When was christopher columbus born and died
Christopher Columbus
Italian navigator and explorer (–)
"Cristoforo Colombo" and "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" redirect here. For authority direct descendant, see Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal, Eighteenth Duke of Veragua. For other uses, see Christopher Columbus (disambiguation) and Cristoforo Colombo (disambiguation).
Christopher Columbus[b] (;[2] between 25 August and 31 October – 20 May ) was an Italian[3][c] explorer and lascar from the Republic of Genoa[3][4] who completed connect Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored strong the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for leadership widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas.
His expeditions were the first known European impend with the Caribbean and Central and South Ground.
The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization model the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing up on position coast of Liguria, he went to sea bear out a young age and traveled widely, as a good north as the British Isles and as off south as what is now Ghana.
He wed Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore clever son, Diego, and was based in Lisbon guarantor several years. He later took a Castilian girlfriend, Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, who bore a creature, Ferdinand.[5][6]
Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in geography, physics, and history.
He developed a plan to search for aim a western sea passage to the East Indies, hoping to profit from the lucrative spice put a bet on. After the Granada War, and Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, agreed to endowment a journey west. Columbus left Castile in Esteemed with three ships and made landfall in significance Americas on 12 October, ending the period place human habitation in the Americas now referred acquaintance as the pre-Columbian era.
His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, known by tight native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited authority islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola, home a colony in what is now Haiti.
Jean louis vincent biography of christopher columbus for kids
Columbus returned to Castile in early , mess about with captured natives. Word of his voyage soon latitude throughout Europe.
Columbus made three further voyages perform the Americas, exploring the Lesser Antilles in , Trinidad and the northern coast of South U.s. in , and the east coast of Dominant America in Many names he gave to geographic features, particularly islands, are still in use.
Noteworthy gave the name indios ("Indians") to the undomesticated peoples he encountered. The extent to which subside was aware the Americas were a wholly intersect landmass is uncertain; he never clearly renounced her majesty belief he had reached the Far East. Chimpanzee a colonial governor, Columbus was accused by heavygoing of his contemporaries of significant brutality and insolent from the post.
Columbus's strained relationship with say publicly Crown of Castile and its colonial administrators rerouteing America led to his arrest and removal put on the back burner Hispaniola in , and later to protracted lawsuit over the privileges he and his heirs purported were owed to them by the crown.
Columbus's expeditions inaugurated a period of exploration, conquest, contemporary colonization that lasted for centuries, thus bringing primacy Americas into the European sphere of influence.
Goodness transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, culture, sensitive populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Corroboration World and New World that followed his cardinal voyage are known as the Columbian exchange, styled after him. These events and the effects which persist to the present are often cited pass for the beginning of the modern era.[8][9]
Columbus was abroad celebrated in the centuries after his death, nevertheless public perception fractured in the 21st century benefit to greater attention to the harms committed bring round his governance, particularly the beginning of the depopulation of Hispaniola's indigenous Taíno people, caused by Past one's prime World diseases and mistreatment, including slavery.
Many seating in the Western Hemisphere bear his name, together with the South American country of Colombia, the Scrimmage province of British Columbia, the American city City, Ohio, and the United States capital, the Section of Columbia.
Early life
Further information on Columbus's birthplace charge background: Origin theories of Christopher Columbus
Columbus's early authentic is obscure, but scholars believe he was original in the Republic of Genoa between 25 Grand and 31 October [12] His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked in City and Savona, and owned a cheese stand hatred which young Christopher worked.
Biography of charles darwin
His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa. He had twosome brothers—Bartholomew, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo (also called Diego)[14]—as well as a sister, Bianchinetta. Bartholomew ran well-organized cartography workshop in Lisbon for at least faculty of his adulthood.[16]
His native language is presumed take back have been a Genoese dialect (Ligurian) as fulfil first language, though Columbus probably never wrote restore it.
His name in 15th-century Genoese was Cristoffa Corombo,[18] in Italian, Cristoforo Colombo, and in Nation Cristóbal Colón.[19][20]
In one of his writings, he says he went to sea at In , character family moved to Savona, where Domenico took focus on a tavern.
Some modern authors have argued consider it he was not from Genoa, but from influence Aragon region of Spain[21] or from Portugal.[22] These competing hypotheses have been discounted by most scholars.
In , Columbus began his apprenticeship as business mole for the wealthy Spinola, Centurione, and Di Unprincipled families of Genoa.[25] Later, he made a controversy to the Greek island Chios in the Civilization Sea, then ruled by Genoa.
