Christopher Columbus is a name I am positive has passed through all ears, and has, and forever will be, etched into history books and minds. We can all agree that this is due to his monumental successes. A hero, a legend, a saving grace, and even a revolutionist; these are just a few of the titles that follow the notorious name of Christopher Columbus. While many people believe these adjectives to be the perfect descriptors of the famous voyager, I believe that the list is in need of an addition, that word being a master of persuasion. For let us not forget that he, an Italian, successfully convinced the Spanish monarchy to support his historic journey rather than backing its own Spanish explorers. However, the question still remains, how did he pull off such a novel feat to the rest of the world? The tremendous idea proposed by Christopher Columbus found unlikely supporters in Spain’s King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I, despite not being from Spain. The trade between Portugal and Africa peaked Columbus’s interest. Portugal was taking trips around Africa, to get to what is now current day Ghana, for gold to take back to Europe. While thinking of more efficient ways to get the gold from Africa, he devised a route to travel west towards the Atlantic ocean. Columbus believed that this new route was so promising, he set out to find sponsorship so he could venture through uncharted waters. While searching Columbus came across the Spaniards. They were in need of an explorer
The letter Christopher Columbus wrote back to Spain to report his findings in the New World sparked intrigued me and sparked my imagination. Why I have been so absorbed in this letter I can not explain. This letter is supposed to be about describing an unknown land, a land that has not been seen by anyone besides the natives, but it seems that there is more to it than that. Columbus is known in elementary schools as the man who found the New World, and is regarded as a hero. To the contrary, historians who have done more research on Columbus say that he was driven by fame and fortune and that he was tyrannical in his ways with the indigenous peoples of the places that he came to find. I feel that the contradictory tones Columbus uses
Columbus was a very good speaker and very persuasive. He convinced the King and Queen of Spain to fund his expedition to “Asia” and he told about all the gold and spices that would be discovered there and how they would be wealthy.# Columbus told them his famous terms which stated that he would receive no less than one-tenth of all the wealth that would arrive from Asia
During The 15th and 16th centuries, rulers of numerous European countries paid for several expeditions with hopes that The explorers would discover enormous riches and vast unheard of lands. Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, asked multiple countries to sponsor his expedition, such as Portugal, France, and England but they turned down the proposition numerous times. Not until 1491, the Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the King and Queen of Spain, he finally discovered a sympathetic audience. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand were both Catholic monarchs in Spain during the late 1400 century and the early 1500 century. Christopher Columbus came to the King and Queen asking them to fund his expedition across the Atlantic, hoping to find a quicker trading route to Asia, spread Christianity, and to discover new lands and treasures. The King and Queen both put their faith into the Italian explorer and funded his mission to cross the Atlantic to find glory for himself and as well as King Ferdinand, Queen Isabella, and Spain.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian who worked on behalf of, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. The Spanish monarchs’ ultimate goals were to find a trade routine to India, Asia and to spread the Catholic religion to others. They financed Columbus with the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria to find a western route to India. Thinking that it was India, Columbus found land. In his journal, Columbus described his first account of the natives as “they were very friendly to us, and perceived that they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force” (“Fordham University”). Also, he plans for them to be great servants so they “may learn our language” (“Fordham University”). He says
It is thought by many that Christopher Columbus was a skilled sailor on a mission of greed. Many think that he in fact did it all for the money, honor and the status that comes with an explorer, but this is not the case entirely. Columbus was an adventurer and was enthused by the thrill of the quest of the unknown. “Columbus had a firm religious faith and a scientific curiosity, a zest for life, the felling for beauty and the striving for novelty that we associate with the advancement of learning”. He had heard of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. He believed that Japan was about 4,800 km to the west of Portugal. In 1484, Columbus wanted support for an exploratory
Christopher Columbus was a well-known traveler who originated from Italy. Christopher Columbus had a legacy that was troubled with disagreements for reason of his treatment towards the native population. His journeys encouraged mass amount of Europeans to obtain interest in taking over the Americas. Throughout his letter written to Sant’ Angel, Columbus explains his emotion in being very satisfied with the results he has revised throughout his first voyage. Christopher Columbus then goes into detail concerning his appreciation to the royal King and Queen, Ferdinand and Isabella as he mentions, “I passed over the Indies with the fleet which the most illustrious King and Queen, our lords, gave to me” (Columbus 8). Christopher Columbus creates a powerful image for the King and Queen because he trusts that the maintenance of Ferdinand and Isabella throughout his journey was an incredible aspect that resulted in his spectacular accomplishment.
