Christopher Columbus' Motivations to Sail West for the Indies

The 15th century was a prosperous time for trade and travel for the whole world round, even if some believed the world was flat. Columbus came from this time period in which he was born in Italy to a poor family. Despite living in such an impoverished lifestyle, the young Columbus was flourished in rich learnings of the times and languages. From these beginnings he grew to be a mariner in his twenties. Columbus was in his thirties when he first began his trials to find an Atlantic path to Asia. His only predicament was that he needed a way to finance such a journey to Asia via the Atlantic ocean. Any merchant would be in awe of the idea of an easier path to Asia, but the most notable problem was, was it possible to find such a path within a range that a ship

Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator and explorer. He sailed across the Atlantic in the Santa Maria from Spain, in hopes to find a new passageway to India.The purpose of Christopher Columbus's voyage was to find a quicker route to Asia. Columbus failed in this attempt. Instead of finding Asia, he found the “New World”. He has been known for opening up the Americas to new European colonization. Columbus had to have many good reasons in order to make the Spanish Monarchy financially support him on this voyage.

On May in 1486 almost a year after Columbus had enter Spain, he was finally allowed to meet with the queen who is said to be known for her great judgment in choosing the right man for the right job. The queen turned down Christopher’s proposals several times before giving it any true thought. The queen sent out her confessor to examine the great project to see if it was feasible. For the next six months Columbus lived the worst days of his life. Christopher was subjected to continuous prejudice even though he knew his great project would open new pathways to maritime achievement and opportunity, but still the public viewed his revolutionary planes as a crackpot idea. Very few of the queen’s staff were in favor of the great quest except for one, Diego de Deza who granted Columbus 12,000 maravedis a year, which was about $83 in gold. It was enough to support a man like Columbus. Columbus had simple tastes.

Christopher Columbus was sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel of Spain in 1492 to find an alternate trade route to Asia. The Reconquista was just wrapping up in Spain, and in hopes to continue the movement, the King and Queen encouraged Columbus to spread Christianity once he made landfall. Their goals for his voyage were similar to many at the time: find riches, spread faith, and claim any unconquered lands. Columbus was successful in all three, however, there is much controversy in the measures Columbus took to do so. Although Christopher Columbus caused the death of many indigenous people and ecological succession, his ultimate goal was to carry out the requests of the Spanish government, therefore he should not be found guilty because

Christopher Columbus is known for being an explorer and is said to have made one of the most important voyages in world history without even wanting to. Something else that is also believed is that he “opened up” the Americas to European nations, which changed the course of American history. Before he went on his voyage though, he was in need of resources. So he asked Portugal, France, Italy among many other countries but they all denied Columbus and thought his statement was incorrect. Columbus’ statement was that he had found a faster way to get to Asia than the Portuguese had, which was going around the continent of Africa. Columbus lived a majority of his life in Spain, so when it came to setting sail for the west, Spain was one of the first nations he asked for funding. Though it took Columbus a little more than a few years to convince a nation to fund his voyage, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand from Spain subsequently granted to endow him in 1492. He would then leave for “Asia” on August 3, 1492. There are many unanswered questions and thoughts on why Spain decided to finally fund Columbus’ voyage, especially since he was an explorer that was born in Italy.

The name Christopher Columbus is recognized by many as that of the discoverer of the New World. Variations of this famous name change according to nation, being referred to by the Spaniards as “Cristóbal Colón” and, by those of his own Italian heritage, as “Cristoforo Colombo”. Aside from these insignificant contrasts, his narrative remains unfaltering in its global recognition as a tale of hardships faced and victories won, all met with indubitable passion and determination embodied by Columbus himself to achieve his goals. In August of 1492, he, along with his 87 men, set off in search of a western route to Asia aboard three renowned ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. This expedition and the four that would follow began with ambitious visions of monetary gain, religious propagation, and glory, the entirety of these with the overarching theme of competing in the imminent race for continental, and perhaps world, power between civilizations. Before executing this tremendous voyage, however, it was required of Columbus to embark on a search for a willing sponsor with access to resources he otherwise would not be able to obtain. The Genoese explorer at last persuaded rulers of Spain Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon to finance his trip due to a combination of characteristics taking place during his final request of them, specifically the unification of religion during this time, the economic advantages the quest would bring, and the impeccable timing of

