Columbus for a time. The problems with Granada did not cease and the council determined, like Portugal, that it was not prudent to finance the trip of the Genoese.

However, Isabel let Christopher Columbus know that she did not want to completely dismiss the idea.

Other horizons

Although Columbus first dedicated himself to the sale of books and maps to support himself while the queen decided or not to resume his interest in the explorer's project, later he decided to continue seeking funds elsewhere.

He returned to Portugal (1488) to look for his son Diego, who had been left alone after the death of Felipa, whose date is unknown. At that moment he took the opportunity to introduce you to King John II, who once again closed the doors to his project.

Portugal had lost much of its interest, especially, for the discovery of Bartolomeu Dias: the African route, when finding the Cape of Good Hope.

Columbus also presented himself to the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, who was unable to collaborate with his plan either and then went to the Duke of Medinaceli, who did show a frank interest in the project and received him for two years in his lands.

When Isabel learned of the whereabouts of Christopher Columbus, she sent an emissary to look for him to inform him that she wanted his return to Castilian lands and that when the confrontations with the Muslims ended, she would take care of giving a final verdict to the navigator's request.

Agreement

Finally, Christopher Columbus received the long-awaited support, but it was not easy. When he went to the audience with the queen in 1491, in Granada, the question was submitted to a new vote before a council of experts, who again said no, due to the high demands of the Genoese.

However, Luis Santángel, who worked for Queen Isabel, interceded for Columbus, explaining that Spain would have little to lose if the project went to failure and much to gain if a new route was found to the east.

The royal coffers were badly hit by the recent war conflicts that both Castile and Aragon had faced, so Santángel offered to pay what corresponded to the kings as a loan.

Capitulations of Santa Fe

On April 17, 1492, the legal representative of Christopher Columbus managed to sit down to negotiate with the representatives of the Catholic Monarchs. If the trips planned by the Genoese were successful, he would receive great benefits:

In the first place, he would be designated with the title of admiral of Castile and of those lands that he could find. He also requested that it be hereditary.

Christopher Columbus before the kings of Spain, Ricardo Balaca, via Wikimedia Commons

Another of the privileges for him and his descendants would be that of viceroy and general governor of the lands discovered in his days, both islands and mainland.

It would have jurisdiction in commercial lawsuits, in addition to receiving 10% of all products or goods that came from there, while the crown would retain 1/5 of them. In addition, it was established that Columbus had to take charge of 1/8 of the expenses in the trip and in the same proportion he would receive profits from what was found there.

In the Capitulations of Santa Fe, several royal certificates were also issued, which empowered Columbus to serve as captain of an army made up of three ships.

Likewise, he received a royal provision by which he could confiscate 3 caravels from neighbors of various coastal towns of the kingdom.

Palos and the Finches

The residents of Palos de la Frontera were not happy to hear the royal provision by which it was imposed that two caravels as well as one crew should cede to the Genoese navigator as a service to the crown.

Volunteers for the expedition were scarce, so at first the idea of ​​using the city's prisoners was raised, giving way to the myth that the first Spaniards to arrive in America were convicts.

In reality, this measure was not applied because Martín Alonso Pinzón, one of the most prestigious sailors in the city, joined the project and with it dragged a large number of expert seamen.

In addition, Pinzón collaborated with 500,000 maravedíes and obtained the ships in the best conditions of the entire city to make the trip. Among Pinzón's acquaintances who joined were the Niño and Quintero brothers.

The three caravels

The ships selected were La Niña, owned by the Niño brothers. Likewise, the Pinta and the Santa María participated, which was the largest of the three, consequently the Nao Capitana or flagship.

This denomination gave way to the confusion in which it has been proposed that the Santa María was a Portuguese nao, another type of ship, but in almost all accounts of the time they refer to the boats used by Columbus as "the three caravels".

Travel to america

The feat of Christopher Columbus opened the way to territory totally unexplored by Europeans. Riches and opportunities were abundant in the new world, although some travelers had reached America before, a relationship was never established between the continents.

