Columbus, the discoverer of America.

[casanova]

Cristofero Colombo [Spanish: Cristobal Colon] was born near Genoa in 1451, as son of Domenico Colombo, a weaver. He became later a weaver himself, but went to sea in 1472 shiping to Chios. He seems to have come to Portugal in 1476 and to have made a voyage to England in 1477. In 1478 he appears to have made a voyage to the Madeiras and in 1482 possibly to the Guinea coast. In 1480 he married the daughter of Bartholomew Perestrello, hereditary captain of Porto Santo, near Madeira. By this time Columbus must have learned much about Portuguese discoveries and certainly about the ideas current in Lisbon. His appeal to the great Florentine geographer, Paolo Toscanelli, and the latter's reply urging a voyage to the west, have been called in question by some writers and may be spurious. In any event the idea of seeking India or China in the west was not novel. 1484 Columbus appealed to King John II of Portugal to finance a voyage to the west, but whether to seek an island or a route to Asia is not clear. At this very time the king was authorizing self-financed expeditions to the west of the Azores [1486, Ferman Dulmo] and he might have licensed. Columbus had the latter been willing to finance himself. Others maintain that the Portuguese already knew that Asia could not be reached in this way. Apparently Columbus, whose geographical knowledge appears to have been very incomplete, was regarded as a vain boaster. His projct was rejected. In 1486 Columbus, through the meditation of some Franciscan monks, was able to submit his project to Ferdinand Isabella of Spain. His religious fervor and personal Magnetism impressed the queen, but the project was again rejected by experts. 1493 after the victory over the islamic invaders from Africa, Columbus was recalled to the court and he could finally induce the queen to finance his expedition. It is not yet clear whether he set out to discover new islands and territories, or whether his project was to find a route to the Indies. He was made admiral and governor of the territories to be discovered, but also carried letters to the Emperor of China, which makes it probable that his purpose was twofold. In 3th of august 1492 Columbus left Palos in command of 3 ships [Santa Maria, Pinta and Nina], with about 90 men. Taking a fresh departure from Gomera [Canary Island] in setember, he made the island of San Salvador in october, sailed throgh the Bahamas to Cuba, which he thought to be a province of China and in december to the by him named Hispaniola, which he thought to be Japan. Near Cape Haitien the Sata Maria was wrecked, after which Columbus established 39 men ashore in a fort named Navidad. In january 1493 he sailed in Nina from Samana Bay, called at the Azores on february, was blown into Lisbon and reached Palos in march, the same day as Pinta. He announced that he discovered the Indies, which many doubted, but the Spanish sovereigns believed. Hence the members of the origin population of America are named Indians. At the instance of the Spanish rulers, who feared counterclaims by Portugal, Pope Alexander VI granted in the Line of Demarcation to the catholic kings exclusive rights to and possesion of all lands to the south and west toward India, not held by a Christian prince on Christmas Day 1492, beyond the line drawn on hundred leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Island. On 25th of september 1493 Columbus made his second expedition-voyage. He left with 17 ships 1500 men to establish Spanish power. On this voyage he discovered most of the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, explored the southern coast of Cuba and circumnavigated Hispaniola, where he founded the town Isabella. He left his brother Bartholomew in charge, who in 1496 transfered the sttlement to the sothern coast with Santo Domingo. 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas was made between Portugal and Spain. The line of demarcation was moved to 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, Portugal to have exclusive rights to all lands to the east of it, and Spain of all lands to the west. On may 30th 1498 Columbus began his third voyage. He discovered Trinidad Island and South America in the region of the Orinoco delta. He explored the Gulf of Paria and the coast westward to Margarita Island, then sailed to Hispaniola, where a revolt of Spanish colonists had taken place. He requested the crown to send out a judge. The goverment sent out to the Indies Francisco de Bobadilla, who sent Columbus and his brother to Spain as prisoners. Columbus was released and treated with distinction, but, despite the earlier rights granted him, was never restored to his former authority or monopolistic grants. With Bobadilla direct royal control was established. On may 11th 1502Columbus undertook his fourth voyage. He sailed along the coast of Central America from Honduras to the Gulf of Darien [Panama] in search of a strait, attempted a settlement in Veragua, whicxh the Indians broke up, spent a year shipwrecked at Jamaica, was rescued and returned to Spain. On 21th of may 1506 Columbus died in relative obscurity at Valadolid. It is reasonible clear that he believed to the end of his days, that he had discovered outlying parts of Asia, despite the fact that ever since 1493 the conviction ha spread among experts that a New World had been discovered.

[strathnaver]

Sorry but the Vikings reached North America c 999-1000 AD they were based at a L'Anse aux Meadows Newfoundland and stayed several years . Could they have reached NE USA ? possibly, the St Lawrence Eiver valley probably. But the Vikings were not looking at settling in North America . They found themselves facing opposition who could engage an enemy on their home ground . And Vikings didn't have the advantage of
fiire arms that the French, English & Spanish had when they landed in Quebec , Virginia , Mexico.

[Snafu112]

The first people that got to America were tribals in the ice age and possibly even before that. There was something called the land bridge. during the ice age i turned into the ice bridge.

Anyways if I'm wrong someone will correct me.

but CHEERS anyway!

[Intranetusa]

Colombus didn't discover anything. He accidentally sailed to the Americas when he was trying to sail to India and Ming-China.

People of the time correctly calculated the world's circumference, and realized there was no way for a ship to carry enough food/water to sail from Europe to East Asia & South Asia by going west.

So Colombus was actually an idiot and ignored their advice...thus stumbling across the Americas out of sheer stupidity. Lucky for him because his ships were indeed running out of supplies...

[SRV Ron]

Human beings crossed the land bridge from Asia which was created by the ice age. They then spread out forming tribes in North America and several great civilizations in South and Central America including a major agriculture society on the Amazon River Basin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River Most of those civilizations were wiped out by disease brought over by European explorers and conquerors.



In the post year of Gaia, 1492,
the Evil White European,
Christopher Columbus,
crossed the great oceans,
stumbling into America.
He found a land,
rich in resources,
unspoiled beauty,
clean air and water,
with Native Americans,
living in perfect harmony,
with Gaia.
And he said to his crew,
"we must exploit this land,
take all its gold,
and return home in triumph.
And he exploited this land,
looking for gold,
and not finding any,
kidnapped the Native Americans
and sailed home to tell others.
Soon they came,
those Evil White Europeans,
to rape, to plunder,
to seek gold, to pollute,
to murder, to overpopulate,
to get fat,
and get filthy rich,
off the misery of others.

[pditty8811]

Originally Posted by Snafu112

The first people that got to America were tribals in the ice age and possibly even before that. There was something called the land bridge. during the ice age i turned into the ice bridge.

Anyways if I'm wrong someone will correct me.

but CHEERS anyway!

Cheers

But there is evidence, more and more that there were people in America before the Native American people crossed the land bridge. Kennewick Man is a great example. Archaeological studies on the skull suggest he wasn't Native American and therefore belong to no tribe. Huge Tribal legal battle. More evidence is found everyday.

I always like a good drink Cheers again!!

[bass_man86]

The real significance of Columbus' voyage does not hinge on whether or not he arrived in the Americas first, or for that matter on whether or not he even realized that he had arrived on a different continent. Rather, the significance of what he accomplished is around us virtually every day, it is defined by the cultural uniqueness of the Americas that is largely due to the forces that Columbus set in motion. This uniquely American character, whether we are talking about the cultures of Latin America or North America, came about thanks to often violent cultural collision of European, African, Asian, and of course native American cultures that is so uniquely part and parcel of the cultural map of the Western Hemisphere.

To ascribe evil intent to Columbus is frankly shortsighted at best; by doing that we are judging Columbus by our standards, and we cannot do that, he was a man of a different age. By disparaging Columbus, we are literally casting aspersion against who are as Americans. The moniker “Latino” that is used to describe those of us that can trace our origins to Central and South America is illustrative of the melding of these different cultures. In any case, it is inappropriate as it really applies largely to Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese. The culture of Latin America is really a blend of European, African, and Native American influences.

The bottom line is that rather than viewing Columbus with animosity because the only things that we see are the horrors, perhaps it would be better to appreciate the positive aspects of what occurred as a result of his voyage. The wonderful rhythms of the Caribbean Jazz, and the Blues, the vibrant culture of the United States, and the family that define most Latin American cultures are just some of the things that came about thanks to Columbus’ voyage. Was he perfect man? No he was not, but to view him in anything other than human terms, and within the framework of his age, only diminishes who we are.

[SgtDaly]

I think its wrong to even use the word "discover" when writing about Columbus or any explorer for that matter, unless of course we're speaking of space. How can one rightfully discover a land that was already inhabited?

[Elijah]

Probably more accurate to say he expanded the known world to the Europe of his day. We have always looked at Western Civ as if it were World history. To use the word 'discover' is correct as to his limited known world yet, obviously, the inhabitants of North America were aware of their existence.

[Jonathanrex1]

The thread title should read instead:
"Columbus, the Explorer who happened to Stumble on to the Americas, Thinking they were the East Indies, and so Expanded the Known World to Western Europeans."

[Cyberknight]

Since at the time of my writing this, the vast majority of residents of North and South America are all or partly (as in my case) of European descent, it is perfectly appropriate to acknowledge and celebrate that Christopher Columbus indeed did discover, unintentionally, the Americans for introduction to the Europeans.

[Thunder Dome]

Probably all started with a Genovese propo group around 1505 to sell shares. Since they had lost out to the Spainards by not backing Chris; they did the next best thing by selling the idea it was always their idea.

Can't prove it but I'm satisfied this is the real reason.

Sounds like current politics to me.

Course I'm board and have seen this thread at least 12 times on ACG. Kinda of like Operation Sealion and the attacks made by the wacks against using nucs on the Japanese in 45.


.

[Jon Jordan]

Columbus's exploits were heroic because he did something no one else in his hemisphere had done (at least as far as anyone there knew). It's like when Livingston discovered the source of the Nile River, while being around by some Africans who had known about the Nile's source lakes for generations. Or (to puree the dead horse), if we were to find life on the moon, it would not make Neil Armstrong's journey there any less heroic.

[Miss Saigon]

I agree with Mario and Jon. It is not so much who got here first, but whose voyage here had the most lasting impact.

Recently I saw a show on the history channel that speculated that some famous Knights Templar got here before Columbus. So in reality Mary Magdalene beat everyone and left the Challis in Minnesota.

[HiredGoon]

If it was on the History Channel it must be true!