Outline
Christopher Columbus
Biography
B. Voyages
i. First
ii. Second
iii. Third
IV. Fourth
II. First Voyage
Land sighted.
Indigenous people
Santa Maria Abandoned
III. Second Voyage
New Territories.
There are 17 ships.
C. New land has been sighted.
The Caribs.
IV. Third Voyage
Six ships.
B. Natives
Crew Hanged
D. Columbus was accused and arrested.
Fourth Voyage
The Strait of Malacca.
B. Rescue Portuguese soldiers.
C. Hurricanes and storms.
Stranded
Success.
VI. Conclusion
Name
Professor/Instructor
Subject.
Date
The four voyages of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus made four voyages from Spain to lands that he later referred to as the New World” between 1492 and 1504. He explored parts of Cuba and Hispaniola on his first voyage in 1492 and 1493. From 1493 to 1496, Columbus continued to explore those regions while venturing to Puerto Rico and Jamaica as well. On his third voyage, which lasted from 1498 to 1500, he sailed along the northern coast of South America. Columbus explored the coast of Central America on his final journey in 1502 (MSN Encarta).
Columbus was born as Cristoforo Colombo in the Italian port city of Genoa between August 25 and October 31, 1451. His parents were Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who also participated in local politics, and Suzanna Fontanarossa, the daughter of a wool weaver. At the age of 14, Columbus began seagoing and held various positions such as messenger, common sailor, and privateer.
When he was 25 years old in 1476, Columbus survived an attack by French privateers off Cape Saint Vincent on the southwestern tip of Portugal before making his way to Lisbon. While in Lisbon, he started creating plans to reach the east (the “Indies”) through a western route (MSN Encarta).
Initially, Columbus sought patronage for his plan from the Portuguese monarchy. However, the council denied his request on the grounds that it was too expensive and that he was incorrect about distances and measurements. Additionally, they believed that such a plan contradicted Portugal’s commitment to finding an eastward route to Asia by traveling around Africa (MSN Encarta, n. pag.).
Subsequently, Columbus moved to Spain in 1485 to present his idea to King Ferdinand I and Queen Isabella I. After a prolonged period of negotiation, Ferdinand and Isabella finally agreed to support his venture. Columbus departed for Palos de la Frontera in April 1492 (MSN Encarta, n. pag.).
Christopher Columbus originally intended to discover a direct sea route from Europe to Asia. However, in October 1492, he accidentally reached the Americas. He made four separate voyages from 1492 to 1504 and became convinced that he had found the lands that Marco Polo passed by while traveling to China in the late 13th century. Upon his return to Spain from his last expedition, Columbus experienced physical and mental illness as well as losing his titles of governor and viceroy due to charges of ruling tyrannically. These crises plagued him until his death in Valladolid, Spain on May 20, 1506 (MSN Encarta).
Columbus’ first expedition departed from Palos de la Frontera, Spain at daybreak on August 3, 1492. The voyage consisted of three ships: the Pinta (owned by Cristobal Quintero), the Santa Clara (owned by Juan Niño), and the flagship Santa Maria (owned by Juan de la Costa). After sailing for 36 days, Columbus and his men finally reached land on October 12, 1492. The exact location of their arrival remains unknown to this day. Some historical accounts claim that it was Guanahani atoll, which Columbus renamed San Salvador. However, most historians believe that it was Waiting Island or Samana Cay in the Bahamas (MSN Encarta).
Columbus claimed the island for Spain, and two of his captains carried banners with green crosses and letters that symbolized Isabella and Ferdinand. The inhabitants of the island, later called “Tainos” by the Spaniards, were friendly and traded willingly with the sailors (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). Columbus found the Tainos to be so docile that he considered them fit for conversion to Christianity. He even intended to take six members of the Tainos back to Spain to teach them Spanish (Hume, 38).
However, what intrigued the explorers more about the Tainos was their physical appearance.