Leif Erikson seems to have been the first European to set foot on American soil, however his incursions had no repercussions for any of the continents.

Meanwhile, Columbus's visit set the precedent for the establishment of colonies in the area by European powers.

These settlements served the Europeans to spread Christianity, as well as to expand both its power and its areas of influence. Thanks to them, they strengthened their economy and trade, especially with new plants, animals and other luxury goods.

With the trips of the Genoese, the so-called “era of exploration” began, in which different nations fought to know and control the new continent.

Likewise, they knew the importance of knowing the whole world to find out if there were other equally rich lands.

First Voyage (1492

The explorers left the Spanish shores at Puerto de Palos on August 3, 1492. According to some accounts, the captain's "nao" (ship) was a carraca, while for others it was a Portuguese ship. In any case, contemporary records speak of three caravels.

The original name of the captain ship was "Gallega", but it was renamed the Santa María. Colón was the captain general, while Juan de La Cosa, who was its owner, served as master and Pedro Alonso Niño was the pilot.

On the other hand, Martín Alonso Pinzón served as captain of the Pinta and his brother Vicente served in the same position but on board the Niña.

The group set sail for the Canary Islands, where they stayed until September 6, at which point they began their journey into the unknown. The Genoese believed that the Asian coasts were 3 or 5 thousand kilometers from there.

The reality is that they were separated from Asia by about nineteen thousand kilometers and more than four thousand five hundred kilometers away from America. On September 14, the crew saw two birds, the presence of which could only indicate that they were close to land.

Meeting of two worlds

On October 10, the sailors began to protest because the food was in bad condition, the water was scarce and they had not found the supposed route that Columbus promised them.

In less than 48 hours the fate of the world changed when the sailor Rodrigo de Triana shouted "Earth!" aboard the Pinta. On October 12, they landed on the shores of an island in the Bahamas known as "San Salvador."

Christopher Columbus landed and found peaceful aborigines, the majority being Lucaya, Taíno and Arawak.

Columbus's Landing, by Dióscoro Puebla, via Wikimedia Commons

The explorer described them as helpful, obedient, and easy to convert to Christianity. Likewise, he spoke of the gold ornaments they displayed.

He promised to bring several in the presence of the king. He also pointed out that they had scars on their bodies and that it seemed that they were being attacked by other warrior tribes arriving by sea.

On their way they found more islands in the archipelago until they got a large one that they named Juana and then what is now Cuba. There the admiral forbade trade, but sent 4 explorers ashore.

Pinzón undertook an independent tour on November 21, 1492. Some claim that he was driven by greed, while others blame him on the bad government of Columbus.

The Spanish

Christopher Columbus continued his journey along the north coast of Cuba and later found a new island that he called Hispaniola. He met several local caciques and on Christmas Eve 1492 the Santa María was shipwrecked, but the locals helped him to recover his belongings.

The pieces of the ship served to create a small refuge that they called Fort Navidad. The Spanish offered protection to the Marien tribe, the Tainos, whose leader named Guacanagarí had been having conflicts with the Maguana, led by Caonabo.

The agreement between locals and Europeans was to leave 39 Spaniards in the fort and, in return, Columbus received gifts in gold owned by the local indigenous people.

The specific route of Pinzón's independent journey is unknown, some think that he went to "Baveque", also that he visited Jamaica and other islands of the Bahamas, but there are no records of his journeys.

Finally, Pinzón also arrived at Hispaniola by another route and there he learned of the shipwreck of Columbus, so he quickly went to meet him. On January 6, 1493, Columbus and Pinzón made peace and continued on the road together.

Return

Before returning to Europe, Columbus's expedition had only one hostile encounter with the Native Americans. A group of ciguayos did not want to trade in the way the Spanish intended and attacked them, although the latter managed to escape.

In mid-January the two surviving vessels returned to Spain, but another storm had to separate them once more.

