Christopher Columbus

Columbus died due to illness at the age of 54 in Valladolid, Crown of Castile which today lies in Spain.

In his honour, Columbus Day is celebrated in the Americas every year on the second Monday in the month of October.

Christopher Columbus was born in a middle-class family in Genoa which is now a part of Italy. His father, Domenico Colombo was a wool weaver and his mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. He had three brothers named Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino and Giacomo and a sister, Bianchinetta.

In 1473, he took a job as an apprentice and was a business agent for some families in Genoa. During this time, he also visited Chios which was Genoese colony.

During the 1470s, Columbus toured several places for trading, such as, Northern Europe and England. According to certain historical accounts, he also spent some time in Iceland.

In 1479, he met his brother Bartolomeo in Lisbon. He got married and settled there until his wife died in 1485. After the death of his wife, Columbus and his son moved to Spain. Here he made an effort to win a grant which would allow him to explore the western trade routes.

For a long time, he pursued the Portuguese and Spanish kings but they did not support his plans. Eventually, his plans were considered by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He now set on to explore Asia promising to bring back condiments from China.

On August 3, 1492, Columbus embarked on his first voyage and set sail with three ships called the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria. He was also accompanied by 104 men. The first stop was at Canary Islands to pick up supplies and then he set out sailing across the Atlantic.

After five weeks of travel, many men died due to diseases and hunger. On October 14, 1492, a land was sighted by Rodrigo de Triana in the present day Bahamas. Columbus named this land San Salvador thinking it was Asian land.

Columbus’s voyages created general awareness in the Americas for the European nations. His major accomplishment was the discovery of Hispaniola where he also helped establish permanent settlements. This led to the beginning of Spanish colonization in the New World.

With the help of his son and brother, Columbus wrote two books. He wrote his first book titled ‘Book of Privileges’ in 1502. The book gave details of the rewards which he was entitled to from the Spanish Crown.

He wrote his second book titled ‘Book of Prophecies’ in 1505. In this book he used the passages from the Bible to fit his achievements as an explorer in the Christian context.