Columbus And Lindbergh Comparison

Columbus and Lindbergh: A Journey Across the Atlantic

Christopher Columbus and Charles Lindbergh are both monumental figures in history who share a common achievement: both crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Some say that because there were 400 years between their journeys, the two are strikingly different. However, there are similarities and differences in what each man hoped to achieve, the challenges they faced, and the skills essential to their success. Therefore, despite the differences between the two and the effect of the 400 years between their achievements, the two are similar. Columbus and Lindbergh both hoped to achieve certain goals in their travel across the Atlantic. Columbus’s main goal involved the improvement of trade routes. He hoped to find a shorter, more direct overseas route to Asia to avoid the journey
around the southern tip of Africa. Lindbergh, on the other hand, flew over the Atlantic “with no other purpose but to arrive” and to win a reward offered by hotel owner Raymond Orteig-- $25,000 to the first aviator to fly from New York to Paris without stopping. Both men hoped to survive the travel from one hemisphere to the other just as both men had a monetary or economic goal in mind, but while Lindbergh was thinking of a one-time cash reward and the prospect of being written down in history as the first man to fly alone across the Atlantic without stopping, Columbus desired long-term economic benefits as well as the prestige it would grant him as a merchant’s hero for decreasing travel time with a shorter trade route. Although the men did have minor differences in their goals, they were similar-- their goals had economic roots, and the two needed to traverse the Atlantic to achieve them. In their journeys across the Atlantic, the two men both encountered challenges. Columbus encountered a challenge before he set sail: he had little luck in receiving sponsors until he persuaded Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to finance his crossing of the Atlantic. When he received his sponsors, he had difficulty in finding a crew. Then, at sea, the sailors used salt water to clean, which, while it removed the dirt, resulted in discomfort because the salt stayed within the clothing. He also had to ration food, and the water he brought became foul. While there is no documentation about epidemics on the ship, Columbus had to be careful with his crew’s health because scurvy, an illness caused by a lack of vitamin C, could be fatal. In addition to the threat of disease, mutiny was a danger. Many of the Spanish sailors did not trust Columbus because he was Italian, and in the October of 1492, the sailors began to insist that they should turn back. Weather at sea was also treacherous, with storms being capable of sinking any vessel. In addition to this, Columbus had no map-- he traveled into unknown territory, and he had only his standard instruments at his disposal. When he finally reached land, he mistakenly believed he was in Asia. Although Columbus had many difficulties, Lindbergh also experienced several challenges. Lindbergh had to persuade nine businessmen to sponsor the construction of his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis. After his plane’s construction, he was to start his flight, but poor weather threatened to delay him. When he finally did take off, the ground was wet due to rain, and he was almost unable to gain enough altitude to pass over obstacles in his way (telephone wires, for example). Once above the Atlantic, he encountered poor weather and attempted to fly through a few clouds, but sleet began to cling to the wings of his plane and he had to change his altitude. The 33.5 hours of nonstop flying took its toll on Lindbergh, as well. He wrestled with his exhaustion until he was able to land. When he arrived in Europe, he thought the airport was further from Paris than it was, and this caused him to be unsure of where he needed to land. While both men had distinct differences in their challenges, such as the most pressing threats-- the lack of food and water for Columbus contrasted to the lack of sleep for Lindbergh--, they both had similarities, such as the need to have sponsors finance their journeys and the challenges brought by poor weather. Both men, Columbus and Lindbergh, had skills necessary for the success of their journey. Columbus had to be adept at persuasion, otherwise he would have been unable to gain sponsors or a crew to staff his ships with. He also had to be a good navigator and sailor in order to prevent the chance of being lost at sea. Because he had no maps to guide him, he had to be familiar with the stars and have ample experience with the instruments used in the time period, such as a quadrant and an astrolabe. Lindbergh’s journey also required a few critical skills. He had to be good at persuasion in order to have nine businessmen sponsor the construction of his plane (that he personally designed for the flight) as well as the flight itself. He had to be an experienced aviator, else he would die as many did before him. He had to have acute knowledge of the workings of his plane so he could monitor its condition in-flight in order to ensure that he arrived at his location, as well as knowledge of how to follow his compass, else he may have never reached Paris. While there were differences between the skills necessary, mostly between the use of the technology of their time, they were extremely similar in that they both had to be persuasive and had to be experts in their field-- Columbus in sailing and Lindbergh in aviation. The main cause of the differences between the two journeys was the roughly 400 year gap between them.
This gap resulted in a tremendous difference in available technology. Columbus merely had access to wooden ships and plain metal devices of the time, such as the previously mentioned quadrant and astrolabe. Columbus also had no foreknowledge about what he was heading into, and he had no map to guide him. By Lindbergh’s time, however, advances in technology led to the invention of planes, as well as enhanced navigation instruments. Lindbergh also knew how wide the Atlantic was and knew the direction he needed to travel. Because the only way of getting across the Atlantic in Columbus’s time was sailing, his voyage was much longer than Lindbergh’s. This is also the main reason why Columbus was more in danger of running out of food and water, while Lindbergh was more in danger of falling asleep-- falling asleep while flying an airplane is typically more dangerous than falling asleep at sea with an able-bodied crew. The four hundred year gap was what caused the main differences between the two voyages, but the essence of the two journeys was the
same. Despite the 400 years between the journeys of Columbus and Lindbergh across the Atlantic, they had many similarities and differences between their hopes, challenges, and skills necessary for success.