While the Pinta arrived in Bayonne in February, the Niña was dragged to the Azores, where they were detained momentarily thinking they might be pirates. Pinzón, upon setting foot on Spanish soil, sent letters throughout the territory reporting the findings of the expedition.

Columbus first touched port in Portugal, where he met with the king and discussed his discoveries in the service of the Spanish crown. Immediately the Portuguese began to allege that the entire project probably broke the Treaty of Alcaçovas.

When the Genoese navigator landed in Seville in March 1493, he learned that the kings were requesting his presence before the Cortes as soon as possible. He appeared in Barcelona with "Indians", parrots, jewelry and gold from his expedition.

Consequences

After baptizing the American aborigines, the Genoese navigator returned to Seville on June 20 to prepare everything related to the next expedition in which he had abundant and better resources.

The Catholic Monarchs soon obtained the famous Alexandrian Bulls, with which Pope Alexander VI granted them control of the new territories as long as they dedicated themselves to expanding the Catholic faith in them.

However, for Juan II that continued to be in clear contradiction with the Treaty of Alcaçovas. After arduous negotiations, the Treaty of Tordesillas was finally concluded, in 1494, with which the rights to the new lands were divided.

Second voyage (1493

The purpose of the new expedition was the conquest, colonization and evangelization of what until then were thought to be Asian territories. The new fleet that was in charge of Columbus consisted of 5 naos and 12 caravels, in addition to 1500 men.

On that trip some Franciscan friars were sent with the order to create churches, preach the word of God and even institute penances.

The military leader of the trip was Pedro Margarit, Juan de la Cosa also accompanied them as a cartographer. They left Cádiz on September 25, 1493 and headed for the Canary Islands.

Shortly after the departure of Christopher Columbus his brother, Bartholomew, arrived in Spain and he was granted 4 more caravels.

Discoveries

On October 13 they left the Canary Islands and on November 3 they were back in the Caribbean, where they discovered part of the Lesser Antilles and saw the coasts of Dominica, Guadeloupe and Antigua, among other islands.

They rescued a group of Arawak women and two young men fleeing from the Caribs on a coast. On November 19, when they were passing in front of another island, the indigenous people they had saved jumped from the boat and swam ashore.

They had entered the bay of Boquerón, in which Columbus decided to name San Juan Bautista. Later the island was renamed Puerto Rico. When passing by the island Santa Cruz they had a confrontation with the natives.

Inland

When they returned to Hispaniola in November 1493 they found that Fort Navidad had been destroyed in a fire and that several Spaniards were killed at the hands of Caonabo's men.

Christopher Columbus established a settlement called La Isabela on January 2, 1494. In March of the same year they decided to enter the island to explore the territory and five days later they began to build the Fortress of Santo Tomás.

Confrontation with the Tainos

The Genoese navigator decided to return to the sea and on that occasion he met the island of Jamaica and explored the southern coast of Cuba. Meanwhile, the men of Hispaniola got out of control and some decided to return to Spain while others set about looting and raping local women.

The destructive behavior of the Europeans aroused the ire of the local caciques, who under Caonabo's leadership attacked the Fortress of Santo Tomás, although they were quickly controlled by Alonso de Ojeda and 15 more Spaniards who took the cacique prisoner.

When Christopher Columbus returned, he decided to send Caonabo before the kings of Spain, but on the way his ship was wrecked. Then four local tribes came together to launch another attack against the Spanish and rescue Caonabo.

The action took place approximately 100 km from La Isabela, and was named after the battle of Vega Real, on March 27, 1495. There the victory of the Spanish brought peace to the island. In 1496 Columbus returned to Europe and arrived at the port of Cádiz on June 11.

Break

Christopher Columbus stayed for a longer time on the European continent after returning from his second trip. In June 1497 he had an audience with the Spanish monarchs and, on that occasion, the kings confirmed their jurisdiction over the discovered lands.

