Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
Christopher Columbus BiographyChristopher Columbus(1451–1506) was an Italian explorer, colonizer, and navigator. He is remembered as the principle European discoverer of the Americas and he helped bring theAmericas to the forefront of the western consciousness. His discoveries and travels laid the framework for the later European colonisation of Latin and North America.“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”– Christopher ColumbusShort bio Christopher Columbus (1451–1506)Christopher Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa, in what is today Northwestern Italy. His father was a middle class wool merchant. Columbus learnt to sail from an early age, and later worked as a business agent, travelling
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An ambitious man, Christopher Columbus hoped to find a Western trade route to the lucrative spice markets in Asia. Rather than sailing East, he hoped that sailing west would lead to countries like Japan and China.To gain the necessary funding and support for his journeys, he approached the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. As part of his offer, he said that he hoped to be able to spread Christianity to ‘heathen lands’ in the east. The Spanish monarchs agreed tofund Columbus, partly on the missionary efforts, but also hoping to gain an upper hand in the lucrative trade markets.Voyages to the AmericasColumbus’ first voyage was completed in 1492. He had intended to sail to Japan, but ended up in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador.Columbus made a total of four journeys, where he sailed extensively around the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas and also to the mainland, to places such as Panama.Columbus was not the first person to reach America. Previous successful voyages included a Norse expedition led by Leif Ericson. However, Columbus was the first to travel to America and establish permanent
An ambitious man, Christopher Columbus hoped to find a Western trade route to the lucrative spice markets in Asia. Rather than sailing East, he hoped that sailing west would lead to countries like Japan and China.To gain the necessary funding and support for his journeys, he approached the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. As part of his offer, he said that he hoped to be able to spread Christianity to ‘heathen lands’ in the east. The Spanish monarchs agreed tofund Columbus, partly on the missionary efforts, but also hoping to gain an upper hand in the lucrative trade markets.Voyages to the AmericasColumbus’ first voyage was completed in 1492. He had intended to sail to Japan, but ended up in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador.Columbus made a total of four journeys, where he sailed extensively around the Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas and also to the mainland, to places such as Panama.Columbus was not the first person to reach America. Previous successful voyages included a Norse expedition led by Leif Ericson. However, Columbus was the first to travel to America and establish permanent