Years of life of Christopher Columbus: biography, travels, discoveries. Christopher Columbus: Voyages to the Indies

For the first time, the idea of ​​​​crossing the Atlantic Ocean to find a direct and quick route to India allegedly came to Columbus back in 1474 as a result of correspondence with the Italian geographer Toscanelli. The navigator made the necessary calculations and decided that the easiest way would be to sail through the Canary Islands. He believed that Japan was only about five thousand kilometers from them, and from the Land of the Rising Sun it would not be difficult to find a way to India.

But Columbus was able to fulfill his dream only a few years later; he repeatedly tried to interest the Spanish monarchs in this event, but his demands were recognized as excessive and expensive. And only in 1492, Queen Isabella gave for the trip and promised to make Columbus admiral and viceroy of all discovered lands, although she did not donate money for it. The navigator himself was poor, but his comrade-in-arms, the shipowner Pinson, gave his ships to Christopher.

Discovery of America

The first expedition, which began in August 1492, involved three ships - the famous Niña, Santa Maria and Pinta. In October, Columbus reached land and ashore on an island he named San Salvador. Confident that this was a poor part of China or some other undeveloped land, Columbus, however, was surprised by many things unknown to him - he saw tobacco, cotton clothing, and hammocks for the first time.

Local Indians told about the existence of the island of Cuba in the south, and Columbus went in search of it. During the expedition, Haiti and Tortuga were discovered. These lands were declared the property of the Spanish monarchs, and Fort La Navidad was created in Haiti. The navigator went back with plants and animals, gold and a group of natives, whom the Europeans called Indians, since no one had yet suspected the discovery of the New World. All lands found were considered part of Asia.

During the second expedition, Haiti, the Jardines de la Reina archipelago, Pinos Island, and Cuba were explored. For the third time, Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad, found the mouth of the Orinoco River and Margarita Island. The fourth voyage made it possible to explore the shores of Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The route to India was never found, but South America was discovered. Columbus finally realized that south of Cuba lay a whole barrier on the way to rich Asia. The Spanish navigator laid the foundation for exploration of the New World.


autumn 1451, Corsica island, Genoese Republic (according to one version) - May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain

Christopher Columbus - Spanish navigator and discoverer of new lands. He is best known for his discovery of America (1492).

Columbus was the first to be reliably famous travelers crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the subtropical and tropical zone of the northern hemisphere and was the first European to sail in the Caribbean Sea. He marked the beginning of the discovery of the continent South America and isthmuses Central America. He discovered all of the Greater Antilles - the central part of the Bahamas archipelago, the Lesser Antilles (from Dominica to the Virgin Islands inclusive), as well as a number of small islands in the Caribbean Sea and the island of Trinidad off the coast of South America.

Since Europeans in the person of the Icelandic Vikings (Leif Eriksson and others) visited North America back in the 11th century, Columbus, strictly speaking, cannot be called the discoverer of America. However, since Columbus's expeditions were essential to the subsequent colonization of America, such terminology is widely used.

Italian by origin. Born in Genoa between August 25 and October 31, 1451 in the family of wool weaver Domenico Colombo.
In 1470 he began to actively participate in commercial transactions (until 1473 under the leadership of his father). In 1474–1479 he made several voyages as part of trade expeditions of the Genoese company Centurione Negro: he visited the island of Chios, England, Ireland, the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira. In 1476 he settled in Portugal. In 1482–1484 he visited the Azores and the Guinean coast (Fort of São Jorge da Mina).

Columbus was born into a poor Genoese family: father - Domenico Colombo, mother - Susanna Fontanarossa. In addition to Christopher, there were other children in the family: Giovanni (died in childhood, in 1484), Bartolomeo, Giacomo, Bianchella (married Giacomo Bavarello). Studied at the University of Pavia. Around 1470 he married Doña Felipe Moniz de Palestrello. Her father was famous navigator from the time of Prince Enrique. Until 1472, Columbus lived in Genoa, and from 1472 - in Savona. In the 1470s he participated in sea trade expeditions. It is believed that as early as 1474, the astronomer and geographer Paolo Toscanelli told him in a letter that, in his opinion, India could be reached by a much shorter sea route by sailing to the west. Apparently, even then Columbus was thinking about his project of a sea voyage to India. Having made his own calculations based on Toscanelli’s advice, he decided that it was most convenient to sail through the Canary Islands, from which, in his opinion, there were about five thousand kilometers to Japan.


Christopher Columbus

In 1476, Columbus moved to Portugal, where he lived for nine years. It is known that in 1477 Columbus visited England, Ireland and Iceland, where he could get acquainted with the Icelanders’ data about the lands in the west. During this time, he also managed to visit Guinea as part of the expedition of Diogo de Azambuja, who went there in 1481 to build the Elmina fortress (São Jorge da Mina)

Columbus's first proposal to sail to India to the west was in 1475-1480. He addressed it to the government and merchants of his native Genoa. There was no response.

1480s - during this period the Portuguese were preoccupied with finding a sea route to Asia. The interest in this part of the world can be explained quite simply: Asian spices alone at that time often replaced money, but there were also incense, silk, carpets, luxury goods... There was no land route to Asia then - it was blocked by the powerful Ottoman Empire. They had to repurchase spices, silk and other exotic oriental goods from Arab merchants, losing large profits. The Portuguese saw only one route: round Africa, climb to Indian Ocean, and at the beginning of the decade, King João II of Portugal equipped and sent a corresponding expedition. Columbus proposed an alternative: to reach Asia by moving west. Columbus's theory was based on the navigator's own calculations. But in fairness, it must be said that Columbus was not an innovator - the idea of ​​a western route to India was put forward in the ancient world by Aristotle and Protagoras.


CristobalColon


Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio .: This Portrait was made by the Florentine painter Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483-1561). This illustration may be considered to be in the public domain. This portrait was executed in the first half of the sixteenth century, after the death of Columbus. It is displayed in a showcase of the Museum of the sea and navigation of Genoa, "It Padiglione del Mare e della Navigazione."

In 1483, he proposed his project to the Portuguese King João II, but after a long study the project was rejected.

In 1485, Columbus and his son Diego moved to Spain (apparently fleeing persecution. In the winter of 1485-1486, he found shelter in the monastery of Santa Maria da Rabida as a beggar. Abbot Juan Perez de Marchena accepted him and actually saved him from starvation. He also organized the first letter to Fernando de Talavera, his acquaintance - the queen's confessor, with a brief summary of Columbus's ideas. The King of Spain was at that time in the city of Cordoba, where preparations were taking place for the war with Granada with the personal participation of the sovereigns. 1486 Columbus establishes connections with royal financial advisors, merchants and bankers. It was not until the winter of 1486 that Columbus was introduced to Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo and Grand Cardinal of Spain, who in turn facilitated an audience with the King of Spain. Columbus's proposal was studied several times. theologians, cosmographers, lawyers, monks, courtiers reject him, considering his demands excessive.

Christopher Columbus, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly right.

On April 20, 1488, Columbus unexpectedly received a letter from the Portuguese king inviting him to return to Portugal. The most interesting words here were the following words of Their Majesties:

“And if you fear Our justice regarding some of your obligations, then know that neither after your arrival, nor during your stay in Portugal, nor after your departure, you will be neither arrested, nor detained, nor accused, nor convicted, nor persecuted for any reason arising under civil, criminal or any other law. »

Columbus sends his proposals to other addresses: from King Henry VII of England in February 1488, he received a favorable response, but without any specific proposals.


Columbus and the Indian Maiden

1488 - a certain Beatriz Enriquez de Arana gives birth to Columbus's son Fernando. Columbus not only recognized the child, but also did not forget him later, thirteen years later he took him on one of his expeditions. It was Fernando who would later write the biography of his father, which would become the main source of information about the great navigator.

1492 - Spain is liberated from the Moors, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally make the final decision to finance the search for a western route to Asia. In case of failure, they only lost the funds invested in the enterprise. If successful, dizzying prospects opened up for Spain. Columbus was promised: a title of nobility, the titles of admiral, viceroy and governor-general of all islands and continents discovered during the expedition.


