The real historyBy Mac Bailey

Columbus

Perhaps the most famous explorer ever was Christopher Columbus.

Young Columbus first went to sea at the age of fourteen.

As a young man, hesettled in Portugaland marrieda womanof noblebackground.(Cornish, 1)

DiscovererThe European discoverer

of the New World was shipwrecked off Portugal, at age 14 and settled there c. 1470.

His plans to reach India by sailing West were rejected by John II of Portugal, but finally supported by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. (Cornish, 2)

1451 - 1506After five centuries, Columbus remains a

mysterious and controversial figure who has been variously described as:

one of the greatest mariners in history,a visionary genius, a mystic, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naive entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist.

(Cornish, 3)

RÉSUMÉ OF Christobal Colón

BIRTHDATE ??? Between August 25th and October 31st, and

between 1435 and 1460. 1451 is the most frequently given date.

BIRTHPLACE ???Columbus said Genoa, Italy. Other candidates –

Chios, which is now Greek but was a Genoese colony where Columbus is a common surname,

Majorca (Spanish Balearic Islands),Galicia, and other places in Spain. (Vista, 2)

The ManDIEDMay 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain, age-related.

BURIEDLeading candidates:

1. Sevilla, Spain;2. Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep.; 3. Or Havana, Cuba.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Blonde hair (white after age 30), blue eyes, exceptionally keen sense of smell, excellent eyesight, perfect hearing. Perfect physical condition in 1492. Moderate in drink, food, and dress; Never swore.

RELIGIONCatholic. Jewish background on one side of his family.

Left son Diego at Franciscan friary, la Rabida, in 1481, retrieved him in 1491. (Vista, 2)

FamilyMARITAL STATUSMarried Doña Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, 1479.Doña Felipa died between 1481 and 1485.SIGNIFICANT OTHERBeatriz Enríquez de Arana, after 1485.

CHILDREN1.Diego, born to Doña

Felipa, 1480, Madeira Islands.

2.Fernando, born to Beatriz, 1488.

IMPORTANT RELATIVESBartolemé Colón (older or younger, brother or uncle). (Vista, 2)

ExperiencesSAILING EXPERIENCEMay have been involved in naval engagement between Franco-Portuguese and Genoese Fleets in 1476.

Made at least one voyage to England, possibly one to Iceland.

Made four voyages to the New World:

1) September 8, 1492 to March 3, 1493;

2) October 7-10, 1493 to June 11, 1496;

3) May 30, 1498 to August 31, 1498 (Santo Domingo, see below for return to Spain); and

4) May 9, 1502 to November 7, 1504 [marooned in Jamaica -- June 25, 1503 to March 7, 1504].

CRIMINAL RECORD Arrested in Santo

Domingo August 23, 1500. Sent to Spain in chains in

October 1500. Released December 12,

1500 and summoned to court. (Vista, 2)

Ships Columbus’ three ships, the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria, were acquired in a small

seaport town called Palos de la Frontera. As a punishment for something the town or its citizens had done against the Crown of Spain, it

had to provide two caravels whenever commanded to so. This kind of punishment tax, which also included the payment of all the costs of equipment, was

to stay in effect for a maximum of 12 months.  On April 30 1492, the Crown put this levy into effect and, through an order of the Royal

Council, the two caravels were placed under the command of Columbus.  (KWABS.COM, 1)

The Santa Maria

She was a three-masted , square rig ship.She carried a crew of about 40 men.Some maritime historians doing the retrospective analysis

of the fact have concluded that the ship was 77 feet long.The Santa Maria was lost on Christmas Eve, 1492, when

she ran aground off the north coast of Haiti (near Cap Haitien)

(KWABS.COM, 2)

The PintaThe Pinta was the second in size.She was a three-masted, square

rigged caravel approximately70 feet long.

She carried 26 men.The captain was Martin Alonso

Pinzon who deserted Colombus anddiscovered the island of Babeque (Great Inagua )

The Pinta made several more voyages across the Atlantic until 1500.

Vincente Yanez Pinzon commanded the Pinta when she as the flagship for the discovery of the Amazon river. 

In July 1500, la Pinta was caught in a hurricane and went down in the vicinity of the Turks and Caicos Islands. (KWABS.COM, 3)

The Nina / Santa Clara The Nina/Santa Clara carried about 58 to 60 tons cargo. She was 67 feet long. The normal crew size was 23 men but on the second voyage, she carried about 40

colonists to America. Although she was the smallest of the three caravels, la Nina was a four-masted ship. She carried 10 swivel guns, called bombardas.  The Nina made 4 more voyages to the new world after the 1492/93 trip. The original Captain, during the first voyage, was Vincente Yanez Pinzon, but after

the lost of the Santa Maria, Columbus became the captain. She was  with Columbus on his second and third voyage, and carried some cargo to

Espagnola/Hispagnola on two other occasion.  In 1499, the historical caravel was sold. (KWABS.COM, 4)

Mistreatment of Native Americans

"Could it be that the human calamity caused by the arrival of Columbus," African-American writer Ishmael Reed asks, "was a sort of dress rehearsal of what is to come as the ozone becomes more depleted, the earth warms, and the rain forests are destroyed?“

"Columbus makes Hitler look like a juvenile delinquent," asserts American Indian activist Russell Means. (D'Souza, 13)

To Sum UpColumbus had two

worlds; the world where he was good and the world where he was bad. Most people believe that he was a great man, but the real history was that he mistreated and/or killed Native Americans.

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