Facts about Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator, explorer and colonizer who toured across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the American continents. He contributed to the establishment of a relationship between the indigenous Americans and the Europeans. Let us look at some interesting facts about Christopher Columbus.

Facts about Christopher Columbus

It is believed that Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy. Coming from a middle class family, he worked with his father at his cheese stand. He was a student of the Prince Henry’s School of Navigation, located in Portugal.

Columbus was a light-eyed person having reddish hair. Ironically, there exists no authentic portrait of Christopher Columbus.

In 1470, Christopher Columbus was hired on a Genoese ship to help Rene I, the Duke of Anjou, in his mission to conquer the Kingdom of Naples. In 1473, Columbus served as a business agent for the Centurione, Spinola and Di Negro families in Genoa.

In 1480, Columbus, with the help of his brothers, came up with a plan to travel to the Indies, which covered the south and east Asia, by crossing the Atlantic that was then known as the Ocean Sea. Columbus probably underestimated the Earth’s diameter and thought he would easily reach Asia by sailing across the Atlantic. Interestingly, Columbus had calculated the Earth’s circumference to be only 25,255 kms.

Before Columbus was to take up a voyage to the Indies, the Europeans believed that a westward voyage was very risky and would surely prove fatal for the voyager. Spain wanted to gain supremacy over the European countries in some way and hence the Spanish king was ready to accept Columbus’ plans. He funded Columbus’ voyage that was aimed at finding a route to Asia.

Columbus began his first voyage on August 3, 1492. He left Palos de la Frontera with a ship and two caravels. He sailed to the Canary Islands from where he left for a five-day tour across the waters. On October 12, 1492, one of the sailors accompanying Columbus noticed a patch of land, which is today a part of the Bahamas. Columbus ventured to parts of Cuba and Hispaniola. On March 15, 1493, he reached Spain.

Columbus’s second voyage began in the September of 1493. In October of that year, he along with 17 ships that carried over 1000 men left the Canary Islands. He explored a number of islands during the journey. During this voyage, Columbus formulated a policy that later came to be known as genocide.

During his third voyage that began in May 1498, Columbus explored the Gulf of Paria and traveled to the Chacachacare and Margarita Islands.

Columbus made his fourth voyage in search of the Strait of Malacca. This time, his brother Bartolomeo accompanied him. They had to fight many natural calamities during this voyage. Their ship had to remain stranded in Jamaica for one long year. He returned to Spain with his troops in November 1504.

With the passing years, Columbus grew religious. He claimed to be hearing divine voices. Till death, he believed that he had toured to Asia during his voyages. He died of Reiter’s syndrome on May 20, 1506. He remains to be one of the iconic figure of the world, especially in the United States, for it was him, who brought the existence of the United States to the world’s notice.