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The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Classics) by Christopher Columbus (20-Dec-2002) Paperback
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Christopher Columbus
320 books25 followersChristopher Columbus (c. 1451–1506) was a Genoese navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. Although not the first to reach the Americas from Europe—he was preceded by the Norse, led by Leif Ericson, who built a temporary settlement 500 years earlier at L'Anse aux Meadows — Columbus initiated widespread contact between Europeans and indigenous Americans. With his four voyages of discovery and several attempts at establishing a settlement on the island of Hispaniola, all funded by Queen Isabella of Spain, he initiated the process of Spanish colonization which foreshadowed general European colonization of the "New World." (The term "pre-Columbian" is usually used to refer to the peoples and cultures of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus and his European successors.)
His initial 1492 voyage came at a critical time of growing national imperialism and economic competition between developing nation states seeking wealth from the establishment of trade routes and colonies. In this sociopolitical climate, Columbus's far-fetched scheme won the attention of Queen Isabella of Spain. Severely underestimating the circumference of the Earth, he estimated that a westward route from Iberia to the Indies would be shorter and more direct than the overland trade route through Arabia. If true, this would allow Spain entry into the lucrative spice trade — heretofore commanded by the Arabs and Italians. Following his plotted course, he instead landed within the Bahamas Archipelago at a locale he named San Salvador. Mistaking the North-American island for the East-Asian mainland, he referred to its inhabitants as "Indios".
Academic consensus is that Columbus was born in Genoa, though there are other theories. The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. The original name in 15th century Genoese language was Christoffa Corombo. The name is rendered in modern Italian as Cristoforo Colombo, in Portuguese as Cristóvão Colombo (formerly Christovam Colom), and in Spanish as Cristóbal Colón.
The anniversary of Columbus's 1492 landing in the Americas is observed as Columbus Day on October 12 in Spain and throughout the Americas, except that in the United States it is observed on the second Monday in October.
His initial 1492 voyage came at a critical time of growing national imperialism and economic competition between developing nation states seeking wealth from the establishment of trade routes and colonies. In this sociopolitical climate, Columbus's far-fetched scheme won the attention of Queen Isabella of Spain. Severely underestimating the circumference of the Earth, he estimated that a westward route from Iberia to the Indies would be shorter and more direct than the overland trade route through Arabia. If true, this would allow Spain entry into the lucrative spice trade — heretofore commanded by the Arabs and Italians. Following his plotted course, he instead landed within the Bahamas Archipelago at a locale he named San Salvador. Mistaking the North-American island for the East-Asian mainland, he referred to its inhabitants as "Indios".
Academic consensus is that Columbus was born in Genoa, though there are other theories. The name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. The original name in 15th century Genoese language was Christoffa Corombo. The name is rendered in modern Italian as Cristoforo Colombo, in Portuguese as Cristóvão Colombo (formerly Christovam Colom), and in Spanish as Cristóbal Colón.
The anniversary of Columbus's 1492 landing in the Americas is observed as Columbus Day on October 12 in Spain and throughout the Americas, except that in the United States it is observed on the second Monday in October.
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December 6, 2024
A REVEALING AND EYE-OPENING HISTORICAL SURVEY OF COLUMBUS’S JOURNEYS
Editor/Translator J.M. Cohen wrote in the Introduction, “Christopher Columbus’s four voyages of discovery to the new world were recorded in a number of letters and dispatches written by him and the officers who sailed with him. The story was taken up by … the royal historian Captain Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo and by Fray Bartolome de las Casas… and by Columbus’s own son Hernando, who accompanied his father on his fourth voyage and wrote his biography… Oveido… accepted Columbus as a Genoese of no great lineage, education, or attainments… who conceived and tirelessly advocated from court to court a scheme for crossing the ocean from Spain to China and opening up a direct trade route to the west, by which the gold, jewels, and spices of the Orient could be brought to the ports of Castile… which he made more attractive to the Catholic sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabela, by offering them the prospect that the inhabitants of the intervening lands… might be converted to Christianity on the way…” (Pg. 11-12)
He continues, “Impelled by his fixed idea of a westward voyage of less than three thousand miles [it's more like ten thousand], Columbus hawked his project around the courts of Portugal, England, and … Castile and Aragon… Columbus was theorizing wildly about the apparent deviations of the Pole Star, which he could only explain by the crazy supposition that the earth was pear-shaped and he was sailing uphill. Columbus’s theoretical knowledge of navigation was clearly not exceptional…” (Pg. 13-15)
