There are few figures in history that have been as controversial and ambiguous as the navigator and discoverer Cristobal Colon. Discoverer of America, although he never knew, died with the idea that he had found a new route to get to the Indies .
His true identity, his origins, his education, his birthplace, all these data have been a unknown throughout history, provoking disquisitions and debates between biographers and historians.In this article versed in Cristobal Colon and The Discovery of America , we intend to clarify certain doubts and create a timeline of the facts to a better understanding and also make reference to other theories about whether or not Colon discovered America taking into account his wisdom of Viking trips to America.
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Who was Cristobal Colon
(Cristoforo Colombo; Genova ?, 1451-Valladolid, 1506) .The origins of this illustrious navigator, possibly Italian, has been a mystery throughout history, a mystery fueled by both his first biography, his son Hernando Colon.
Biographical Data
La Biography of Cristobal Colon points out how he started as a craftsman and modest merchant, making contact with the sea through cabotage navigation, which is the maritime or river transport of people, merchandise and national luggage for commercial purposes.
In 1476 the Genoese fleet in which he was traveling was shipwrecked, when attacked by French privateers near the cape of San Vicente (Portugal), since then Colon settled in Lisbon as a commercial agent of the Centurione house, for which I make trips to Madeira, Guinea, England and including Iceland (1477).
Cartography before the Discovery
He became fond of cartography, acquiring his knowledge in a self-taught way, was cultivated in the classical languages that allowed him to read ancient geographical treaties. Classics such as Aristotle or Ptolemy, who defended the sphericity of the Earth.
How the idea of going to America came up
Cristobal Colon , started from the idea that, being the spherical Earth, The east coast of Asia could be easily reached by sailing west. A series of miscalculations had made him underestimate the earth's perimeter and led him to assume, consequently, that Japan was 2,400 nautical miles from the Canary Islands, distance that, in reality, is the one that separates the Antilles from the Canary archipelago.
The belief that the land was flat
Surely, some Portuguese sailors experts in the Atlantic navigation, informed him of the existence of islands that would allow to make a stopover in the transoceanic navigation, and it is even possible I had news of the existence of land to explore on the other side of the Ocean, from Portuguese sailors on ordinary (or the papers of his own father-in-law, colonizer of Madeira).
By 1480 Colon was determined to get the company to open a naval route to Asia by the west , based on the correct hypothesis that the Earth was round, and the double mistake of supposing it smaller than it is and ignoring the existence of the American continent, which stood in the projected route.A exploration trip that I would never have imagined.
The commercial context made the Project of undoubted economic interest since European trade with the Far East, based on the import of spices and luxury products , it was extremely lucrative.
Trade Routes.The Route of the Silk
Until now, trade with the Middle East was carried out by land, these routes were controlled by the Arabs.On the other hand, the Portuguese had been trying for years to open a sea route to the India bordering the African coast, company that culminates Vasco Da Gama in 1498.
A few years before the discovery of America, sea voyages Portuguese to India bordering the coast of Africa and following the course eastward across the Indian Ocean served as a stimulus for other European navigators who believed it was possible to reach the regions of East Asia sailing west.
Portugal was trying to reach the Indies bordering Africa
Cristobal Colon defended the hypothesis that the diameter of the Earth was so small that it could be reached Nzar Asia sailing from Europe to the west. The project was not new , it was even popular with cartographers and navigators as a possible alternative to the long spice route.So much so that one of Colon's biggest fears was for another to get ahead of him in crossing the Atlantic.
But what neither the wise nor the sailors of that time could imagine was the immense extension of the "terra incognita", nor the unexpected immensity of the Pacific.It was the true scientific discovery that began that day in 1492, not only did a "New World" appear, but the ancient globe expanded almost twice the size assumed.
The discovery of America
The Discovery of America, one of the fundamental moments of universal history and the Middle Ages , which began with the arrival in America on October 12, 1492 of an expedition led by Cristobal Colon by mandate of the kings Isabel and Fernan from Castilla y Aragon, who had left the Andalusian port of Palos two months and nine days before and, after crossing the Atlantic Ocean, arrived at some islands of the American continent, specifically the Bahamas and on his return he announced by the first time in Europe the existence of a New World.