Imagine, living in a world where one is taught one thing in school, but then as time passes learns most about the topic and see’s they had been missing out on alot of information. As a child in school we are taught that Christopher Columbus had discovered the Americas but in reality there had been a lot of information missing in what we had been learning in school. Columbuses orginal goal was trying to direct the route of the spice trade, he had been seaching for a faster way to India, when instead he found America alterenatly. From the beginnings, Columbus was looking to only gain wealth for himself and the Spanish empire. He had thought that if he could persue a route to the East Indies he could get a direct route to the spice trade, and that if he could get there he would be able to remove the muslims and the italian men. Elinatining these men would initinally mean more profit for Columbus and Spain.

Cristopher Columbus, born in 1450/51 in Genoa Italy, was an Italian explorer. Columbus was interested in claiming land for the crown as well as riches. His religious views and his greed, as well as his country’s, fueled an ignorant perspective that would come to direct the interactions Columbus had with the Natives on the Island of Hispaniola. Columbus tried for years to acquire funding and spent many meetings with scholars laughing in his face at the ideas he put forth. Eventually, after securing the funds necessary for his voyages from King

His mission was to explore unknown areas west of the Caribbean still trying to find a shortcut to Asia. He took four ships for the journey, Capitana, Gallega, Vizcaina and Santiago de Palos. After being arrested, he was no longer allowed in back Hispaniola. The settlers still remembered his cruel ways. The governor of Hispaniola was sending a fleet back to Spain of 28 ships. Columbus warned him about an approaching hurricane, but he did not listen. Only 4 ships survived the storm. Columbus explored parts of Central America, but weather conditions and termites destroyed parts of the ships. Columbus and the men were stranded for about a year in Jamaica before someone rescued them. The crew did all they could to survive in the meantime. They used remaining parts of the ships to build shelter and made peace with the natives that would bring them food. They returned to Spain late 1504. At the time of their return Columbus was devastated to find out that Queen Isabella was ill and dying. He knew that without her, he would not be able to travel again. Columbus was advanced in age and died in 1506 in

Christopher Columbus is an internationally celebrated explorer, due to his voyages to Central America during the Age of Discovery, a period between 15th and 16th centuries where explorers would be supported by countries to claim land. Columbus was an Italian explorer, on a conquest for gold and riches, who was sponsored by the monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, to travel to Southern Asia. Columbus proposed the idea of traveling from East to West, rather than traveling along the borders of countries and continents, such as Africa and Asia, to Eastern countries for gold, spices, and other riches. When Columbus succeeded in making land fall, he thought he landed in Southern Asia, but rather he landed in

Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 on a mission to find an all water route to the western Indies, instead Columbus reached North America where he continued his search for gold and trade.

Christopher Columbus left a legacy that has impacted much of the Americas and Europe as we see them today. As a young boy, Columbus had set his goals of becoming a sailor early on in life by attending a Portuguese school of seamanship also by teaching himself navigation and geography. These goals were driven by his eagerness to spread the word of religion and quite possibly the chance of Asia riches. Henceforth this need to spread his religion and obtain some riches along the way, Columbus open the door for future explorers and trade with the Americas.

Columbus first presented his plan for a western route to the Indies to the court of Portugal in 1485. The king's experts believed that the route would be longer than Columbus thought (the actual distance is even longer than the Portuguese believed), and they denied Columbus' request. Then, he tried to get backing from the monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, who, by marrying, had united the largest kingdoms of Spain and were ruling them together.

In the summer of 1492, Christopher Columbus, a skilled navigator and seamen, departed Spain in search of a direct route to Asia. With financial support from Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, Genoese merchants, and capital from his own fortune, Columbus and his fleet of three ships traveled west towards what was to be the New World. After sailing for several months facing many hardships, Columbus and his crew discovered new lands that were to be claimed for Spain. These men experienced beauty of inexplicable terms, and interacted with many new types of peoples. Upon his return to Spain, about 3 months after his arrival at San Salvador, Columbus drafted a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella

Yet, it is also important to recognize that Columbus had failed to be sponsored by his own country and had to turn to Spain