For his part, on February 22, 1498, Columbus was in charge of establishing a mayorazgo, that is, a legal figure of the Middle Ages by which it was determined who would inherit all of the assets that a person owned in order not to the fortune was divided.

In this case, the one chosen for that mayorazgo was his son Diego, a product of his marriage to Felipa Moniz. He also created a fund for the benefit of his relatives, but never included his concubine and mother of Fernando Colón: Beatriz Enríquez de Arana.

Third voyage (1498 - 1500)

On this occasion, the mission of Christopher Columbus was to discover if the existence of a continental mass was actually true, as had been assured by John II. Although everyone considered at that point that this continent should be Asia, it really was America.

Columbus left the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda with 8 ships and 226 crew members on May 30, 1498.

From there they left for Madeira and, later, to the Canary Islands. At that point they parted ways and some ships were sent to Hispaniola while others took a new route with Columbus.

The admiral took a ship and two caravels with him and left La Gomera on June 21, 1498. He passed through Cape Verde on July 4 and on July 31, Alonso Pérez saw land, it was three large mountains on an island to the one that was baptized "Trinidad".

Nearby they made contact with a canoe carrying 24 Indians, who upon hearing drums began to attack the Spaniards, but later calmed down.

Discovery of the continent

To the south of the island of Trinidad they found the Orinoco delta and named the area Boca de Drago, or Serpiente, due to the force of the tide, which almost sinks Columbus's ship. The explorers toured the Gulf of Paria and obtained some pearls.

Finally, Columbus landed in Macuro, located in present-day Venezuela, on August 3, 1498. The area was called by the Genoese navigator "Land of Grace" and he considered that this was probably the actual location of the Garden of Eden.

The admiral seized the good will of the locals and spent 12 days in the area. Due to the abundance and strength of the fresh water in the area, he estimated that it was a continent and not an island.

Columbus Monument in Genoa, by JimboChan,, via Wikimedia Commons

Then they continued their journey and found two small islands that they named Coche and Cubagua, which were close to another larger one that Columbus baptized Asunción and that a year later was called Margarita because of the amount of pearls that were found in their coasts.

Return to Hispaniola

In the city of Santo Domingo, south of Hispaniola, the governor in charge had been Bartolomé Colón during the absence of his brother. Some men led by Francisco Roldán rebelled and entered the island.

The rebels argued that the supposed riches they could find in the New World was nothing more than an empty promise, since the gold that was obtained was very little.

At one point, half the Spanish and a large part of the Indians were in rebellion against Columbus. Some returned to Europe to inform the royal authorities about the bad government that the Columbus brothers carried out on behalf of the crown.

When the Genoese arrived in Hispaniola, he managed to negotiate with the men and was able to calm the atmosphere by making various concessions.

Among the privileges they obtained was the general amnesty, the permission to use the aborigines as personal servants, they could take Taino women and they would receive payment for two years of work if there was any debt.

Prison and return to Europe

Fernando and Isabel decided to send an inquisitor named Francisco de Bobadilla to find out the complaints that were presented to them in relation to the despotic government of the Colóns. If true, the cleric had all the power to undertake the necessary actions in Hispaniola.

Bobadilla arrived in Santo Domingo on August 23, 1500, and immediately captured the Colóns, whom he sent to Spain. Meanwhile, he was in charge of the island's governance until the Spanish kings so ordered.

Christopher Columbus and his brothers arrived in Cádiz on November 25, 1500 and, after spending time in prison, the monarchs decided to free him, but stripped of his rights as ruler of the territories he had discovered, but not of his wealth and rights. economical.

They did not allow Columbus to retain the monopoly of travel, since the Crown affirmed that they did not intend to colonize, but to discover the territories.

This is how permission was granted to other explorers to carry out their expeditions, among the most outstanding of that time are that of Alonso de Ojeda and Juan de La Cosa, as well as that of Vicente Yañez Pinzón, who is believed to have been the first to see the Amazon river.

Fourth voyage (1502 - 1504)

One of the excuses raised for the Genoese's last trip to the New World was the trip to the Holy Land.