He adds, “Having assumed that the Island of Hispaniola was in fact Japan… he was compelled to accept Cuba as the Asiatic mainland… Columbus was hard to shake from his illusions. Columbus’s principal illusion, that he had made the voyage to Asia, was fostered by his need to provide rapid successes … in order to get renewed backing for his explorations. The islands that he discovered were not rich. The quantities of gold he claimed to be just about to discover were always on the next island… The only wealth of the country lay in its human inhabitants, who could be made to work as slaves either in Spain or at home…. Columbus advocated almost at the start their export to Spain as laborers. But these ideas offended the religious fervor of the sovereigns. The natives must be converted, and Christians [could] not be enslaved… Only criminals and prisoners of war might be enslaved, and the settlers deliberately increased the numbers of these by provoking Indian rebellions and placing the cannibal Caribs outside natural law.” (Pg. 17)
Oviedo begins his own history, “these lands were first known many centuries ago… but their geography and the sea routes by which they were to be reached were forgotten, and that Christopher Columbus… set out to make a fresh discovery of these islands. I am inclined to believe this theory… But it is right to accept this man, to whom we owe so much, as the prime mover of this enterprise, which he initiated for the benefit of all now living and those who shall live after us.” (Pg. 27) He continues, “He rightly recognized that these lands had been forgotten, for he had found them described … as one-time possessions of kings of Spain.” (Pg. 30)
He goes on, “But this project was alien to the ideas of those to whom he proposed it… He persisted in his suit for almost seven years… Disappointed by all these princes, Columbus went in search of the Catholic sovereigns… It is no marvel that such Catholic princes should be more concerned with winning souls for salvation than with treasure and new estates which would only increase their royal cares and responsibilities… And when in due season this great business was concluded, it was God’s purpose that was to be fulfilled.” (Pg. 34-35) He adds, “these blessed princes… decided to send an expedition in search of this new world and propagate the Christian faith there… For this holy purpose they ordered Columbus to be dispatched.” (Pg. 36)
Columbus’s log-book recounts, “Your Highnesses decided to send me… to see these parts of India and the princes and peoples of those lands and consider the best means for their conversion. For… your Highnesses as Catholic princes … have always been enemies of the sect of Mahomet and of all idolatries and heresies.” (Pg. 37)
They finally sighted land in October of 1492. Columbus [called ‘the Admiral’ henceforth] wrote, “In order to win their friendship, since I knew they were a people to be converted and won to our holy faith by love and friendship rather than by force, I gave some of them red caps and glass beads which they hung around their neck, also many other trifles. These things pleased them greatly and they became marvelously friendly to us… But they seemed to me a people very short of everything. They all go naked as their mothers bore them… They do not carry arms or know them. For when I showed them swords, they took them by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron… I believe that they would easily be made Christians, for they appeared to me to have no religion.” (Pg. 55-56) Later, he adds, “Generally it was my wish to pass no island without taking possession of it.” (Pg. 60)
He continues, “I intend to go so far inland as to … see and speak with this king, who… wears much gold on his clothes and person. I do not attach much belief to their statements... because I … know that [since] they are very poor in gold that any small amount this king may wear will seem much to them… It is true that if I find any place where there is gold or spices in quantity I shall wait until I have collected as much as I can. Therefore I continue to sail on in search of such a place.” (Pg. 69)
In Columbus’s son’s biography, he reports, “the Admiral comforted [the chief king] by showing him our weapons and promising to defend him with them. But [the king] was much disturbed by our cannon, which so frightened all the Indians that they fell down like dead men when they heard them fired.” (Pg. 93)
Columbus’s letter on his first voyage recalls, “I gave them a thousand pretty things that I had brought, in order to gain their love and incline them to become Christians. I hoped… to persuade them to collect and give us of the things which they possessed in abundance and which we needed. They have no religion and are not idolaters; but all believe that power and goodness dwell in the sky and they are firmly convinced that I have come from the sky with these ships and people. In this belief they gave me a good reception … once they had overcome their fear… they are men of great intelligence, for they navigate all those seas… but … they have never before seen men clothed or ships like these.” (Pg. 118) Later, he adds, “I have not found the human monsters which many people expected. On the contrary, the whole population is very well made.” (Pg. 121)
