Who is Christopher Columbus?
"Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World." - Christopher Columbus
Basic Overview of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was born in 1451, Genoa, Italy. Although people are not sure of the exact birthdate, the estimate is between August and October. He is known to as the first person to discover and put America on the map. Christopher Columbus has 3 other variations of his name; Cristoffa Corombo (Ligurian), Cristoforo Colombo (Italian), and Cristóbal Colón (Spanish). His family includes:
- Giovanni Pellegrino (Brother)
- Giacomo Bartholomew (Brother)
- Bianchinetta Columbus (Sister)
- Domenico Columbo (Father)
- Susanna Fontanarossa (Mother)
- Filipa Monez Perestrelo (Wife)
- Diego Columbus (Son)
- Ferdinand Columbus (Son).
Early Life
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. Not long after, they moved to the city of Savona, where he really started to establish his career as a navigator. Christopher Columbus learned how to sail since he was young. He did not receive any particular education, which gave him time to help his father do his work since he was young. When he became an Adult, he worked many jobs. He sometimes still helped his father for his cheese stand, and other various jobs such as a business agent.
The Voyages of Christopher Columbus.
In the 15th century, most trades between Asia and Europe was on a silk road travelled on land. It was a navigator's dream to sail the opposite direction and to get to Asia, which would bring them enormous amounts of fame and money.
Major Trade Routes between Europe and Asia. (Also Africa)
History tells us that the discovery of the Americas were never intentional. Christopher's original goal was to get to Asia (since the Earth was round, he thought we would make it by going the other way) that would shorten the time of travel and make it easier. Although with his proof that it would work, It took 6 years for Christopher get the fund he needed for the voyage. After going to many different countries, the Spanish Royals finally agreed to fund for the trips.
On August 3rd, 1492, Christopher set sail with 87 men and 3 ships expecting to be very rich and famous after he came back. Instead, he "discovered" America. He landed on an island which is part of the Bahamas today. Christopher Columbus came back on March the follow year with some gold, kidnapped natives, and many types of plants. The Spanish royals were delighted and funded his future trips. After going on 3 more trips, he returned at his age 53. He was at poor condition after he had encountered many hurricanes, terrible tribes, shipwrecks, and many other horrible things, he died aged 55 on May 20th, 1506 in Spain.
The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, his 3 ships.
Achievements of Christopher Columbus
During his voyages, he has accomplished many achievements; but the most outstanding one is that he is the one that put America on the map. He had discovered a new continent with new opportunities, helped Christianity spread by strategic conquering, making a trade route between the two worlds; and made a lot of money for Spain. In the far future, many events would occur in the place (such as the American Revolution) and through the course 500 years, America (Especially North America) had become a global superpower in the world we live today.
World Map before the discovery of the Americas.
My thoughts about Columbus
Christopher Columbus is widely known for "discovering the Americas," nothing else. Many people do not know the brutal things he had done to conquer the islands. Although he has some pros, like everybody else, he also had many cons. I'll briefly explain below.
Pros:
- He had discovered the Americas
- It gave a new race to the Europeans and a lot of money.
Cons:
- Christopher brutally killed, threatened, and kidnapped numerous groups of tribes and used the treasures he got for Spain and himself.
- the Native Americans hate him, some still do even until today.
Basic Information about Christopher
I hope you learned a lot! Thanks :)
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