They go around naked, both women and men. Their hair is as coarse as a horse’s tail, and their skin is olive-colored, resembling the Canary Islanders. Some of them paint themselves black, white or red. Some only paint their faces while others cover their entire bodies in paint. Some focus on painting around the eyes while others prefer to paint the nose. (38)
The exotic physical features of the Tainos made the Spaniards believe that they had finally arrived in the Indies. The islanders informed them about inhabitants of other islands who had almost identical appearances to theirs. Earlier expeditions also provided similar descriptions of people living in the Indies. As a result, all islanders were soon referred to as Indians” by the Spaniards (MSN Encarta, n.pag.).
Columbus and his men stayed with the Tainos for several days. The Tainos helped them reach other islands in the Americas, such as Cuba. During this time, Columbus became even more convinced that Cuba was a peninsula of China. However, one of Columbus’ captains, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, suddenly left the island with the Pinta. Many historians suspect that Pinzon was disgruntled with the island’s lack of riches and went off in search of gold (MSN Encarta).
Columbus had no other choice but to continue the expedition using his two remaining ships. However, tragedy struck again when the Santa Maria struck a reef off the coast and grounded on December 25, 1492. Despite joint efforts of Spaniards and natives, the ship could not be restored. The two parties simply removed everything that could be salvaged. The lumber of the ship was used to construct a fort named Villa de la Navidad which stored supplies that would last for a year (MSN Encarta).
After the Pinta rejoined the expedition on January 6, 1493, both it and the Santa Maria headed home. Columbus returned to Spain on March 15, 1493 and received a warm welcome (Pinzon passed away several hours after Columbus’ arrival). The Spanish monarchy granted Columbus large sums of money and the title “Admiral of the Ocean Seas,” as well as bankrolling his second expedition. On September 25, 1493, Columbus departed Cadiz with an estimated 1,200 men and a fleet of seventeen ships (MSN Encarta).
Columbus’ second expedition was originally intended to return to Villa de la Navidad in Hispaniola to relieve the men left behind from the first voyage, settle more colonists on the islands, and explore and claim other islands” (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). The fleet proved to be more successful than the first one – it caught sight of land just 21 days later on November 2, 1493. Columbus and his men reached a new group of smaller islands situated on the south and east of the large islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. This new group of minor atolls was known as the Lesser Antilles (Cuba and Hispaniola were part of the Greater Antilles) (MSN Encarta, n. pag.).
But to the horror of Columbus and his crew, Villa de la Navidad was transformed into an “adobe of Caribs” (Irving, 268). Human skulls were used as vases and other household utensils. Human limbs were suspended from the beams of the houses, while some parts of a young man’s body were left roasting before an open fire. Several human organs were discovered boiling with the flesh of geese and parrots (Irving, 269).
It turned out that after Columbus left Villa de la Navidad, neighboring tribes invaded the settlement. The male inhabitants were captured, killed, and eaten. Meanwhile, the youngest and most handsome female inhabitants were carried off and retained as servants or companions. The Spaniards from the previous expedition who chose to stay behind in the settlement were also murdered and buried in a mass grave (Irving, 268). Therefore, the most popular theory behind the destruction of Villa de la Navidad was that local islanders obliterated it out of revulsion over the greed and avarice of the Europeans (MSN Encarta).
The Spaniards later built Isabela, a new settlement located a short distance east of La Navidad. However, many settlers in Isabela became sick or died due to poor living conditions. Additionally, they were resentful of the fact that the governor of the settlement was Columbus’ brother, Diego – an ineffective ruler and an Italian. As a result, angry settlers began returning home. Meanwhile, those who stayed wrote to relatives and officials in Spain complaining about the abject situation in Isabella (MSN Encarta).
A royal commission was sent to Isabela in October 1495 to investigate the charges against Columbus. To avoid any further inquiries, he had no option but to return to Spain on March 10, 1496. Upon his arrival, Columbus shared stories with Ferdinand and Isabella about the new islands he had discovered. The monarchs appeared grateful and continued showing him favor (MSN Encarta).
Columbus embarked on his third expedition on May 30, 1498, departing from Seville with a fleet of six ships. He dispatched one part to assist Isabela while using the other to explore Trinidad, the Gulf of Paria, and Margarita Island. Columbus then set course for Santo Domingo, a new settlement constructed by his brother Bartholomew. However, when Columbus arrived at Santo Domingo in late August 1498, it was in the midst of a war. Many settlers revolted due to the lack of opportunities within the settlement (MSN Encarta).