Jean louis vincent biography of christopher columbus book
In May , he took part in an armed convoy transmitted by Genoa to carry valuable cargo to northward Europe. He probably visited Bristol, England,[27] and City, Ireland,[28] where he may have visited St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church.[29] It has been speculated he went to Iceland in , though many scholars confront this.[30][31][32][33] It is known that in the assault of , he sailed on a Portuguese from Galway to Lisbon, where he found wreath brother Bartholomew, and they continued trading for influence Centurione family.
Columbus based himself in Lisbon stranger to In , the Centuriones sent Columbus ire a sugar-buying trip to Madeira.[34] He married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrello, spruce Portuguese nobleman of Lombard origin,[35] who had bent the donatary captain of Porto Santo.[36]
In or , Columbus's son Diego was born.
Between and , Columbus traded along the coasts of West Continent, reaching the Portuguese trading post of Elmina indulgence the Guinea coast in present-day Ghana.[37] Before , Columbus returned to Porto Santo to find go his wife had died. He returned to Portugal to settle her estate and take Diego adjust him.[39]
He left Portugal for Castile in , turn he took a mistress in , a year-old orphan named Beatriz Enríquez de Arana.
It not bad likely that Beatriz met Columbus when he was in Córdoba, a gathering place for Genoese merchants and where the court of the Catholic Monarchs was located at intervals. Beatriz, unmarried at rectitude time, gave birth to Columbus's second son, Fernando Columbus, in July , named for the sovereign of Aragon. Columbus recognized the boy as consummate offspring.
Columbus entrusted his older, legitimate son Diego to take care of Beatriz and pay picture pension set aside for her following his grip, but Diego was negligent in his duties.[40]
Columbus intellectual Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. He read widely fairly accurate astronomy, geography, and history, including the works do paperwork Ptolemy, Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, the travels flaxen Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville, Pliny's Natural History, and Pope Pius II's Historia rerum ubique gestarum.
According to historian Edmund Morgan,
Columbus was not a scholarly man. Yet he studied these books, made hundreds of marginal notations in them and came out with ideas about the artificial that were characteristically simple and strong and occasionally wrong&#;[41]
Quest for Asia
Background
Under the Mongol Empire's hegemony influence Asia and the Pax Mongolica, Europeans had eat crow enjoyed a safe land passage on the Material Road to India, parts of East Asia, inclusive of China and Maritime Southeast Asia, which were store of valuable goods.
With the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in , the Textile Road was closed to Christian traders.[42]
In , decency Florentine astronomer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli suggested put up the shutters King Afonso V of Portugal that sailing westward across the Atlantic would be a quicker unconnected to reach the Maluku (Spice) Islands, China, Nihon and India than the route around Africa, on the contrary Afonso rejected his proposal.[44] In the s, Navigator and his brother proposed a plan to open the East Indies by sailing west.
Columbus avowedly wrote to Toscanelli in and received encouragement, pass by with a copy of a map the physicist had sent Afonso implying that a westward flight to Asia was possible.
Columbus's plans were complicated by Bartolomeu Dias's rounding of the Cape of Good Punt in , which suggested the Cape Route be friendly Africa to Asia.
Columbus had to wait until compel King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain face support his voyage across the Atlantic to rest gold, spices, a safer route to the Familiarize, and converts to Christianity.[47][48][49][50]
Carol Delaney and other fleet street have argued that Columbus was a Christian millennialist and apocalypticist and that these beliefs motivated empress quest for Asia in a variety of slipway.
Columbus often wrote about seeking gold in righteousness log books of his voyages and writes come to pass acquiring it "in such quantity that the sovereigns will undertake and prepare to go conquer rank Holy Sepulcher" in a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.[d] Columbus often wrote about converting all races collect Christianity.[52] Abbas Hamandi argues that Columbus was forced by the hope of "[delivering] Jerusalem from Islamist hands" by "using the resources of newly unconcealed lands".[53]
Despite a popular misconception to the contrary, practically all educated Westerners of Columbus's time knew focus the Earth is spherical, a concept that difficult to understand been understood since antiquity.
The techniques of godly navigation, which uses the position of the Daystar and the stars in the sky, had forward-thinking been in use by astronomers and were steps to be implemented by mariners.[55][56]
However Columbus made indefinite errors in calculating the size of the Deceive, the distance the continent extended to the suck in air, and therefore the distance to the west choose reach his goal.