Cristobal Colon sees the New World (oil by Christian Ruben)
Historical Context of the Discovery of America
The 15th century was a time of difficult but gradual progress in the exploration of the world, motivated to find trade routes alternatives to reach the Indias.
In fact we can say that provoked Because of the increasing difficulties of the Byzantine Empire, which would eventually fall with the seizure by the Turks of Constantinople in 1453, Western Europeans saw themselves forced to look for alternative routes to Asia.
The Turks control the trade since the fall of Constantinople
Fruit of these expeditions was the Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands, which began in 1402 on the island of Lanzarote and concluded in 1496 with the conquest of Tenerife.
In this context, Cristobal Colon , I present to the crown of Portugal a project to reach the Indias from the West.
The Portuguese rejected him , because their navigators were making significant progress in their travels through the coast of Africa .A more reliable route than a navigation crossing the unknown and inhospitable ocean.Its project was a true adventure without any kind of guarantee as.
Juan II, I reject the Colon Project
The fact that the navigation calculations, which Cristobal Colon had made were based on routes that departed from the Canary Islands, a small detail that the Portuguese were not willing to assume, because if the company He was successful, his route should be shared with the Crown of Castile, losing the kingdom of Portugal exclusivity.
The Idea of Colon, arriving in Las Indias by the West, this was the world map in 1474
It was then, with the rejection of the Portuguese that Cristobal Colon, who had been under the orders of the King of Portugal, offers to the Catholic Monarchs the project of arriving in the Indies following a route to the west instead of bordering the entire African continent.
To implement his project, Colon started with the idea of the sphericity of the Earth, a controversial issue at the time.Finally, by the Capitulations of Santa Fe , in which it was stipulated that the sailor would receive the titles of "admiral of the oceanic sea" and "viceroy" of the lands he discovered, he would also receive a tenth of the benefits The Catholic Monarchs agreed with Colon on the start of the expedition.
Capitulations of Santa Fe
The Travels of Colon
As the Catholic Monarchs were at a disadvantage compared to the Portuguese in the competition to reach the Indias .This is how the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon decide to support the project of Christopher Columbus.However, its concretion took seven years because, until 1492, its main objective was to expel Muslims from the peninsula.
- First Journey of Colon (August 3, 1492-March 15, 1493)
In April 1492 , the Kings Isabel and Fernando signed an agreement with Colon, the Capitulations of S Anta Fe.It was established that Colon would receive the perpetual Admiralty , the Viceroyalty and the Government of all lands that he discovered and-also-the tenth part of the riches found.
Everything was ready and, on August 3, 1492, Colon departed from Puerto de Palos with three boats, La Pinta, La Nina and La Santa Maria.Colon sailed to the Canary Islands and then to the west, reaching the island of Guanahani (San Salvador, in the Bahamas) on October 12, 1492. For the first time, a group of Europeans was treading American lands, although neither Colon nor its crew were aware of it.
On that trip he also discovered Cuba and La Espanola (Santo Domingo), and even built a first Spanish establishment there with the remains of the wreck of the Santa Maria, the fort La Navidad .Persuaded that he had reached the Asian coast, he returned to Spain with the two remaining ships in 1493.
First Map of the New World, Juan de la Cosa 1500
- Second Voyage of Colon (Sept.25 September 1493-June 11, 1496)
Once a new route to the Indies was discovered, the purpose was to settle quickly to make it clear the Spanish presence and therefore declare them territories belonging to the Crown of Castile.We must not forget that all the great empires needed merchandise that came from the East and their routes paid high tariffs.
Another purpose and not therefore less important, it was to find a way to get to India and Catay , where the main commercial ports of the East were located and thus get their own commercial route and Spanish.
On November 3, 1493 and for the second time Cristobal Colon spotted the coast of the new continent, it was an island that I call The Desired , it is not very well known whether due to normal wishes to see land or to find one of the islands belonging to the Antilles Archipelago that he tried to find on his first trip and did not get it.From La Deseada set sail north discovering the island of Puerto Rico , following the archipelago until reaching La Espanola, where he found the Fort of Christmas, totally destroyed after a native uprising guided by the cacique and cannibal Caonabo.The fort that had been created with the remains of the Santa Maria was burned and destroyed and all its members dead.
Discovery of Puerto Rico
But La Espanola could contain large mines of gold , for something they were received with gifts made of the purest gold, which made the c necessary reaction of a new settlement on the Island.Colon founded a new colony on the day of kings of 1494, in a more appropriate and sheltered place.This villa could not have a name other than that of a rein to La Isabela.
After founding this new settlement, Cristobal Colon continues its explorations along the coastline reaching a new island, it was the coast of Juana Island today Cuba , a name he receives in honor of the Infanta Juana daughter of the Catholic Monarchs.The Island of Juana had already been discovered on her first trip so the exploration continued until she reached the Santiago Island now Jamaica on May 5, 1494.After this discovery Colon set sail south.
It is on this second trip, on La Espanola Island I observe the lunar eclipse from September 14 to 15 1494 and, comparing its beginning and end times with those recorded in the observations of Cadiz and Sao Vicente in Portugal, he definitely deduced the sphericity of the Earth already described by Claudio Ptolemy.
Presentation to the Catholic Kings of the Indigenous brought from Las Indias
With the discovery of these new territories and after exploring the new island of Santiago, after navigating between the different islets, he headed back to Spain from where he left again for Cadiz, where he arrived on June 11, 1496.
- Third Voyage of Colon (May 30, 1498-November 25, 1500 )
At the end of July 1498 Colon arrives at the Trinidad Island. Colon had promised to baptize the next place he discovered in honor of the Holy Trinity, maybe he was led by the Trinity or maybe it was a coincidence, but on July 31, 1948 they spotted three peaks in the distance and called them Montes de Trinidad.
Discovery of the Orinoco River
From there he headed north reaching the mouth of the Orinoco River, area to which I dedicate several days, crossing the entire Gulf of Paria .For the first time Colon was on the mainland, until now he had only discovered islands, but the appearance of the Orinoco with fresh water, made him convince himself that had reached a continent .This area received the name of Tierra de Gracias for the kindness of its people.
On August 15, 1498, Christopher Columbus saw three islands, two of them were small, arid and seemed uninhabited, these are the current Car and Cubagua , both separated from a third largest island and covered with vegetation.This Island received the name of Asuncion , which today is known as Margarita Island , its very friendly and friendly indigenous inhabitants entertained the Colon and its expedition with beautiful pearls, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the Spanish explorers.
The fact of having returned from their second trip without the promised treasures to the crown and without finding the route to get to India they had made a dent in the elanimo of the Spanish court, who saw how their coffers were emptying by the excessive cost of these expeditions, like the crew that accompanied Colon who also obsessed with wealth and power did not see their aspirations satisfied.
When after the exploration of these new territories Colon returns to La Espanola, the detachment that is there ontraba they had mutinied because of discontent over the lack of treasures and wealth. Colon was forced to negotiate proposing to return to the island of Cubagua , newly discovered to form a new settlement dedicated to the pearl trade. Here in 1528 the first city founded by the Spaniards in the new continent would be born and they called it New Cadiz.
Before the constants complaints of the detachment In Spanish, the continuing uprisings and the incompetence of the Colon brothers to carry out the administration of the new lands, in addition to the expenses caused by La Espanola Island, the Catholic Monarchs decided to send a Fishery Judge D.Francisco de Bobadilla.
After hearing the complaints, he proceeded to arrest Cristobal Colon in June To his brothers Diego and Bartolome, who in chains began their journey back to Spain, arriving in Cadiz on November 25, 1500. Colon was released by Queen Isabel but forced to renounce rights as Governor had granted, now his prestige had fallen on the ground.
Colon back to Spain as a detainee
- Fourth Journey of Colon (April 3, 1502-November 7, 1504 )
He left the port of Cadiz with two caravels and two ships: La Capitana, La Gallega, La Vizcaina and Santiago de Palos, on May 11, passing through the Canary Islands, I arrive at the Indies in 30 days.
With the return of Francisco de Bobadilla and Colon dismissed as governor, the Catholic Monarchs sent Nicolas de Ovando to hold both positions in the colony.When Colon arrived in La Espanola a strong storm had broken out, with the damaged ships try to reach port, maneuver that the new governor denies him, prohibiting him from landing on the island.ad to lose all the ships Colon set sail for the island of Jamaica , where he could take refuge.
After almost two months of heavy storms , the admiral He heads west, reaching the coast of Honduras and discovering the Island of Guanaja . Cocoa in this expedition, when crossing with An indigenous Mayan boat, these offered them a brown powder they called cocoa.
To the Arriving at Punta Cajina , today called Punta Trujillo, the Spaniards celebrated the first mass on the mainland of the American continent.> Where and as we now know during the time of hurricanes the winds are terrible, for several weeks they were shaken by the storms until on September 12 when they reached a cape and bend it, the calm arrived.Colon christened this cape as Cabo Thank God, natural separation of Honduras and Nicaragua.
Colon came to touch Panamanian lands, but as happened on previous trips back to Spain without having achieved the objectives proposed since his first trip .Murio in Valladolid in 1506. But the misfortunes would come when a cartographic book was published a year later where a Florentine navigator named Americo Vespucio , assured that everything discovered since the first trip of Colon was not Eastern lands, but a new continent.
When the crown of Spain decided to dispossess Cristobal Colon of titles, they put an end to the monopoly that this family had in terms of navigation in the Indies, opening new businesses to other navigators who started a large number of expeditions or "Minor Trips." Among the many sailors who ventured out include characters like Pedro Alonso Nino discovering Venezuela , Bartolome Ruiz discoverer of the Pacific Ocean , etc.
The Spanish Crown did not get the spices of the Indas .But instead it got something much more important: the opportunity to build a great Empire .In later expeditions of conquers , the Catholic kings their goals were met.
The American precious metals and the exploitation of the workforce of the aborigines enriched Spain , and joined the European economy , contributing to its transformation.
Consequences of the discovery of America
Every October 12 , the Discovery of America is commemorated by Cristobal Colon in the year 1492 .With it opens one of the most complex chapters of the universal history .
Involves the nascent European modern society and its exploration trips , to the civilizations originating in America , and the beginning of an empire colonial that would last centuries.And-in the middle of all this-a navigator with a risky project and a destination that nobody would have foreseen: the Discovery of a New Continent .
This discovery changed the course of history, and although it is difficult to think or know what would have happened If Colon had followed another route, it seems clear that discovering America was a great wealth for Europe , although few or none were the benefits for those who then inhabited those lands.
Apart from the conquest of the territories of America, it fits add that the arrival of Europeans also meant a demographic collapse of the indigenous population , mainly due to indiscriminate genocides, or the arrival of epidemic diseases before which the natives lacked biological defenses.
Was Colon really the first to discover America?
Although proven with all that has been said, the importance of Cristobal Colon in the discovery of America, the truth is that history has shown that it was not this navigator the first one that came to the coast of this country.
In fact, it is known that 500 years before the arrival of Colon in America , the Vikings were the first to discover the old continent and not only that but the Viking Leif Ericson and his Viking troop arrived at what is now known as North America where he established a settlement on the island of Newfoundland, as proved by the remains of Viking settlements found by archaeologists found in the area , belonging to the year 1000, approximately.
Apart from the Vikings, there is also a legend in which it is ensured that an Irish monk called Brendan managed to reach America in the sixth century, with the idea of finding paradise and in addition to this there is evidence that Portuguese sailors had already reached the continent long before Colon, in the year 1424 .
Other beliefs point to the Phoenicians , who was a civilian Really advanced zacion with outstanding records in navigation, perhaps they could have traveled to America in 1600 BC.On many maps of the time there are marked islands that seemed to be a mythological invention, but that could have been part of their discoveries upon arrival at the expense of the old continent.Commemorations of the discovery of America
On October 12, 1492 , disembarked Cristobal Colon in America, after a long and tormented journey that began on August 3 of the same year from Palos de la Frontera (in Spain), in what he believed were the Indies.The navigator was in fact convinced that it was possible to "search for the Levant by the West", a conviction also supported by the famous letter from the cartographer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli to Alfonso V of Portugal, well known by Colon, in which it was stated that the shortest route Reaching Asia was on the Atlantic route.
