Christopher Columbus Research Paper

"When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white man came, an Indian said simply, ‘Ours.'" Christopher Columbus was always thought as a brave man who discovered America, but does this tell the entire story? The real Columbus may not be the person people once thought he was.
Events that may have influenced Columbus
Century long conflicts between the Christians and Muslims greatly impacted Columbus. In 1415 the Portuguese invaded North Africa in an attempt to destroy Islam by destroying its commercial empire, Ceuta. The conquering of Ceuta later led to the exploration of Africa and the finding of a passage around the southern tip of Africa. The exploration affected Columbus because the Portuguese no longer
Because of his marriage to Felipa Perestrello, Columbus had gained access to his father in law's collection of maps and charts of the ocean. This helped him gain more knowledge of the sea. In the 15th century royal sponsorship was needed to fund an expedition. Columbus' decision to seek the Portuguese' sponsorship seemed like a good one because they had encouraged explorations for a while and the present monarch King John II was very interested in finding a route to the east. When Columbus approached the King with his idea, he passed it to his council who later denied the request because it was too expensive. Columbus would not back down, asking sponsorship from England and France but they would also deny his request. In 1485 Columbus moved to Spain with his son Diego. His intention was to persuade the Spanish crown to fund his voyage. This also seemed like a good idea because Spain was a crusading Christian nation with growing interest in the Atlantic. In between 1486 and 1487, Columbus had a chance to explain his plan. Although the King and Queen were interested, they were to busy fighting wars to give serious consideration to his plan. In 1488, it is believed that the Portuguese crown decided to give Columbus another chance because their great navigator Bartolomeu Dias, who was commissioned to discover the tip
The first one was the Pinta owned by Cristobal Quintero and the second was called the Nina and owned by Juan Nino. Columbus' flagship was to be the Santa Maria owned by Juan de la Cosa. Columbus had a difficult time recruiting a crew because many feared a voyage to the unknown. The royal secretary tried to help by offering freedom to convicts but only four accepted. It is believed that eventually the crew numbered from 90 to 120 men and consisted mostly of experienced sailors with a few government officials. The ships left on August 3, 1492 heading for the Canaries. They then departed into the unknown on September 6, 1492. The Canary Current was a great choice, speeding their journey. On October 12, a lookout on the Pinta cried out that he had seen land. A reward of ten thousand maravedis was to go to the man who saw land first, but Columbus acted cruelly, pocketing the money by saying that he had seen land several days before. The ships landed in the Americas on October 12, 1492 after thirty-six days of sailing. Columbus claimed the land for the Spanish and named it San Salvador. The natives were friendly and open to trade with the sailors. The natives were called the Tainos by the Spaniards but soon, all natives were given the name Indians because the Spanish believed that they had landed in the Indies. In the next few months, Columbus took with him a couple natives as guides