His son records, “The reigning Pope, Alexander VI, most liberally granted them not only all that they had conquered so far, but also everything that they should still discover further west as far as the Orient, in so far as no Christian prince has actual possession, and he forbade all others to encroach on these boundaries.” (Pg. 127)
After some natives had killed some of the new arrivals, Columbus [planned] the conquest of the country and the punishment of the Indians for their rebellion and for the murder of the Christians… When the infantry squadrons … had attacked the mass of the Indians… The Indians fled like cowards in all directions, and our men pursued them, killing so many and wreaking such havoc among them that … by God’s will victory was achieved, many Indians being killed and many others captured and executed.” (Pg. 189)
In his narrative of his third voyage, Columbus wrote, “I have always read that the world of land and sea is spherical… Now… I have found such great irregularities that I have come to the following conclusions concerning the world: that it is not round… but the shape of a pear, which is round everywhere except at the stalk…” (Pg. 217-218)
Roldan, who had been established as mayor of Santo Domingo, wanted to stay in a certain part of the island, “since it was the most pleasant and fertile part of the island, and … more especially because its women were more beautiful and accommodating than those elsewhere---which was the chief attraction that drew them there.” (Pg. 233)
Columbus’s son records, “The Indians were very docile and much afraid of the Admiral. So anxious were they to please him that, to oblige him, they voluntarily became Christians, and if an Indian chief had to appear before him he endeavored to come clothed.” (Pg. 259)
Both fascinating and at times repellent, this book will be “must reading” for anyone studying Columbus’s voyages.
Editor/Translator J.M. Cohen wrote in the Introduction, “Christopher Columbus’s four voyages of discovery to the new world were recorded in a number of letters and dispatches written by him and the officers who sailed with him. The story was taken up by … the royal historian Captain Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo and by Fray Bartolome de las Casas… and by Columbus’s own son Hernando, who accompanied his father on his fourth voyage and wrote his biography… Oveido… accepted Columbus as a Genoese of no great lineage, education, or attainments… who conceived and tirelessly advocated from court to court a scheme for crossing the ocean from Spain to China and opening up a direct trade route to the west, by which the gold, jewels, and spices of the Orient could be brought to the ports of Castile… which he made more attractive to the Catholic sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabela, by offering them the prospect that the inhabitants of the intervening lands… might be converted to Christianity on the way…” (Pg. 11-12)
He continues, “Impelled by his fixed idea of a westward voyage of less than three thousand miles [it's more like ten thousand], Columbus hawked his project around the courts of Portugal, England, and … Castile and Aragon… Columbus was theorizing wildly about the apparent deviations of the Pole Star, which he could only explain by the crazy supposition that the earth was pear-shaped and he was sailing uphill. Columbus’s theoretical knowledge of navigation was clearly not exceptional…” (Pg. 13-15)
He adds, “Having assumed that the Island of Hispaniola was in fact Japan… he was compelled to accept Cuba as the Asiatic mainland… Columbus was hard to shake from his illusions. Columbus’s principal illusion, that he had made the voyage to Asia, was fostered by his need to provide rapid successes … in order to get renewed backing for his explorations. The islands that he discovered were not rich. The quantities of gold he claimed to be just about to discover were always on the next island… The only wealth of the country lay in its human inhabitants, who could be made to work as slaves either in Spain or at home…. Columbus advocated almost at the start their export to Spain as laborers. But these ideas offended the religious fervor of the sovereigns. The natives must be converted, and Christians [could] not be enslaved… Only criminals and prisoners of war might be enslaved, and the settlers deliberately increased the numbers of these by provoking Indian rebellions and placing the cannibal Caribs outside natural law.” (Pg. 17)
Oviedo begins his own history, “these lands were first known many centuries ago… but their geography and the sea routes by which they were to be reached were forgotten, and that Christopher Columbus… set out to make a fresh discovery of these islands. I am inclined to believe this theory… But it is right to accept this man, to whom we owe so much, as the prime mover of this enterprise, which he initiated for the benefit of all now living and those who shall live after us.” (Pg. 27) He continues, “He rightly recognized that these lands had been forgotten, for he had found them described … as one-time possessions of kings of Spain.” (Pg. 30)
He goes on, “But this project was alien to the ideas of those to whom he proposed it… He persisted in his suit for almost seven years… Disappointed by all these princes, Columbus went in search of the Catholic sovereigns… It is no marvel that such Catholic princes should be more concerned with winning souls for salvation than with treasure and new estates which would only increase their royal cares and responsibilities… And when in due season this great business was concluded, it was God’s purpose that was to be fulfilled.” (Pg. 34-35) He adds, “these blessed princes… decided to send an expedition in search of this new world and propagate the Christian faith there… For this holy purpose they ordered Columbus to be dispatched.” (Pg. 36)
