What do we really know about Christopher Columbus?  Some of the things we think we know aren't necessarily supported by the facts.

I'm reading a fictional book that happens to include a subplot that relates to the voyages of Columbus.  I started wondering how much of the story was true, and what was just made up.  I spent about an hour and a half reading online about the life of the world-famous explorer.


He sailed on four voyages to the New World between 1492 and 1502, and with each one he spent more and more time away from home.  It only took five weeks to make the journey, but on his last trip he stayed over here for over a year.  I may not have all my facts exactly right here, but he lived the rest of his life (he died in 1505) thinking that he had found a new trade route to India.  From what I read, he never presented any evidence to Ferdinand and Isabella of Indian/Asian culture and I wonder if they became frustrated that this guy was spending all his time exploring, but didn't have any exotic spices to show for it.  He promised gold, but he never found any of that either.

Columbus was a stubborn man.  It seems like when he got an idea in his head, he never considered that he might be wrong.  Not only had he not landed where he thought he had, on his first day there, he wrote that the natives were inferior and ignorant.  He wrote, "I could conquer the whole of them with 50 men, and govern them as I pleased."  In fact, the natives were more advanced than he gave them credit for.  The Aztecs and Mayans built sophisticated cities with large temples that demonstrated their knowledge of the stars.  However, Columbus didn't hesitate to use them as slaves, torture them, and even take a few of them back to Europe.

He thought of himself, too.  Before he left, he demanded the title of "Admiral of the Ocean Sea", governor of all newfound land, 10% of the revenues from the land forever, and the option to buy a 1/8 portion of any new business ventures.  He wanted all this, and was still dependent on the King and Queen to supply his ships to get there.  During the years following his voyages, his crewman relayed many stories of his demanding, uncompromising character.  He tortured and killed some of his men who disobeyed him, and he doesn't seem to have had a wide range of friends.  In fact, he was imprisoned as he returned from his third voyage, due to crew members complaining about how Columbus and his two brothers had greatly mismanaged the new settlements.  They spent six weeks in captivity before being released.

All in all, Christopher Columbus probably had some issues with his social skills.  He had a dream and a vision, and he never took "no" for an answer.  His obsession with trying to find passage further west (no, the Panama Canal hadn't been built yet), led some to think he was crazy and a mad man.  If he had been a better manager and earned the support of his crew, we might be living in Columbia today instead of in America.  Also, his refusal to accept that this was NOT Asia, meant that the naming rights would go to someone more openminded named Amerigo Vespucci.  The first known map with the name "America" appeared in 1507.

But I don't feel too sorry for Mr. C.  He had at least one country, a Canadian province, several large cities, and many other towns and counties name for him.  And don't forget a national holiday!  Not bad for a domineering socially-challenged man who died of complications from Arthritis.