Christopher Columbus kneeling in front of Queen Isabella I.

On April 30, 1492, the royal couple granted Columbus and his heirs the title of “don” (that is, they made him a nobleman) and confirmed that, if the overseas project was successful, he would be Admiral of the Sea-Ocean and Viceroy of all lands that he would discover or will acquire and be able to pass on these titles by inheritance. True, Columbus had to find money to equip the expedition on his own at the expense of lost state tax payments from Her Majesty the Queen of Castile. In addition, according to the agreement, an eighth of the costs had to be borne by Columbus himself, who did not have a penny at all.


Christopher Columbus being greeted by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on his return to Spain.

However, Columbus was helped by Martin Alonso Pinzon. One of the ships, the Pinta, was his own, and he equipped it at his own expense; He lent money for the second ship to Christopher so that Columbus could make his formal contribution to the treaty. For the third ship, money was given by local Marranos (baptized Jews) under his own guarantee to offset their payments to the budget. Among them was the rabbi and royal treasurer, the Castilian tutor Abraham Senior (Coronel) and his son-in-law Mayera Melomed.

Between 1492 and 1504, Christopher Columbus undertook four exploration expeditions at the behest of the Spanish king. He described the events of these expeditions in his logbook. Unfortunately, the original journal has not survived, but Bartolome de Las Casas made a partial copy of this journal, which has survived to this day, thanks to which many details of the described expeditions have become known.


Map four expeditions Columba

First voyage (August 3, 1492 - March 15, 1493).
Second voyage (September 25, 1493 - June 11, 1496).
Third voyage (May 30, 1498 - November 25, 1500).
Fourth voyage (9 May 1502 - November 1504).


Dagli Orti "PINTA", "NINA" AND "SANTA MARIA" - the ships on which Christopher Columbus made his first voyage to the shores of America

First voyage (1492–1493).
Early in the morning of August 3, 1492, Columbus's flotilla of three ships (the caravels "Pinta" and "Nina" and the four-masted sailing ship (nao) "Santa Maria") with a crew of 90 people. left the port of Palos de la Frontera (near the confluence of the Rio Tinto into the Gulf of Cadiz).
On August 9, she approached the Canary Islands. After the Pinta was repaired on the island of Gomera, the ships on September 6, 1492, heading west, began crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Having passed the Sargasso Sea, Columbus turned southwest on October 7. On October 12, the Spaniards reached the island of Guanahani (modern Watling) in the Bahamas archipelago - the first land they encountered in the Western Hemisphere. Columbus named the island San Salvador (St. Savior) and its inhabitants Indians, believing that he was off the coast of India. This day is considered the official date of the discovery of America.


Columbus declares the discovered land the property of the Spanish king

Having learned from the natives about the existence of a rich island in the south, Columbus left the Bahamas archipelago on October 24 and sailed further to the southwest. On October 28, the flotilla approached the shores of Cuba, which Columbus named “Juana.” Then the Spaniards, inspired by the stories of the local Indians, spent a month searching for the golden island of Baneque (modern Great Inagua).


The Landing of Columbus. Christopher Columbus and others showing objects to Native American men and women on shore.

On November 21, the captain of the Pinta, M.A. Pinson, took his ship away, deciding to search for this island on his own. Having lost hope of finding Baneke, Columbus with the two remaining ships turned east and on December 5 reached the northwestern tip of the island of Bohio (modern Haiti), to which he gave the name Hispaniola (“Spanish”). Moving along north coast Hispaniola, the expedition on December 25 approached the Holy Cape (modern Cap-Haïtien), where the Santa Maria crashed and sank. This forced Columbus to leave part of the crew (39 people) in Fort Navidad (“Christmas”), which he founded, and set off on the Niña on the return journey (January 2, 1493). On January 6 he met "Pinta".
On January 16, both ships headed northeast, taking advantage of a passing current - the Gulf Stream. On February 11–14, they were caught in a strong storm, during which the Pinta was lost.
On February 15, the Niña reached Santa Maria Island in the Azores archipelago, but only on February 18 did it manage to land on shore. The Portuguese governor of the island tried to detain the ship by force, but encountered decisive resistance from Columbus and released the travelers.
On February 24, Niña left the Azores. On February 26, she again encountered a storm, which on March 4 washed her ashore on the Portuguese coast near the mouth of the Tagus (Tajo). João II gave Columbus an audience, at which he informed the king about his discovery of the western route to India and reproached him for refusing to support his project in 1484. Despite the advice of the courtiers to kill the admiral, João II did not dare to enter into conflict with Spain, and on March 13, the Niña was able to sail to her homeland. On March 15, the 225th day of the voyage, she returned to Palos. Later, “Pinta” came there too. Isabella and Ferdinand gave Columbus a solemn welcome and gave permission for a new expedition.