Columbus’s log-book recounts, “Your Highnesses decided to send me… to see these parts of India and the princes and peoples of those lands and consider the best means for their conversion. For… your Highnesses as Catholic princes … have always been enemies of the sect of Mahomet and of all idolatries and heresies.” (Pg. 37)
They finally sighted land in October of 1492. Columbus [called ‘the Admiral’ henceforth] wrote, “In order to win their friendship, since I knew they were a people to be converted and won to our holy faith by love and friendship rather than by force, I gave some of them red caps and glass beads which they hung around their neck, also many other trifles. These things pleased them greatly and they became marvelously friendly to us… But they seemed to me a people very short of everything. They all go naked as their mothers bore them… They do not carry arms or know them. For when I showed them swords, they took them by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron… I believe that they would easily be made Christians, for they appeared to me to have no religion.” (Pg. 55-56) Later, he adds, “Generally it was my wish to pass no island without taking possession of it.” (Pg. 60)
He continues, “I intend to go so far inland as to … see and speak with this king, who… wears much gold on his clothes and person. I do not attach much belief to their statements... because I … know that [since] they are very poor in gold that any small amount this king may wear will seem much to them… It is true that if I find any place where there is gold or spices in quantity I shall wait until I have collected as much as I can. Therefore I continue to sail on in search of such a place.” (Pg. 69)
In Columbus’s son’s biography, he reports, “the Admiral comforted [the chief king] by showing him our weapons and promising to defend him with them. But [the king] was much disturbed by our cannon, which so frightened all the Indians that they fell down like dead men when they heard them fired.” (Pg. 93)
Columbus’s letter on his first voyage recalls, “I gave them a thousand pretty things that I had brought, in order to gain their love and incline them to become Christians. I hoped… to persuade them to collect and give us of the things which they possessed in abundance and which we needed. They have no religion and are not idolaters; but all believe that power and goodness dwell in the sky and they are firmly convinced that I have come from the sky with these ships and people. In this belief they gave me a good reception … once they had overcome their fear… they are men of great intelligence, for they navigate all those seas… but … they have never before seen men clothed or ships like these.” (Pg. 118) Later, he adds, “I have not found the human monsters which many people expected. On the contrary, the whole population is very well made.” (Pg. 121)
His son records, “The reigning Pope, Alexander VI, most liberally granted them not only all that they had conquered so far, but also everything that they should still discover further west as far as the Orient, in so far as no Christian prince has actual possession, and he forbade all others to encroach on these boundaries.” (Pg. 127)
After some natives had killed some of the new arrivals, Columbus [planned] the conquest of the country and the punishment of the Indians for their rebellion and for the murder of the Christians… When the infantry squadrons … had attacked the mass of the Indians… The Indians fled like cowards in all directions, and our men pursued them, killing so many and wreaking such havoc among them that … by God’s will victory was achieved, many Indians being killed and many others captured and executed.” (Pg. 189)
In his narrative of his third voyage, Columbus wrote, “I have always read that the world of land and sea is spherical… Now… I have found such great irregularities that I have come to the following conclusions concerning the world: that it is not round… but the shape of a pear, which is round everywhere except at the stalk…” (Pg. 217-218)
Roldan, who had been established as mayor of Santo Domingo, wanted to stay in a certain part of the island, “since it was the most pleasant and fertile part of the island, and … more especially because its women were more beautiful and accommodating than those elsewhere---which was the chief attraction that drew them there.” (Pg. 233)
Columbus’s son records, “The Indians were very docile and much afraid of the Admiral. So anxious were they to please him that, to oblige him, they voluntarily became Christians, and if an Indian chief had to appear before him he endeavored to come clothed.” (Pg. 259)
Both fascinating and at times repellent, this book will be “must reading” for anyone studying Columbus’s voyages.
January 20, 2025
I love how the logbook entries gave tedious details that gave the readers sign of hopes. I could only imagine how exhilarating the encounter was for the world back then to discover new piece of land and the people they didn’t intend to meet, let alone their cultural richness. It’s also fair to note, however, that through the words of the Spaniards especially formally written to the court was subjected so much to fabrication. In my view, Columbus didn’t discover America at all.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews