The document provides an overview of Christopher Columbus's life, including his various names, background, significant voyages to the New World, and eventual disgrace. It details his quests for royal support, his explorations, and the impact of his journeys on history, including the misidentification of America as Asia. The text also cites influential figures like Amerigo Vespucci and discusses the myths surrounding Columbus's legacy.

1. THE MOMENTOUS JOURNEYS OF
CHRISTOFORO COLOMBO

2. What was his name?
 Cristoforo Colombo – Italian
 Cristòfor Colom – Catalan
 Cristóbal Colón – Spanish
 Cristóvão Colombo – Portuguese
 Christohorus Columbus - Latin
 Christoffa Corombo – Genoese
 Cristopher Columbus - English

3. When was he born?
 Between August 22 and October 31, 1451
 Holy Week and Passover at the same time

4. Where was he born?
 Genoa
 Catalonia?
 Portugal?
 Spain?
 On the high seas?

5. Italy

6. What do we know?
 Father: Domenico Colombo – wool weaver and
merchant
 Mother: Susanna Fontanarossa
 Brothers: Bartolomeo, cartographer; Giovanni
Pellegrino and Giacomo
 Wife: Filipa Moniz Perestrelo
 Son: Diego
 Mistress: Beatriz Enriquez de Arana
 Son: Fernando

7. The ‘Old World’

8. The Times
 Educated knowledge: Earth is a sphere: Aristotle (984-
322 BC)/Ptolemy (85-165 AD)/Saint Bede (673-735 AD)
 Size of Earth correctly estimated: Erosthenes (c 276-195
BC) and Alfraganus (9th C)
 Vikings, like Leif Ericson had explored these lands (c
1000)
 Marco Polo’s accounts (1298)
 Motivation to reach China (Cathay), India and Japan
(Cipangu)
 Portugal (Bartolomeu Dias) push to South of Africa
 Spain: End of the Reconquista: Jan 2, 1492

9. Background
 Early sea travels
 Self-educated
 Interested in biblical texts
 Learned Latin, Portuguese and Castilian
 Read works about astronomy, geography, and
history
 Was mistaken about the size of the Earth, the size of
Eurasia, and the distance between Japan and China.

10. Quest for Support
 1485 – John II, King of Portugal
 1486 – Isabella, Queen of Castile
 1488 – John II, King of Portugal
 Genoa
 Venice
 Bartholomew to Henry VII, King of England
 1492 – Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of
Castile

11. The Explorer
 The Admiral of the Ocean Sea
 Viceroy and Governor of the Indies
 10% of all acquired treasures

12. Iberia

13. The Admiral and his fleet
 Portrait  La Pinta, La Niña y La
Santa Maria

14. Canary Islands

15. Momentous First Voyage
 Aug 3, 1492 – Port of Palos, Spain to Canary Islands
 Sept 6 – San Sebastian de la Gomera
 5 weeks across the ocean
 Oct 12, 1492 – San Salvador (Guanahani), The
Bahamas
 Oct 28 – Northeast Cuba
 Dec 5 – Hispaniola (Haiti)
 Jan 13, 1493 – Samana Peninsula (Dominican Rep)
 March 4 – Lisbon, Portugal
 March 15 – Palos, Spain

16. First Voyage (Aug 3, 1492-
March 15, 1493)

17. Exploration and Conflict:
Second Voyage
 Sept 24, 1493 - Cadiz
 Oct 13 – Canary Islands
 Lesser Antilles, including Virgin Islands
 Greater Antilles: Puerto Rico (San Juan
Bautista), Hispaniola, Southeast Cuba, and
Jamaica
 August 20, 1494 – Hispaniola and Spain

18. Second Voyage (Sept 24, 1493
– Aug 20, 1994)

19. Exploration and Exploitation:
Fall from Grace – Third Voyage
 May 30, 1498 – Sanlúcar, Spain to Portugal (Porto
Santo and Madeira) to Canary Islands and Cape
Verde
 July 31 – Trinidad
 Aug 4 to 12 – Gulf of aria, mainland of South
America including Venezuela, the Orinoco
River, Margarita Island, Tobago and Granada
 Aug 19, 1500 – Hispaniola
 Oct 1, 1500 – Columbus and brothers sent to Spain
in chains

20. Third Voyage (May 30, 1498 –
Oct 1500)

21. Fourth and Last Voyage:
Disaster
 May 11, 1502 – Cadiz to Moroccan coast
 Martinique island, Santo Domingo, Bay
Islands, Honduras, Puerto Castilla, Honduras
mainland
 Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama
 April 16 left for Hispaniola
 May 10 – Cayman islands (Las Tortugas) and
Jamaica
 February 29, 1504 – Lunar Eclipse
 Nov 7 – Sanlúcar, Spain

22. Fourth Voyage (May 11, 1502 –
Nov 7, 1504)

23. Forgotten
 Returns to Spain in disgrace
 Fights the courts for reinstatement of his rights
‘Pleitos Colonbinos) – continued by his heirs
 Writes two books: Book of Privileges (1502) and
Book of Prophecies (1506)
 Dies in Valladolid, May 20, 1506 (age 54) a broken
man

24. New World

25. Expansion: Why America?
 Amerigo Vespucci, Americo Vespucio, Americus
Vespucius
 Born in Florence, Italy – March 9, 1954 to February
22, 1512
 Merchant, Explorer, Cartographer
 Demonstrated that the New World was not Asia, but a
previously unknown continent
 Two letters (Mundus Novus and Lettera) demonstrate
that these lands were not Asia but a fourth previously
unknown continent
 Martin Waldseemüller translated to Latin, and named the
continent ‘America’ in 1507 on his world map.

26. Myths and Ironies
 Popular belief about the earth’ shape and size
 Queen Isabel selling her jewels
 CC: first explorer to reach Americas
 CC calling the inhabitants ‘Indios’
 ‘Discovery’
 ‘New’ world’
 Perception of the term ‘America’
 Naming of the continent

27. Impact
 What DID he DO?
 Was he a visionary hero or a despicable villain?

28. RECOMMENDED READING
 The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus with Stephen
Marlowe, 1987

29. Contact us:
 Dr. Maria H. Koonce and William J. Koonce
 billmar@cfl.rr.com