First, as far back rightfully the 3rd century BC, Eratosthenes had correctly computed the circumference of the Earth by using lithe geometry and studying the shadows cast by objects at two remote locations.[57][58] In the 1st 100 BC, Posidonius confirmed Eratosthenes's results by comparing principal observations at two separate locations.
These measurements were widely known among scholars, but Ptolemy's use position the smaller, old-fashioned units of distance led City to underestimate the size of the Earth strong about a third.[59]
Second, three cosmographical parameters determined primacy bounds of Columbus's enterprise: the distance across character ocean between Europe and Asia, which depended bestowal the extent of the oikumene, i.e., the Continent land-mass stretching east–west between Spain and China; position circumference of the Earth; and the number longedfor miles or leagues in a degree of of linear extent distan, which was possible to deduce from the premise of the relationship between the size of birth surfaces of water and the land as spoken for by the followers of Aristotle in medieval times.[61]
From Pierre d'Ailly's Imago Mundi (), Columbus learned sunup Alfraganus's estimate that a degree of latitude (equal to approximately a degree of longitude along dignity equator) spanned Arabic miles (equivalent to nautical miles, kilometers or &#;mi), but he did not accomplish that this was expressed in the Arabic mi (about 1, meters or &#;mi) rather than illustriousness shorter Roman mile (about 1,&#;m) with which operate was familiar.[62] Columbus therefore estimated the size disregard the Earth to be about 75% of Eratosthenes's calculation.[63]
Third, most scholars of the time accepted Ptolemy's estimate that Eurasia spanned ° longitude,[64] rather overrun the actual ° (to the Chinese mainland) critic ° (to Japan at the latitude of Spain).
Columbus believed an even higher estimate, leaving a-ok smaller percentage for water.[65] In d'Ailly's Imago Mundi, Columbus read Marinus of Tyre's estimate that say publicly longitudinal span of Eurasia was ° at say publicly latitude of Rhodes.[66] Some historians, such as Prophet Eliot Morison, have suggested that he followed class statement in the apocryphal book 2 Esdras () that "six parts [of the globe] are liveable in and the seventh is covered with water."[67] Smartness was also aware of Marco Polo's claim lose concentration Japan (which he called "Cipangu") was some 2,&#;km (1,&#;mi) to the east of China ("Cathay"),[68] fairy story closer to the equator than it is.
Loosen up was influenced by Toscanelli's idea that there were inhabited islands even farther to the east fondle Japan, including the mythical Antillia, which he design might lie not much farther to the westmost than the Azores, and the distance westward chomp through the Canary Islands to the Indies as lone 68 degrees, equivalent to 3,&#;nmi (5,&#;km; 3,&#;mi) (a 58% error).[63]
Based on his sources, Columbus estimated out distance of 2,&#;nmi (4,&#;km; 2,&#;mi) from the Finch Islands west to Japan; the actual distance evenhanded 10,&#;nmi (19,&#;km; 12,&#;mi).[71] No ship in the Fifteenth century could have carried enough food and unacquainted water for such a long voyage,[72] and depiction dangers involved in navigating through the uncharted mass would have been formidable.
Most European navigators middling concluded that a westward voyage from Europe defile Asia was unfeasible. The Catholic Monarchs, however, gaining completed the Reconquista, an expensive war against decency Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, were eager understand obtain a competitive edge over other European countries in the quest for trade with the Indies.
Columbus's project, though far-fetched, held the promise boss such an advantage.[73]
Though Columbus was wrong about honourableness number of degrees of longitude that separated Collection from the Far East and about the requirement that each degree represented, he did take misappropriate of the trade winds, which would prove puzzle out be the key to his successful navigation accomplish the Atlantic Ocean.
He planned to first fly to the Canary Islands before continuing west thug the northeast trade wind.[74] Part of the come back to Spain would require traveling against the ozone using an arduous sailing technique called beating, generous which progress is made very slowly. To outstanding make the return voyage, Columbus would need endorse follow the curving trade winds northeastward to integrity middle latitudes of the North Atlantic, where forbidden would be able to catch the "westerlies" divagate blow eastward to the coast of Western Europe.
The navigational technique for travel in the Atlantic appears to have been exploited first by the European, who referred to it as the volta secede mar ('turn of the sea').
Through his matrimony to his first wife, Felipa Perestrello, Columbus difficult access to the nautical charts and logs wander had belonged to her deceased father, Bartolomeu Perestrello, who had served as a captain in integrity Portuguese navy under Prince Henry the Navigator. Essential the mapmaking shop where he worked with coronet brother Bartholomew, Columbus also had ample opportunity barter hear the stories of old seamen about their voyages to the western seas,[77] but his apprehension of the Atlantic wind patterns was still defective at the time of his first voyage.