However, one of the main reasons for the kings of Spain to support the trip was the need to surpass the Portuguese in finding a comfortable way to the islands of spices (Molluscas).

One of the conditions that was imposed on Christopher Columbus to allow him to undertake his fourth day was that he could not disembark in Hispaniola due to his antecedents in that place.

Likewise, he was asked to take control of all the territories that corresponded to Spain according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, which was assigned in 1494.

In this agreement, signed by the Catholic Monarchs and John II of Portugal, it was agreed that the Spanish would respect the Portuguese rights to discovered and undiscovered territories up to 370 leagues west of Cape Verde.

For their part, the Portuguese would do the same with the Spanish lands, that is, everything that was to the west of that line. Neither could interfere with the trade routes that the other found in their territories.

To america

Christopher Columbus was no longer a waiter, his 51 years and the arthritis he suffered from had diminished his abilities, although he still felt useful, so he decided to set sail once more. On that occasion, two caravels and two naos with 144 crew were granted.

He was accompanied by his brother Bartolomé and his youngest son, Fernando, who was 13 years old. However, the captains were appointed by the kings, who selected Diego and Francisco Parra for the task.

On June 29, 1502, they arrived on the shores of Hispaniola to request refuge because a hurricane was approaching, but the governor did not allow them to leave the ships since the crown had expressly prohibited it.

Columbus's fleet took refuge in the south and after the storm separated them they regrouped again, while in Santo Domingo most of the settlement was devastated and the ships destroyed.

Looking for a step

One of the main objectives of Columbus was to find a way to the spice islands, they traveled the coasts of Central America and thanks to the indigenous people of Panama they had news of a water channel called Cigare, but it was interrupted by land.

In order to reach the ocean, according to locals, a trip of about nine days had to be made on foot, something that did not interest Christopher Columbus.

In Veraguas, Panama, he founded a village that he called Santa María de Belén, but after impasses with the locals he had to leave the area. Their ships, which were in very poor condition, could not withstand a second storm that caused them to wreck in Jamaica in 1503.

The help of Hispaniola arrived more than six months after they were informed of the accident that Columbus's crew had suffered, and they were taken to Santo Domingo on June 29, 1504.

The Colón family left the island on September 11 and arrived in Sanlúcar de Barrameda on November 7 of the same year.

Last years

When Christopher Columbus arrived in Spain he found out that Queen Elizabeth was seriously ill, dying 19 days later. The Genoese explorer, contrary to what some have suggested, lived his last years with considerable fortune. He settled in Seville and received the income of 10% of the precious metals that were brought from America.

In August 1505, Columbus began preparing his will, which was ready on May 19, 1506, the day before his death. He passed his entire possessions to Diego, the eldest son, and if he did not produce male offspring, everything would go to Fernando.

Death

Christopher Columbus died on May 20, 1506 in Valladolid. He had suffered from arthritis and gout for some years before his death, at the time of his death he was 54 years old.

Remains of Christopher Columbus in the Cathedral of Seville, by 1601110,, via Pixabay

His remains went through a variety of locations: firstly he was buried in the Convent of San Francisco in Valladolid and later they were located in the Monastery of La Cartuja, in Seville.

Diego Colón ordered that his corpse and that of his father be taken to the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. After the French invasion in the 18th century, the corpse of Christopher Columbus was relocated in the Cuban capital, until the revolution of Fidel Castro, when it was sent to the Cathedral of Seville.

Currently the actual location of the remains of Columbus is disputed between the Dominican Republic and Seville, Spain.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Christopher Columbus. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Flint, V. (2019). Christopher Columbus - Biography, Voyages, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Irving, W. and Vera, P. (1961). Life and travels of Christopher Columbus. Barcelona: Ed. Mateu.
4. Morganelli, A. (2005). Christopher Columbus. New York: Crabtree.
5. History.com Editors (2009). Christopher Columbus A&E Television Networks - History.com. Available at: history.com.