Christopher Columbus Biography - Short Summary
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Christopher Columbus he is perhaps one of the most popular characters of all time for his famous discovery of America in 1492, undoubtedly a historical fact for humanity. He was also a navigator, admiral and viceroy of Western India in the service of the Crown of Castile. Although there are very few written documents referring to the life of this character, Then, in this lesson from a TEACHER we will delve into those most salient aspects of his existence. Keep reading and you will know a short summary of the biography of Christopher Columbus.
Index
- Early years of the biography of Christopher Columbus
- The Christopher Columbus project
- The discovery of America
- Next trips to America
Early years of the biography of Christopher Columbus.
We start this short summary of the biography of Christopher Columbus talking about the early years of this important character in the future of our history.
Christopher Columbus much of his life is unknown
especially with regard to the first years; Hence, neither the origin of him nor the date of his birth is known with certainty, although it is true that many historians agree that he was probably Genoese and with regard to the date of his birth and death, the following 1451 -1506.It seems that Christopher Columbus began in the world of crafts and commerce and that he took contact with the sea for commercial purposes through navigation. Precisely on one of those commercial trips, his merchant ship was attacked by some French corsairs from which Columbus tried to save himself by swimming near Cape San Vicente (Portugal).
Once there he settled in Lisbon as a salesman for the Centurione house for which he made several trips to Guinea, Madeira and even England. All these trips gave Christopher Columbus a great knowledge of both navigation techniques and geography with respect to maps. He also and in a self-taught way he learned the classical languages and tried to interpret the theories of Aristotle or Ptolemy about the sphericity of the Earth.
The Christopher Columbus project.
In later times, specifically during the Renaissance, the exploration navigations thanks to a series of advances in the ships to be able to make great crossings. These events influenced Christopher Columbus to develop a project of which, based on the fact that the Earth was spherical, he estimated that the eastern coast could be reached at about 2400 miles from Canary Islands.
The economic interest It was obvious from this project since trade with the East would be based on the importation of luxury products and spices, an extremely profitable trade for the Portuguese economy.
Insurance of your project He presented it to King Juan II of Portugal but he ended up rejecting it because the monarch put the condition of not setting sail from the Canary Islands and yes from Madeira because if the trip was made with Successfully, the Crown of Castile could claim the lands that had been conquered as signed in the Treaty of Alcaçovas.
Colón, who was only sure of his project starting from the Canary Islands, tried his luck with the Catholic Monarchs in Spain who also rejected it by unfeasible. However, over time it did not turn out to be completely a failure, as little by little the support of the court and the fact of ending the expulsion of the Arabs from Granada he allowed the Spanish crown to deal with new matters.
Hence, Colon was summoned by Queen Isabel la Católica to Granada to carry out the negotiations by signing the Capitulations of Santa Fe in which Colon would be granted a series of privileges as long as his project was victorious.
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The discovery of America.
We continue with this short summary of the biography of Christopher Columbus speaking, now, of the company that gave him the fame he currently has: the trip to the Americas. Once the financing was received, the crew began to establish the supplies for the trip, counting on the help of Martín Alonso Pinzón to assemble a fleet of three caravels: La Pinta, La Niña Y Santa Maria With which he departed from the Puerto de Palos (Huelva) on August 3, 1492, heading for the Indies.
She sailed first towards the Canaries and from there heading west until reaching the Guanahaní island (San Salvador in the Bahamas) after a two-month voyage by high seas the October 12, 1492 without being aware that what they had actually stepped on were the lands of the American continent.
They also discovered Cuba Y the Spanish (Santo Domingo), where he built the first Spanish settlement with the remains of the sunken caravel (Santa María); so that he returned to Spain with the other two remaining in 1493 convinced of having reached the Asian coasts.
Next trips to America.
In the Christopher Columbus' biography we also find three more trips that the admiral made to the Americas.
Second voyage (1493–1496)
He discovered Puerto Rico, Jamaica and he created the Isabela city However, he had to return to Spain as he had been accused for his way of governing Hispaniola, using excessive violence against indigenous people in the areas.
Third voyage (1498-1500)
It touched solid ground in the mouth of the Orinoco and discovered the Trinity, but the uprisings between the colonizers of Hispaniola continued until they got Christopher Columbus to be dismissed as their governor and he was sent prisoner to Spain.
In Spain he was tried and once all the privileges that he possessed after the signing of the Capitulations had been reviewed, the viceregal power was excluded.
Fourth Voyage (1502)
It was carried out on the condition that it did not approach Hispaniola and thus traveled Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama Y Costa Rica returning to Spain in the year 1504 trying to get real grants for both him and his descendants since he King Ferdinand the Catholic, before the great proportions that the discovery was reaching, tried to cut its privileges; However, King Ferdinand refused to grant him the mercy, he only offered to renounce everything signed in the capitulations in exchange for a lordship in León. The two never reached an agreement.
Finally, in the year 1506 Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid without knowing that he had been the discoverer of a new continent and with his honor seriously affected, for he did not even have the gratification of giving his name to the continent because it is called America in honor of the navigator Americo Vespucci who had also traveled to this new land between the years 1499 and 1502.
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