Columbus

by Felipe Fernández-Armesto

In 1992 we mark the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the New World. But for most of us, this pivotal figure remains as distant and mysterious as the New World must have seemed to him. What sort of man was Columbus? Was he a zealous crusader or a mystic seer, as various legends have it, or an embodiment of bourgeois capitalism, as new interpretations claim? In this concise, authoritative biography, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto provides us with a striking view of the first European to explore America, going beyond popular misconception to reveal the real individual behind the romantic fictions.
The Columbus that emerges here may differ from the one described in text books and speculative fantasies, but Fernandez-Armesto's Columbus derives from thorough research into verifiable sources. Fernandez-Armesto paints a new picture of an ambitious, socially awkward parvenu, an autodidact who was intellectually aggressive but easily cowed, an embittered escapee from distressing realities, an adventurer inhibited by fear of failure. The author carefully places Columbus in the context of his society, describing in detail both the explorer's Genoese roots and the culture of his adopted Castillian home. We gain insight into the workings of Ferdinand and Isabella's royal court, as we watch him struggle to attain patronage for his ambitious travel plans; we learn about the role of contemporary cartography in the formation of Columbus's vision of the world through an analysis of marginal notes in his library. And of course we accompany him on his four trips to the New World, watching his reactions to these newly discovered lands and people, following his unsuccessful career as a colonial administrator in Hispaniola, and charting his growing religious obsessions. Fernandez-Armesto assesses the preservation and transcription of Columbus's writings through the work of the 16th century Spaniard Bartolome de Las Casas, and sets the voyages within the context of the ongoing discovery of North and South America.
Complete with eight pages of illustrations and a chronology of Columbus's life and work, this biography provides a compact and up-to-date guide to the explorer and his voyages. Written by an acknowledged authority on the legendary explorer, this book will be a standard for people wanting to separate the facts from the fantasy.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Felipe Fernández-Armesto is a British professor of history at the University of Notre Dame and author of several popular works, notably on cultural and environmental history.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as I can tell, there are two full-length biographies of Christopher Columbus – for adults – in the English language. And for this one, mine is the only review on Goodreads. Considering he's the most pivotal historical figure of the last 500 years or so, that's very surprising.

[Cinda Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I appreciated that the author wanted to reveal Columbus for who he really was but also that he included all the erroneous or mythical ideas of Columbus to see all these together. I also enjoyed understating the cultural and historical context for Columbus. It’s crucial to having a deeper understanding of historical figures, especially one as huge (and currently controversial) as Christopher Columbus. It’s interesting to realize that Columbus is mainly controversial now because of how he is perceived, not for who he really was or what he accomplished in his lifetime. One thing that stood out to me was the relationship the author seemed to have with Columbus. He was very thorough and informed but he at times seemed to display almost a love/hate response to Columbus. He categorized all his personal weaknesses, problems, inconsistencies, etc but then, almost as if he wished he couldn’t, he would conclude that Columbus really did an amazing thing in discovering America (he has a thorough explanation of why “discover” is an appropriate term to be used here) or in his navigational skills, etc. This was a fantastic book and well worth reading, esp if you want to have a thorough and realistic understanding of Christopher Columbus. I came away feeling kind of sorry for Columbus in some ways.

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage to the Caribbean in 1992 triggered a few biographies of the famous explorer. This one is the shortest, but not less interesting. In fact, it is my favorite overview of Columbus’ life, very well researched and documented. The author is at pain to single out what we can say for certain about Columbus and what are only speculations. The best in the book is the overall picture of Columbus' personality, a rather idiosyncratic fellow incapable of building lasting relationships, full of mysticism and religious fervor, but driven by wealth, titles, and glory. His insistence of arriving in Asia, even against his own observations, made him a rather tragic figure, incapable of appreciating his record of achievements. The book shows his age ignoring the catastrophic implications of Columbus' landing on the indigenous people of the Caribbeans, not discussed in the last chapter which quickly assesses the implications of Columbus's deeds. If you are interested in a more in-depth biography, I would suggest Samuel Morison’s "Admiral of the Ocean Sea," also published in 1991.

[William T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pub. 1991 - This is a decent biography of Columbus that really trims the fat in terms of the information that is offered. If you want a quick overview of Columbus’ life, without going too deep into any one part, I recommend this book. If you want a more in depth understanding of the man, I recommend going elsewhere. As it was I had previously read Morison’s Admiral of the Ocean Sea, so much of this book was a refresher of information I had a more clear understanding of, due to reading a longer and more thorough biography. Had I not read Morison’s work, I think much of the context of Fernández-Armesto’s presentation would have been lost on me. Nevertheless this book is very well researched, and the author does make some excellent observations about Columbus’ personal idiosyncrasies, especially where relationships and spirituality are concerned, which I found enlightening and unique.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed that one from the Boston library via archive to ADE.
This book is a thorough account of the great seafarer's life. Immersive reading.