Columbus’ vision to reach Asia by sailing west was rejected a number of times by the King of Portugal, James II – and at first was equally rejected by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. These rejections were decisions derived from recommendations made by royal “scientific” committees. Each of these committees deemed that Columbus had grossly underestimated the distance and time in voyaging west to reach the Asian continent. It was Ferdinand who recalled Columbus to the royal court of Spain, and upon “political” reconsideration with his wife Queen Isabella – the Royals eventually agreed to finance the exploration dream of Christopher Columbus (Kreis).
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.
All throughout history, whether present or past, books are filled page to page with people we consider heroes, as well as villans. Some quick people that come to mind when thinking of the fall of their legacy lead me to people like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Andrew Jackson and Napoleon Bonaparte. No matter what the subject; whether it be considered history of a sport, US history or even some celebrities lives, there will always be the one who was a hero in the spotlight and then the real truth comes out. Herofication dates back to the times of the beginning of America where Christopher Columbus, the man who we celebrate on Columbus Day to the public eye today is seen in a positive light. Contrary to popular belief, Columbus wasn't the nicest
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
“...I promise, that with a little assistance afforded me by our most invincible sovereigns, I will procure them as much gold as they need, as great a quantity of spices, of cotton,...and as many men for the service of the navy as their Majesties may require." This very quote embodies the mission that Christopher Columbus set out to achieve. The overall mission was to procure a vast amount of goods and gold for the Spanish monarchy. Now that one knows the target, one might wonder about how the expedition even crossed their minds. There are a multitude of reasons that might have affected the choice selection of Columbus, but the primary reasons were that he had for the most part a common background with the two, a very persuasive tongue, and an undying perseverance.
Columbus had spent a great time in Spain trying to gain the support of Queen Isabella, so she chose him over a spanish explorer. Christopher Columbus managed to convince a
The question becomes “Who is Christopher Columbus?” Is he really the man that some Americans describe as a hero, whose journey was the first step in a long process that eventually produced the United States? Or is Columbus’ character flawed as others have suggested.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian-born man who managed to win the favor and funding of the Spanish monarchy. With this funding, Columbus led the most well-known voyage in human history: the voyage to the New World in 1492. This passage laid the foundation for future colonizations and, eventually, the creation of many nations in the New World. However, this voyage would not have gone past conceptualization if the Spanish monarchy decided against supporting Columbus and his exploration. Despite Columbus’ lack of Spanish descent, the Spanish monarchy aided his travels. While a variety of factors affected the monarchy’s decision, the primary reasons were Columbus’ experience in navigation, the assistance that Columbus received from Jewish
Hence, The Spanish explorations were most notably able to occur due to the King and Queen’s efforts to unify the Spanish nation and the growing competition between the unified Spain and its neighboring country, Portugal (Nardo, 1947). The King and Queen did many other things to improve and fund exploration in Spain, and perhaps the most significant thing they did was sponsor Christopher Columbus after he proposed an exploration to India, guaranteeing that he could discover and establish valuable trade routes from India to Eastern Asia (Nardo, 1947). The King and Queen agreed to sponsor him because Spain often sought out trade opportunities and wanted to find gold and valuable spices from Asia, specifically from India, and this exploration almost guaranteed all of that (Nardo, 1947). Therefore, the reasons for Spanish exploration include the desire to establish trade routes between India and Eastern Asia, to find valuable resources, the empire’s competition with Portugal, and the King and Queen’s unification of their kingdoms and sponsorship of Christopher