Mat sinner biography of christopher columbus

The arrival of Europeans led to the introduction of horses, wheat, and coffee to the Americas while crops like potatoes and corn became integral to European diets, significantly impacting agricultural practices on both sides of the Atlantic. However, the legacy of Columbus is complex and controversial. While his discoveries contributed to the rapid expansion of European power, they also resulted in significant suffering and destruction for Indigenous populations.

The introduction of Old World diseases like smallpox devastated native communities, effectively decimating their populations. As a result, the once vibrant cultures of Indigenous peoples were irrevocably altered, leading to loss of identity and heritage. This duality highlights how Columbus, often celebrated as a pioneering explorer, also stands as a symbol of conquest and colonization that irrevocably changed the world.

Christopher Columbus, originally known as Cristoforo Colombo, married Filipa Perestrelo in the late s while he was residing in Lisbon, Portugal. Filipa was the daughter of a prominent nobleman, and their union provided Columbus with valuable connections that might have aided his later expeditions. Together, they had one son, Diego, who was born around Tragically, Filipa passed away when Diego was still a child, which left Columbus to navigate his early fatherhood without her support.

Columbus eventually had a second son, Fernando, born inwith Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, a woman with whom he had a long-term relationship. Unlike Diego, who was recognized as Columbus's legitimate heir, Fernando's status was more complicated due to his illegitimate birth. Columbus's children played varying roles in his legacy; while Diego officially inherited many of Columbus's titles and fortunes, Fernando distanced himself from some of his father's controversial actions.

Together, these children contributed to Columbus's personal life story, reflecting both his ambitions as an explorer and the complexities of his family relationships. Christopher Columbus, while primarily known for his voyages, did not amass significant wealth from his explorations during his lifetime. After his initial journey inColumbus was rewarded by the Spanish Crown with titles and a share of any riches discovered in the lands he explored.

He is remembered as the principal European discoverer of the Americas and he helped bring the Americas to the forefront of the western consciousness. His discoveries and travels laid the framework for the later European colonisation of Latin and North America.

Mat sinner biography of christopher columbus

His father was a middle-class wool merchant, though it was relatively humble beginnings for what he later became. Columbus learnt to sail from an early age and later worked as a business agent, travelling around Europe to England, Ireland and later along the West coast of Africa. He was not a scholar but was an enthusiastic self-educated man, who read extensively on astronomy, science and navigation.

He also became fluent in Latin, Portuguese and Spanish. Christopher Columbus was a believer in the spherical nature of the world some Christians still held the view that the world was flat. An ambitious man, Christopher Columbus hoped to find a Western trade route to the lucrative spice markets in Asia. Rather than sailing east, he hoped that sailing west would lead to countries like Japan and China.

To gain the necessary funding and support for his journeys, he approached the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. More territory was covered, but the Asian lands that Columbus was aiming for remained elusive. Indeed, others began to dispute whether this was in fact the Orient or a completely 'new' world. Columbus made two further voyages to the newfound territories, but suffered defeat and humiliation along the way.

A great navigator, Columbus was less successful as an administrator and was accused of mismanagement. He died on 20 May a wealthy but disappointed man. Search term:. He returned to Spain in chains to face the royal court. The charges were later dropped, but Columbus lost his titles as governor of the Indies and, for a time, much of the riches made during his voyages.

After convincing King Ferdinand that one more voyage would bring the abundant riches promised, Columbus went on his fourth and final voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in This time he traveled along the eastern coast of Central America in an unsuccessful search for a route to the Indian Ocean. A storm wrecked one of his ships, stranding the captain and his sailors on the island of Cuba.

On February 29,a lunar eclipse alarmed the natives enough to re-establish trade with the Spaniards. A rescue party finally arrived, sent by the royal governor of Hispaniola in July, and Columbus and his men were taken back to Spain in November In the two remaining years of his life, Columbus struggled to recover his reputation. Although he did regain some of his riches in Mayhis titles were never returned.

Columbus probably died of severe arthritis following an infection on May 20,in Valladolid, Spain. At the time of his death, he still believed he had discovered a shorter route to Asia. There are questions about the location of his burial site. In MayColumbus made headlines as news broke that a team of archaeologists might have found the Santa Maria off the north coast of Haiti.

After a thorough investigation by the U. Columbus has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization—as well as blamed for the destruction of the native peoples of the islands he explored. Ultimately, he failed to find that what he set out for: a new route to Asia and the riches it promised. The horse from Europe allowed Native American tribes in the Great Plains of North America to shift from a nomadic to a hunting lifestyle.

Wheat from the Old World fast became a main food source for people in the Americas. Coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became major cash crops for Latin American countries. And foods from the Americas, such as potatoes, tomatoes and corn, became staples for Europeans and helped increase their populations. The Columbian Exchange also brought new diseases to both hemispheres, though the effects were greatest in the Americas.

Smallpox from the Old World killed millions, decimating the Native American populations to mere fractions of their original numbers. This more than any other factor allowed for European domination of the Americas.