The Importance Of King Ferdinand And King Columbus

     Columbus was like a God in the eyes of the Native Americans and they believed that he could save them. They followed him around and wanted to find out more about these strage people who had landed on there territory. The natives saw no harm in Columbus and his men and offered them most of the things they had as gifts. They were willing to give the Europeans anything they wanted. All of the things the Europeans had were new to them. For example in Columbus’s own journal, I Take Possession for King and Queen, he states that:

They funded and encouraged his journey because they all wanted something out of it. The Pope just wanted to to spread his religion and Catholicism. The King and Queen, however wanted land, slaves, more money and possessions. Columbus could not say no. Whatever the King and Queen said was the law and could not be refused or he would have been executed. The Pope would have done the same thing. Like everyone else during that time he wanted to take an adventure, see new things, and discover more land so he set sail with his crew.

Many people have heard of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. However, only some know of all the things they accomplished. They might be best known for funding the voyages of Christopher Columbus, but they also greatly contributed to the unity of Spain (“Isabella l”). Together, they brought many kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula together to form what Spain is today. Through Spain’s unification, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella strengthened Spain into an economic and dominant world power, enabling the spread of Christianity and the colonization of a New World.

    Greediness was the downfall of Columbus, making him a scoundrel. When the Spanish monarchs agreed to sponsoring the voyage, they made a deal with Columbus, in which both parties would benefit. If Columbus obtained gold and spices for the Spanish monarchs, he would obtain ten percent of the profits (“Columbus and the Indians” Zinn 2). In addition, he was egotistical and selfish. These qualities were illuminated when he interacted with his crew, specifically at the end of the voyage to the New World. While on the expedition, Rodrigo, a sailor, saw land and told the rest of the boat,

One would think the famed 1492 voyage by the Italian sailor known as Christopher Columbus Italy logically funded the voyage, right? Well, actually that is not the case! Columbus managed to convince Spanish monarchs Ferdinand V and Isabella I to fund his voyage to find a new trade route to India. Christopher Columbus, known as Cristobal Colon in Spanish, actually didn’t go to the Spaniards first; he actually went to officials in Portugal, France and England, but he they turned him away due to disputes about the size of the earth. In 1491, he convinced the Spanish monarchy to fund his voyage. The Spaniards provided him with two small ships called caravels and one larger type of ship called a carrack. They were fifteen to thirty meters long. On August 3rd, Columbus set voyage with the three ships: the Nina (originally named la Santa Clara), the Pinta (called la Pintada by the sailors), and the Santa Maria (actually named la Santa Gallega or Maria Galante). He arrived on Hispaniola on October 12. But why would a foreign country be interested in funding a foreign explorer? There were several reasons why King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella supported the voyage of Columbus. Those reasons were the monarch’s wish to become a world power, their want to trade with Asia, and lastly, to spread their religion. There were various other reasons, but these were the main three.

The King and Queen both had the ambition to spread the word of Christ and to discover new lands and benefit their mother country Spain. Columbus possessed the same ambitions as the King and Queen but, was wanting to gain fame and riches from the voyage. Columbus being a devout Catholic, also wanted to discover new lands and new trading routes so the word of Christ their Lord would spread in the hopes of salvation. If new lands were

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

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 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.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian-born man that 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 voyage laid the foundation for future colonies and, eventually, many nations in the world. However, this voyage would not have gone past conceptualization if Columbus had not been supported by the Spanish monarchy. While a variety of factors affected the monarchy’s decision, the primary factors were Columbus’ experience in navigation, assistance Columbus received from Jewish supporters, and the capitulations laid out by Columbus himself.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave funds to the Italian explorer and navigator, Christopher Columbus, to discover a new route to Asia. By finding a new route to Asia, Spain would have the advantage in trading with them by having access to a shorter and safer trade route instead of having to go around the African continent. Why did King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella hire Columbus instead of a Spanish Explorer? The deal between Spain and Columbus was that any minerals and resources found would go to Spain and Columbus would become Governor of any place he landed at. In this way, there are many advantages and disadvantages of working relationships between foreign parties.

- Spain (Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand) actually assisted Columbus in his attempts, in order to accumulate goods that were valuable during time such as gold. Furthermore, it also tried to help the Catholic church financially.

A believed reason on why Queen Isabella and Ferdinand once and for all decided to fund Columbus’ voyage would be because the Spanish rulers wanted the virtue of fame and money. According to History.com,, “During the 15th and 16th centuries, leaders of several European nations sponsored expeditions abroad

1.) There are a lot of reasons why Christopher Columbus was a great leader and in this journal it shows many examples. For instance Christopher Columbus is very loyal to his king back in his homeland has he always says he will return to his highness and tell his ability with all of his discoveries. Also he is a hero because the islands he came across he let natives sail with him and he gave them hope which he does through god and Christian belief, and he doesn’t force them to anything he gives natives gifts therefore earning their trust and then he gets a helping hand from them. He also explains how people from differently lands believed him and his men to be “Men’s from the heavens” which explains their loyalty and helpfulness natives saw in Columbus.

Christopher Columbus’s life was filled with adventures and new beginnings that would leave a remarkable impression throughout history. Born in 1451 in Genoa, Columbus from an early age would become well acclimated to sailing as he began his career aboard a merchant ship and later study mathematics, astronomy, cartography, and navigation. Growing up and experiencing new thing Columbus began to come up with a plan different from all others to set sail across the Atlantic instead of going around the African continent. With his ideas being turned away from both Portugal and England it was Ferdinand and Isabella who took sympathy upon him and financial back his voyage as they both had hopes of gaining fame and fortune. In 1942, Columbus began his voyages and would carefully document each experience in the form of letters that would have a lasting impact on the world. I believe with the dramatic change in tones we see between the first and fourth letters it gives us the reader a true insight into Columbus’s mental and physical emotions over the years. Furthermore, these letters allow us to explore a part of history that is considered monumental while gaining information of what took place over a ten-year journey.