Christopher Columbus was born on

31 October 1451 in Genoa, northwestern Italy. He was an explorer,

colonizer and navigator. His father
Domenico Colombo was a wool
weaver who worked both in Genoa
and Savona.

His mother, Susanna

Fontanarossa, was from
a noble family from
Lisbon, Portugal. Domenico, his father
taught his son all the
necessary
skills
required to follow him
into his import and
export business of
woven textiles and
wine.

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Although he wasn't scholarly, with his father's help

Christopher read books
on astronomy, geography,
and navigation, which
would serve him well in
his later conquests. As a
young man he sailed the
Mediterranean tending to
the family business.

In 1476, after being in the trade

for 6 years, Columbus began his
quest for a more adventurous life.
He left for Lisbon where he began
working for Genoese companies
that traded with northern Europe.
Christopher, soon fell in love with
Filipa Perestrelo, whom after marrying, died tragically after giving
birth to their son Diego. Christopher gave her the best possible
funeral he could afford.
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In 1484 Christopher approached King Joao II of Portugal to fund an expedition to

Asia. The king's experts disagreed with Columbus' theory
and he was therefore denied
the money. He then chose to
leave for Spain and tried to
convince the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella
to fund his travels.

He convinced Isabella that he would be able to find gold to pay

for a crusade to free Jerusalem of Saracen occupation. With the
money he acquired from these Catholic monarchs, Columbus
was able to fund 4 different expeditions across the Atlantic
ocean.
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During his first voyage in 1492, instead of reaching Japan as

intended, Columbus landed in the Bahamas, at a locale he
named San Salvador. Columbus through his voyages visited
the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean
coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming them for
the Spanish Empire.

Columbus was not the

first explorer to reach
the Americas but his
voyages certainly led to
the first lasting European contact with
America. This initiated a
period of European exploration and colonization of foreign lands
that lasted for several
centuries. The Spaniards therefore had a
great impact in the historical development of
the modern Western
world.

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Columbus saw his accomplishments primarily

in the light of spreading
the Christian religion,
though it is also said that
he had a hunger for
amassing wealth.

Columbus' strained ties with the

Spanish crown that led to his arrest
and dismissal as governor of the
newly acquired lands. He finally
died in 1506 amidst lawsuits
against the Spanish monarchy
asking for his share of the profits
from the new world.

The End.
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