CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUSHusein Mustafa

BIOGRAPHYBorn -Between 22 August and 31 October 1451 Genoa, Republic of Genoa, in present-day ItalyDied -20 May 1506Nationality -GenoeseOccupation -Maritime explorer for the Crown of CastileViceroy and Governor of the IndiesReligion -Roman CatholicSpouse -Filipa Moniz Perestrelo Children –Diego,Fernando

Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. He completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Those voyages, and his efforts to establish permanent settlements in the island of Hispaniola, initiated the process of Spanish colonization.

EARLY LIFE

Columbus never wrote in his native language, which is presumed to have been a Genoese. In one of his writings, Columbus claims to have gone to the sea at the age of 10. In 1470 the Columbus family moved to Savona. In the same year, Columbus was on a Genoese ship hired in the service of René I of Anjou to support his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples.

QUEST FOR ASIA

Under the Mongol Empire's hegemony over Asia , Europeans had long enjoyed a safe land passage, the so-called "Silk Road", to China and India. With the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, route to Asia became much more difficult and dangerous. Portuguese navigators, under the leadership of King John II, sought to reach Asia by sailing around Africa. Meanwhile, in the 1480s the Columbus brothers had developed a different plan to reach the Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic.

FIRST VOYAGE

On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with three ships; one larger carrack, Santa María, and two smaller caravels. Columbus first sailed to the Canary Islands, which were owned by Castile, where he restocked the provisions and made repairs. After stopping over in Gran Canaria, he finally departed from San Sebastián de La Gomera on 6 September, for what turned out to be a five-week voyage across the ocean.

Columbus also explored the northeast coast of Cuba and the northern coast of Hispaniola, by 5 December, Santa Maria ran aground on Christmas Day 1492 and had to be abandoned. Columbus left 39 men and founded the settlement of La Navidad at the site of present-day Môle-Saint-Nicolas, Haiti.

Word of his finding new lands rapidly spread throughout Europe.

SECOND VOYAGE

Columbus left Cadiz on 24 September 1493 to find new territories, with 17 ships carrying supplies, and about 1,200 men to colonize the region. The colonists included priests, farmers, and soldiers. He left Hispaniola on 24 April 1494, arrived at Cuba. He retraced his route to Hispaniola, arriving on 20 August, before he finally returned to Spain.

THIRD VOYAGE

On 30 May 1498, Columbus left with six ships from Sanlúcar, Spain, for his third trip to the New World. Columbus led the fleet to the Portuguese island of Porto Santo, his wife's native land. He then sailed to Madeira and spent some time there with the Portuguese captain João Gonçalves da Camara before sailing to the Canary Islands.

FOURTH VOYAGEBefore leaving for his fourth voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to the Governors of the Bank of St. George, Genoa, dated at Seville, 2 April 1502. He wrote "Although my body is here my heart is always near you.

In Panama, Columbus learned from the natives of gold. After much exploration, in January 1503 he established a garrison at the mouth of the Rio Belen. Columbus left for Hispaniola on 16 April. on May 10, arrived in the Cayman Islands. Near the shores of Cuba his ships suffered storm.

Help finally arrived, on 29 June 1504, and Columbus and his men arrived in Spain, on 7 November.

DEATHOn 20 May 1506, at age 54, Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain.

Columbus' remains were first interred at Valladolid, then at the monastery of La Cartuja in Seville by the will of his son Diego. In 1795, when France took over the entire island of Hispaniola, Columbus' remains were moved to Havana, Cuba. After Cuba became independent following the Spanish-American War in 1898, the remains were moved back to Spain, to the Cathedral of Seville, where they were placed on an elaborate catafalque.

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