First Voyage, Departure for the New World, August 3, 1492

Second Voyage (1493–1496).
On September 25, 1493, Columbus's flotilla of 17 caravels (in addition to the ship's crews, there were soldiers, officials, monks and colonists on board) left Cadiz and reached Canary Islands ov.
On October 11, Columbus began crossing the Atlantic, taking a more southerly course than during his first voyage, since he planned to reach Hispaniola from the southeast. On November 3, the ships approached one of the Small Antilles, to whom Columbus gave the name Dominica (it was Sunday - “Lord’s Day”); He called the aborigines who practiced ritual cannibalism “cannibals.” Then the navigators discovered a number of other islands in the northern part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago - Montserrat, Antigua, Nevis, San Cristobal (modern Saint Christopher), San Eustasio (modern Sint Eustatius), Santa Cruz and the “Isles of the Eleven Thousand Virgins” "(Virginian), and large island Boriken, renamed San Juan Bautista (modern Puerto Rico) by the admiral.
Approaching the eastern tip of Hispaniola, the flotilla moved along its northern coast and on November 27 reached Fort Navidad, which was devastated; Not a single colonist remained alive. East of the fort (in a very unfortunate location), Columbus founded a new settlement, calling it La Isabela in honor of the Queen of Spain. In January 1494, he sent an expedition deep into the island under the command of A. de Ojeda, which obtained from the Indians great amount gold items. On February 2, the admiral sent twelve ships with loot to their homeland. In the spring of 1494, the Spaniards switched to a policy of systematic robbery and extermination of the local population.


Cristobal Colon apaciguando una rebelion a bordo.


Cristoforo Colombo in mezzo agli indigenous

Leaving his brother Diego in charge of Hispaniola, Columbus sailed west with three ships on April 24, 1494, continuing his search for a route to Asia (China). On April 29, he approached the eastern tip of Cuba. Moving along her south coast, the flotilla reached Guantanamo Bay, and then turned south and anchored off May 5 northern shore Jamaica. Encountering the open hostility of the natives, Columbus returned to the Cuban coast, headed west and reached Cortez Bay near the western tip of the island. Deciding that the Malacca Peninsula was in front of him, he turned back (June 13). Having bypassed Jamaica from the south, the flotilla returned to La Isabela on September 29.


Christopher Columbus and his crew leaving the port of Palos, Spain, for the New World; crowd of well wishers looks on.

Throughout 1495, Columbus suppressed the Indian uprising that broke out in Hispaniola. In the same year, under the influence of complaints against the admiral from colonists who fled to Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella deprived him of the monopoly right to discover overseas lands and sent their authorized representative J. Aguado to the island. After the conflict with J. Aguado, Columbus left Hispaniola on March 10, 1496, transferring power to his brother Bartolome. On June 11 he arrived in Cadiz.


Columbus and son at the convent of La Rábída, approaching prior Juan Pérez, who is surrounded by poor people.


The First Sight of the New World

Third Voyage (1498–1500).
Although Ferdinand and Isabella had serious doubts about the profitability of Columbus's discoveries, the Portuguese preparation of a flotilla under the command of Vasco da Gama for a decisive push into the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope forced them to agree to organize a third expedition to the west.


The Landing of Columbus at San Salvador, October 12, 1492.


The Landing of Columbus, 1492.


}

 

It might be useful to read: