CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE AGE OF DISCOVERY 7

African route was very great, even if feasible, and thoughtful men of the maritime world cast their eyes longingly toward the unknown West-and here we must introduce the great discoverer, Christopher Columbus.

EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS

One of the most beautiful of the Italian cities is Genoa, the birthplace of the discoverer of America. The city is built on the southern slope of the Apennines, between the summit of the mountains and the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and as one approaches from the sea, the city with its palaces and cathedrals, rising tier above tier, presents a sublime and impressive appearance. It was here that Christopher Columbus was born. The exact date of his birth cannot be determined. The older writers placed it about 1436; but recent investigators favor a later date. Tradition informs us that his father, Dominico Columbus, was a wool comber, and it seems that the family had for several generations followed the same handicraft. Christopher had two brothers younger than himself, Bartholomew and Diego, and a sister of whom nothing is known. Not much is known of the boyhood of Columbus. It is certain that the family were respectable, but not of special influence nor in possession of wealth. The education of Christopher was not extensive nor profound. In addition to the common studies he probably learned Latin, higher mathematics, and astronomy; and in nautical science and cosmography he was a life-long student and acquired all the learning of the age in which he lived.

While yet a child the attention of Columbus was turned toward the sea. His voyages on the Mediterranean began when he was a boy of fourteen, and by the time he reached his majority he was a hardy and skillful mariner. Some of his voyages were purely in the pursuit of commerce; in others he was engaged in naval struggles between the warring Italian states. On one occasion he commanded a vessel which engaged in a death duel with a huge Venetian galley. The two ships grappled, and the crews fought hand to hand for several hours, many being slain, when at length both vessels took fire. Most of those remaining perished. Columbus saved his life by leaping into the sea and swimming to shore, six miles distant.2

1 No less than sixteen Italian towns have claimed to be the birthplace of the great navigator. Columbus, however, refers in his writings to Genoa as the place of his birth.

2 This story, given by Columbus's son Fernando, is doubted by some critics.

About 1470 Columbus abandoned his native land and became a resident of Lisbon.' He was doubtless attracted to that city by its reputation of being the chief center in Europe for nautical science and by its great activity in promoting discovery. Here for many years Columbus made his home, supporting himself by making maps and charts, taking an occasional voyage down the African coast to the Cape Verde Islands, the Azores, and once far into the North, touching the coast of Iceland. He was a man of striking appearance, tall and muscular, courtly in manner, and affable in conversation. His eyes were light gray, his cheeks ruddy as those of a boy, while his hair was waving and as white as snow. He was received in the upper circles of society, and ere he had been many years in his adopted city he married and from this time on he seems to have had greater opportunity to study the one subject nearest his heart. At this period also he conceived that greater thought which became henceforth the guiding star of his life.

The belief that the East could be reached by sailing westward was held by many learned men, and was not original with Columbus; but he was the first and the only man of his times who was ready to risk his all in an attempt to demonstrate the theory. For this he deserves a place among the greatest characters of history.

Columbus had been in correspondence with the great Florentine astronomer, Toscanelli, who had sent him a map of the earth showing that there was but one ocean between Europe and Asia, and expressing his belief that the latter could be reached by sailing westward from the former. Columbus was also versed in the writings of Ptolemy, of Roger Bacon, and of Marco Polo. Polo's book, though nearly two hundred years old, made a deep impression on the mind of Columbus and had much to do in shaping his life. He read also the great work of Cardinal d'Ailly, "Imago Mundi," and all these things he pondered 1 Vignaud believes that Columbus did not arrive at Lisbon before 1476. 2 The voyage to Iceland is known only by tradition.

8 This description is from Las Casas, who knew Columbus. Las Casas further says that Columbus was rough in character and passionate when irritated. None of the well-known portraits of Columbus are accepted as authentic.

4 It is said that his wife's father, now dead, had been a noted navigator and the maps and charts he left now came into the possession of Columbus.

5 Vignaud, in a recent work, "La Lettre et La Carte de Toscanelli," tr. London, 1902, aims to prove that Columbus had no communication with Toscanelli. His argument is very strong and leaves the matter in doubt. Columbus makes no reference to the astronomer in his writings.

6 A copy of this great work, with marginal notes in the handwriting of Columbus, is still preserved in the library at Seville.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE AGE OF DISCOVERY 9

in his heart. The result was he reached the conclusion, which became the settled conviction of his mind, not only that the East could be reached by sailing to the West, but also that God had raised him up to accomplish this great work for mankind and from this conviction he never wavered to the last day of his life.

COLUMBUS AND THE SOVEREIGNS

Henceforth this great thought was the dominant force in the career of Columbus. It became the ruling passion of his life, and entered into all his acts. He had not the means to carry out his great project, nor did he feel that it came within the province of private enterprise. The work was too important and too vast for the individual; it was worthy to be the work of a nation. Columbus therefore applied to John II, king of Portugal, laid open his plans, and requested that he be sent on the great mission of discovery. The king was inclined to hear; but first he would consult with the wise men of his kingdom. He called them together, and they condemned the scheme as visionary.

King John now did a thing that was unworthy of him, for in the main he was a man of probity and justice. He noted the plans of Columbus and sent out a secret expedition to make the proposed discovery; but it resulted in nothing. Colum- Perfidy of King John. bus, hearing of this treachery, left Portugal in dudgeon and repaired to Spain. He left his home, his wife, and his children, taking with him only his eldest boy, a child of tender years, whom he left with a relative in Andalusia. This was probably in 1485, and soon afterward he was at Cordova laying his plans before the sovereigns of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. But it was difficult to get a hearing from these at this time, for Spain was in the midst of a long war with the Moors. As the sovereigns moved from place to place in pursuit of the enemy, Columbus followed-to Salamanca, to Malaga, and again to Cordova-and pressed his suit with unwearied energy. The sovereigns at length referred him to Talavera, the queen's confessor, who again referred the matter to a junto of learned men. Some of them believed in his project, but the majority condemned it, and after several years of incessant toil Columbus had done nothing. He had already sent his brother Bartholomew to England to lay the matter before Henry VII, and was now about to quit Spain and apply to the court

Columbus in Spain.