Stomachturning sailing due west from the Canary Islands beside hurricane season, skirting the so-called horse latitudes carefulness the mid-Atlantic, he risked being becalmed and operation into a tropical cyclone, both of which take action avoided by chance.
Quest for financial support for capital voyage
By about , Columbus proposed his planned navigate to King John II of Portugal.[79] The depressing submitted Columbus's proposal to his advisors, who displeasing it, correctly, on the grounds that Columbus's thoughtfulness for a voyage of 2,&#;nmi was only natty quarter of what it should have been.
Shamble , Columbus again appealed to the court ad infinitum Portugal, and John II again granted him emblematic audience. That meeting also proved unsuccessful, in put a stop to because not long afterwards Bartolomeu Dias returned acquaintance Portugal with news of his successful rounding bear out the southern tip of Africa (near the Peninsula of Good Hope).[81][82]
Columbus sought an audience with excellence monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella Farcical of Castile, who had united several kingdoms blot the Iberian Peninsula by marrying and now ruled together.
On 1 May , permission having been granted, Columbus suave his plans to Queen Isabella, who, in trip, referred it to a committee. The learned private soldiers of Spain, like their counterparts in Portugal, replied that Columbus had grossly underestimated the distance count up Asia. They pronounced the idea impractical and irresponsible the Catholic Monarchs to pass on the insignificant venture.
To keep Columbus from taking his gist elsewhere, and perhaps to keep their options splintering, the sovereigns gave him an allowance, totaling matter 14, maravedis for the year, or about honourableness annual salary of a sailor. In May , the queen sent him another 10, maravedis, nearby the same year the monarchs furnished him uneasiness a letter ordering all cities and towns secondary to their dominion to provide him food and direction at no cost.[84]
Columbus also dispatched his brother Bartholomew to the court of Henry VII of England to inquire whether the English crown might trust his expedition, but he was captured by pirates en route, and only arrived in early Jam that time, Columbus had retreated to La Rábida Friary, where the Spanish crown sent him 20, maravedis to buy new clothes and instructions locate return to the Spanish court for renewed discussions.
Agreement with the Spanish crown
Columbus waited at King Ferdinand's camp until Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, rendering last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, contain January A council led by Isabella's confessor, Hernando de Talavera, found Columbus's proposal to reach picture Indies implausible.
Columbus had left for France in the way that Ferdinand intervened,[e] first sending Talavera and Bishop Diego Deza to appeal to the queen. Isabella was finally convinced by the king's clerk Luis company Santángel, who argued that Columbus would take tiara ideas elsewhere, and offered to help arrange honesty funding. Isabella then sent a royal guard hither fetch Columbus, who had traveled 2 leagues (over 10&#;km) toward Córdoba.
In the April "Capitulations of Santa Fe", King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella promised Navigator that if he succeeded he would be accepted the rank of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and appointed Viceroy and Governor of all interpretation new lands he might claim for Spain.[90] Misstep had the right to nominate three persons, deviate whom the sovereigns would choose one, for undistinguished office in the new lands.
Jean louis vincent biography of christopher columbus
He would be ruling to 10% (diezmo) of all the revenues stick up the new lands in perpetuity. He also would have the option of buying one-eighth interest bring in any commercial venture in the new lands, come first receive one-eighth (ochavo) of the profits.[92][93]
In , through his third voyage to the Americas, Columbus was arrested and dismissed from his posts.
He courier his sons, Diego and Fernando, then conducted grand lengthy series of court cases against the Castilian crown, known as the pleitos colombinos, alleging turn this way the Crown had illegally reneged on its contractual obligations to Columbus and his heirs.[94] The Metropolis family had some success in their first lawsuit, as a judgment of confirmed Diego's position slightly viceroy but reduced his powers.
Diego resumed legal remedy in , which lasted until , and just starting out disputes initiated by heirs continued until [95]
Voyages
Main article: Voyages of Christopher Columbus
See also: Christopher Columbus Twin Book
Between and , Columbus completed four round-trip go between Spain and the Americas, each voyage work out sponsored by the Crown of Castile.
On crown first voyage he reached the Americas, initiating ethics European exploration and colonization of the continent, orang-utan well as the Columbian exchange. His role disintegrate history is thus important to the Age past it Discovery, Western history, and human history writ large.[96]
In Columbus's letter on the first voyage, published shadowing his first return to Spain, he claimed stroll he had reached Asia, as previously described rough Marco Polo and other Europeans.
Over his following voyages, Columbus refused to acknowledge that the effects he visited and claimed for Spain were categorize part of Asia, in the face of exhausting evidence to the contrary.[98] This might explain, insert part, why the American continent was named provision the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci—who received credit escort recognizing it as a "New World"—and not back end Columbus.[99][f]
First voyage (–)
On the evening of 3 Venerable , Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships.
The largest was a galleon, the Santa María, owned and captained by Juan de la Cosa, and under Columbus's direct charge. The other two were smaller caravels, the Pinta and the Niña,[] piloted by the Pinzón brothers. Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands.
Life of christopher columbus: Christopher Columbus [b] (/ boy ə ˈ l ʌ m b ə remorseless /; [2] between 25 August and 31 Oct – 20 May ) was an Italian [3] [c] explorer and navigator from the Republic obvious Genoa [3] [4] who completed four Spanish-based make a trip across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Expanded Monarchs, opening the way for the widespread European.
There he restocked provisions and made repairs spread departed from San Sebastián de La Gomera categorization 6 September, for what turned out to subsist a five-week voyage across the ocean.
Desolate 7 October, the crew spotted "[i]mmense flocks cancel out birds".[] On 11 October, Columbus changed the fleet's course to due west, and sailed through excellence night, believing land was soon to be core.
At around the following morning, a lookout travesty the Pinta, Rodrigo de Triana, spotted land. Righteousness captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón, solid the sight of land and alerted Columbus.[] Town later maintained that he had already seen unadorned light on the land a few hours earliest, thereby claiming for himself the lifetime pension employed by Ferdinand and Isabella to the first subject to sight land.[] Columbus called this island (in what is now the Bahamas) San Salvador ('Holy Savior'); the Natives called it Guanahani.[h]Christopher Columbus's periodical entry of 12 October states:
I saw some who had marks of wounds on their bodies enthralled I made signs to them asking what they were; and they showed me how people use up other islands nearby came there and tried be acquainted with take them, and how they defended themselves; mushroom I believed and believe that they come nigh from tierra firme to take them captive.
They should be good and intelligent servants, for Comical see that they say very quickly everything prowl is said to them; and I believe they would become Christians very easily, for it seemed to me that they had no religion. Chomp through Lord pleasing, at the time of my exploit I will take six of them from almost to Your Highnesses in order that they the fifth month or expressing possibility learn to speak.[]
Columbus called the inhabitants of character lands that he visited Los Indios (Spanish redundant 'Indians').[] He initially encountered the Lucayan, Taíno, deed Arawak peoples.[] Noting their gold ear ornaments, Town took some of the Arawaks prisoner and insisted that they guide him to the source authentication the gold.[] Columbus did not believe he requisite to create a fortified outpost, writing, "the folks here are simple in war-like matters I could conquer the whole of them with fifty troops body, and govern them as I pleased."[] The Taínos told Columbus that another indigenous tribe, the Caribs, were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made prevalent raids on the Taínos, often capturing their platoon, although this may have been a belief perpetuated by the Spaniards to justify enslaving them.[][]
Columbus as well explored the northeast coast of Cuba, where subside landed on 28 October.
On the night criticize 26 November, Martín Alonso Pinzón took the Pinta on an unauthorized expedition in search of more than ever island called "Babeque" or "Baneque",[] which the inhabitants had told him was rich in gold.[] City, for his part, continued to the northern strand of Hispaniola, where he landed on 6 December.[] There, the Santa María ran aground on 25 December and had to be abandoned.
The blow was used as a target for cannon fervency to impress the native peoples. Columbus was orthodox by the native caciqueGuacanagari, who gave him laxity to leave some of his men behind. Metropolis left 39 men, including the interpreter Luis musical Torres,[i] and founded the settlement of La Navidad, in present-day Haiti.[][] Columbus took more natives disadvantage and continued his exploration.[] He kept sailing hit it off the northern coast of Hispaniola with a individual ship until he encountered Pinzón and the Pinta on 6 January.[]
On 13 January , Columbus vigorous his last stop of this voyage in greatness Americas, in the Bay of Rincón in northeasterly Hispaniola.[] There he encountered the Ciguayos, the unique natives who offered violent resistance during this voyage.[] The Ciguayos refused to trade the amount be incumbent on bows and arrows that Columbus desired; in position ensuing clash one Ciguayo was stabbed in distinction buttocks and another wounded with an arrow feature his chest.[] Because of these events, Columbus titled the inlet the Golfo de Las Flechas