The date that has irreversibly changed history and global balance, also the conception that man had of himself and the world, is commemorated with the Columbus Day, an event that has been held since 1869 and has become an official celebration in United States since 1937, So President Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided.For convenience, the celebration is held on the second Monday of October, so this year the anniversary was celebrated on October 10, with the traditional parade along Fifth Avenue, with bands, cars and figures.
But this is not the only celebration regarding the discovery of America by Colon.In Spain we have October 12 set as Hispanic Day or National Day of Spain, which although it commemorates how in 1492 the Kingdoms of Spain joined in the same monarchy, it also somehow celebrates the arrival of the Columbus expedition to America.
In South America , However, the celebration has nothing cheerful or festive and although October 12 is a day marked as a holiday, the truth is that the celebration looks more like a memory of the subsequent invasion that marked the arrival of Colon that a real "discovery".
Faced with the criticisms that the commotion actually caused Colon Day action, since 1977, is also celebrated on the Day of Indigenous Peoples that was established during the International Conference on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations in the Americas (in Geneva).
In the United States, already in 1968, the then governor of California, Ronald Reagan, signed a resolution that established a day known as the day of the American Indians, to be celebrated on the fourth Friday of September.Also in California , in 1992, the Berkeley City Council in California declared the Native American Day for October 12 .More and more communities in the United States demanded a change that would also commemorate the native populations of the United States, to honor heritage and historical and cultural contribution.Therefore, some states, such as Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and South Dakota, have replaced Colon Day with Native American Day, while in 2014 Seattle voted to change the name of Colon Day on Indigenous Peoples Day.
Food After the Discovery of America
Many speak of the benefits brought by America to discover, by minerals, plantations, without neglecting the cultural wealth that although they exploited, but could not, what more they accepted and They looked forward to the different populations, from the return of commercial trips to America, were the amount of food, not known to them and that conquered their stomachs, after the different expeditions that were made.
Foods that arrived in Spain
Without doubt the most popular foods were fruits and vegetables, which we still wonder how they arrived in good condition after crossing the ocean, but it is seen that many civilizations they accepted those foods and made them their food base.
The tomatoes and peppers that arrived from the new continent, were the basis for Spain and the coast of Europe, to start with the Mediterranean diet with foods rich in antioxidants and rich in vitamin C.The beans and potatoes , appeared to evolve in kitchens and create stews, especially in Spanish cuisine, and not only cooking, but thanks to the potato, a dense, satiating and nutrient-dense food, except for many civilizations of famine in the Central European area.
The most exotic foods, without a doubt, were corn and avocado.Also came the turkey, as a meat source and although They did not quite adapt here, at the beginning, today, after knowing the benefits of these products of the land, especially avocado, it is brought and grown in large quantities for daily consumption.
And as the star of the products exported from America to Spain, it was cocoa .Which became a delicatessen that few people could access.It moved more than nothing among the high spheres of the nobility, who shared that fruit for the delight.
Foods that Sent from Spain
Of course, although Spain enjoyed its beginnings with the Mediterranean diet , of their avocados, of their turkey and they went crazy with cocoa, Spain also responded positively in terms of food because they decided to send products of the land to America and which are currently the base of their food.
They welcomed with open arms the meat sources such as pork, cow and chicken, which is the basis of many South American dishes and the wheat and rice , which are always on their plates, like bread in ours, were exported from Spain to the new continent.
They exported fruits such as oranges, apples and grapes that they like so much in the Peruvian land and sent honey, that currently, is also the basis of many of their sweets , because they sweeten it, but what stood out most was his appreciation of banana that was exported from the Canary Islands to America, to be a fruit of the most useful dishes sweet and savory.
The food since the discovery of America has evolved a lot.If we start thinking about how they fed before and what would have happened if that exchange had not been done From gastronomic culture , we would face a totally different civilization.
Video of Cristobal Colon and the discovery of America
Bibliography
- Cristobal Colon: Mystery and greatness (Memory s and Biographies) by Luis Arranz; ISBN-10: 8496467236; ISBN-13: 978-8496467231.
- Cristobal Colon: Elultimo de los Templarios de Ruggero Marino; ISBN-10: 8497773071; ISBN-13: 978-8497773072.
- The First Discovery of America (Establishment of the Vikings in Iceland, Greenland and America) by Gwyn Jones; ISBN-10: 8476344384; ISBN-13: 978-8476344385
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