Consequently, two factions were formed in Santo Domingo. One faction supported the Columbus family, while the other was led by Isabela mayor Francisco Roldan (MSN Encarta, n. pag.). To restore order, Ferdinand and Isabella sent Francisco de Bobadilla to conduct an investigation in the settlement. Upon his arrival at Santo Domingo, De Bobadilla discovered that Columbus had already put seven Spanish rebels to death and was planning to hang five more. As a result, Bobadilla had Columbus and his brothers Diego and Bartholomew arrested. The three were deported to Spain in 1500 (Honeychurch, 19).
Columbus appealed his case to the royal court on December 17, 1500. The king and queen ruled that all of his rights and privileges would be restored, except for his titles. However, Bobadilla was replaced with Nicolas de Ovando. This decision did not alleviate the despair and humiliation that Columbus suffered for the next two years (MSN Encarta).
Columbus embarked on his fourth and final expedition on May 9, 1502. By then, Portuguese explorers Vasco de Gama and Pedro Alvarez Cabral had already reached India and brought back precious commodities from the country. Consequently, Portugal monopolized European trade in India during this period while Spain had to make do with the meager revenue it generated from its market in the Americas (Irving, 146).
Columbus used this situation as an opportunity to convince the Spanish monarchy to sponsor another sea voyage. Ferdinand and Isabella gave their approval for Columbus’ latest venture, but made it clear that his expedition was for the search for gold, silver, precious stones, spices, and other riches.” The king and queen also forbade Columbus from returning to Hispaniola on his return to Spain unless absolutely necessary.
From Cadiz, Columbus set sail with a fleet of four ships and 150 men in search of a passage to the Asian mainland through the Strait of Malacca. However, damaged ships, intense storms, and skirmishes with natives made it impossible for him to achieve his goal. One of his ships was destroyed by sea worms (small molluscs), while another was lost on the coast of Panama. His two remaining ships were also destroyed while he and his men were in Jamaica, leaving them marooned in the country for over a year (MSN Encarta).
Columbus encountered even more serious problems while his fleet was stranded in Jamaica. Half of his men mutinied as a result of his attempts to instill order and discipline. In addition, the islanders grew tired of dealing with them and stopped providing them with food. Columbus was only able to stop this by accurately predicting a lunar eclipse on the night of February 29, 1504. He had previously threatened the islanders that he would take away the light from the moon as punishment for their behavior (MSN Encarta, n.d.).
Although Governor Ovando of Santo Domingo was informed about Columbus and his men’s situation, it took seven months before their story was investigated. Despite the rescue ship arriving at the end of July, the shipwrecked sailors did not arrive in Santo Domingo until August 13, 1504. Columbus was taken back to Spain from Santo Domingo on September 12, 1504. Finally, he, his son and brother arrived in Spain on November 7th of that same year (MSN Encarta).
Columbus’ ill-fated expeditions had both positive and negative effects. These voyages introduced Native Americans to European crops such as wheat, rice, coffee, bananas, and olives. In turn, the Europeans received corn, potatoes, tomatoes, lima beans and squash from the indigenous population. However, the introduction of European diseases such as diphtheria, measles, smallpox and malaria nearly wiped out the native American population who had no immunity to these ailments. Additionally, Europeans acquired a virulent form of syphilis from Native Americans.
Another detrimental effect of Columbus’ expeditions is that it promoted bigotry against cultures deemed barbaric” or “uncivilized.” The Europeans deliberately ignored the fact that indigenous cultures have their own complexities that should be respected. As a result, millions of American indigenous people suffered immensely from disease, forced labor, and European conquest.
Works Cited.
Christopher Columbus.” (2008). MSN Encarta. Retrieved October 29, 2008.
Visit http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568472/Christopher_Columbus.html to learn more about Christopher Columbus.
Honeychurch, Lennox. Caribbean People: Book 2. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes, 1995.
Hume, Robert. Christopher Columbus and the European Discovery of America.
Herefordshire: Gracewing Publishing, 1992.
Irving, Washington. The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Volume 1. New York.
Cosimo, Inc. (2007).
Irving, Washington. The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Vol. 2. New York.
Cosimo, Inc. (2007).
