Christopher Columbus's Life
(unkown, Wedding portrait of king ferdinand II of aragón and queen isabella of castile.)
Christopher Columbus was born in Italy in the year of 1451. By the age of thirteen he was very knowledgeable about sailing and navigating. He was considered to be one of those kids who was preparing for an occupation at a very young age (Vickery-Smith, 1998). An idea he had in his head was that he thought he would be able to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean. He put much thought and planning into this voyage that he was going to take.
According to the book, The Discovery Of Americas (1991), Christopher Columbus had to raise money to buy ships and supplies so he could have the opportunity to travel around the world. He was not able to raise money until after he left for Spain when he saw King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (pictured below). This was not an easy task for him because it took him eight years to convince the King and Queen for money. According to the article, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), not only received money, but they gave him three ships called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Marìa. They also promised him that he would be Governor of any land that he found. According to the book, Family Treasury of Great Biographies (1955) they “...promised him to be the Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the lands that he may discover” (Morison, 1955, p.22). Christopher Columbus “...shall have 10 percent of all gold, gems, spices or other merchandise produced or obtained by trade within those domains, tax free” (Morison, 1955, p.22). King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella promised all of these things to Christopher Columbus if he “is setting forth ‘to discover and acquire certain islands and mainlands in the Ocean Sea’” (Morison, 1955, p.22). He had asked other Kings and Queens before he made his voyage, but they would not provide him with anything like King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella did.
According to the book, The Discovery Of Americas (1991), Christopher Columbus had to raise money to buy ships and supplies so he could have the opportunity to travel around the world. He was not able to raise money until after he left for Spain when he saw King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (pictured below). This was not an easy task for him because it took him eight years to convince the King and Queen for money. According to the article, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), not only received money, but they gave him three ships called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Marìa. They also promised him that he would be Governor of any land that he found. According to the book, Family Treasury of Great Biographies (1955) they “...promised him to be the Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the lands that he may discover” (Morison, 1955, p.22). Christopher Columbus “...shall have 10 percent of all gold, gems, spices or other merchandise produced or obtained by trade within those domains, tax free” (Morison, 1955, p.22). King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella promised all of these things to Christopher Columbus if he “is setting forth ‘to discover and acquire certain islands and mainlands in the Ocean Sea’” (Morison, 1955, p.22). He had asked other Kings and Queens before he made his voyage, but they would not provide him with anything like King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella did.
(Yue, Christopher columbus)
Finally, on August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus left Spain to set sail with three ships called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Marìa to the Atlantic ocean. While Columbus was traveling, he only had a compass and the stars to guide him. He did not have a GPS to help him navigate around the world like we have today. Another issue Christopher Columbus had to deal with is stated in the article, In the News: Christopher Columbus. “In his time it was difficult to estimate the circumference, or the distance around something, of the earth. Although most people knew that the earth was round, they did not agree on one calculation for figuring out its circumference. This meant Columbus did not know how far he would have to sail to reach land" (Cale, 2005).