Christopher Columbus

Who was Columbus?

• Born in Genoa, Italy in 1451• Birth name was Cristoforo Colombo.• Father was a wool merchant• Went to sea as a teenager working on a

Portuguese ship.• Learned navigation & sailing skills from the

Portuguese and at some point he read Marco Polo’s book. • Moved to Portugal in 1476 and joined the

merchant marine• Married a girl named Felipa in 1479• Son Diego born 1480• Traveled the coast of Africa 1482-85• 1484 asks King John II of Portugal to fund

expedition west to get to Asia.

The squeaky wheel…

• King John says no.• Goes to Spain and asks King Ferdinand and

Queen Isabella to finance his expedition. They say no. • Felipa died 1485• Marries 2nd wife Beatrice• Second son Ferdinand born 1488• Continues to ask King Ferdinand & Queen

Isabella to finance him. Asks for 7 years. Queen Isabella finally gives in. • Leaves Spain August 3, 1492 with 3 ships• Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria and a crew of 90

men and boys.

70 Days at Sea = Unhappy Crew

• Sailed south to the Canary Islands where they spent nearly a month.• Left the Canaries on September 6.• On several occasions in September and

early October, the sailors spotted floating vegetation and various types of birds - all signs that land was nearby.• By October 10 the crew had begun to lose

patience and threatened mutiny.• Columbus asked for 3 more days of sailing

then they would return home.• On day 2, after 70 days at sea, land was

spotted.

• Landed on an Island he named San Salvador (present day Bahamas)• Thought he had landed in the “Indies” that

Marco Polo had talked about. • Arrives in Cuba on October 28• Discovered tobacco• Travels to Hispaniola (now the Dominican

Republic)• Decide to set up a settlement.• Used wood from the Santa Maria to build a fort

after the ship ran aground. • The natives of the island are the Taino

• Heads back to Spain in March 1493 with 6 natives, some parrots in cages, and gold jewelry.• Spain was eager to finance more

trips for Columbus because they were interested in more gold.• Columbus sailed west three

more times in his life.

• Columbus died in 1506, a lonely and disappointed man. He died still believing that he had found a new route to the East Indies.

• Although on his fourth voyage he landed on the South American mainland, he never did set foot on the mainland of North America