From your text on Christopher Columbus and with additional research, discuss Columbus’ progress toward becoming a great navigator. Include comments about how he balanced science and religion.
The mid fifteenth century saw the Ottoman Empire take Constantinople necessitating the exploration of alternative trade routes to the East. Advances in oceanic navigation and ship technology offered a way to bypass the traditional land trade routes. Portugal rose as a dominant sea power while Spain was in the final throws of driving the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula.[1] Into this era Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa Italy. The evolution of Columbus over the last half of the fifteenth century in to a great navigator was most influenced by both his Genoese background and the years he would spend in Portugal.
Christopher Columbus grew up in Genoa a port town on the west coast of Italy.[2] His future explorations would be influenced by his exposure to the dynamic trade environment of Genoa.[3] Columbus would carry on the proud tradition of Genoese mercantilism in his future attempts to establish a western trade route and in his analysis of the potential value of commodities he encountered in the new world.[4] It was very natural for the young Christopher Columbus to find himself as an apprentice and eventually a sailor on seagoing vessels in the Mediterranean.[5] It would mark the beginning of a remarkable career at sea that would expose him to the navigational skills necessary to carry him throughout the Mediterranean[6] along the coast of northern Africa and to the far reaches of the known world.[7]
Columbus would receive an advanced education in navigation as a result of his time in Portugal. Shipwrecked in 1476, he found himself at the heart of the most prolific seafaring culture of the time other than China.[8] Columbus benefited from the knowledge garnered by Portuguese sailors in their explorations south to Africa and west to the island of Madeira and the Azores[9] and exposed him to the newest advancements in navigation and ship technology.[10] [11]His voyage to Madeira [12] provided him with firsthand knowledge of the westward seas that aided his future westward explorations.
As important as was his development in navigational skills was his commitment to his religious beliefs and his sense of destiny. He would sign his letters as "Christ-bearer" [13] which foreshadowed his role in the Christianization of the new world. Ever the dedicated Christian, the final deal he cut with Ferdinand and Isabella intended to extract from them a commitment that the proceeds from any discoveries he would make would be used by the monarchs to finance crusaders in an effort to retake Jerusalem.[14]
[1] Kathryn Stoner, “Conquest of Spain” (Class Lecture, Arizona State University, Online, accessed March 3, 2012).
[2] Notarial Document Mentioning Christopher Columbus's Trip to Madeira to Purchase Sugar (August 25, 1479) in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, 2005, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston.
[3] Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, 2005, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston, 5.
[4] Symcox and Sullivan, 6
[5] Symcox and Sullivan, 5
[6] Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, On Columbus's Appearance and Origins(1535-ca. 1549) in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, 2005, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston.
[7] Christopher Columbus, Updated Letter to Fernando and Isabel (1500-1502) in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, 2005, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston.
[8] Kathryn Stoner, “Science and Religion” (Class Lecture, Arizona State University, Online, accessed March 3, 2012).
[9] Symcox and Sullivan, 8
[10] Symcox and Sullivan, 7
[11] Kathryn Stoner, “Science and Religion” (Class Lecture, Arizona State University, Online, accessed March 3, 2012).
[12] Notarial Document Mentioning Christopher Columbus's Trip to Madeira to Purchase Sugar (August 25, 1479) in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, 2005, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston.
[13] Christopher Columbus, Letter to Nicolo Oderigo, with "Xpo ferens" Signature (March 21, 1502) in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, 2005, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston.
[14] Bartolome de Las Casas, On Colombus’s Appearance, Education, and Character (ca. 1527-1563) in Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, 2005, Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston.
This is a good post which does indeed reveal the evolution of Columbus' skills as a navigator. Your choice of documents and sources was also strong as well, however I would recommend expanding more on the religious aspect. Even though you touched on this very briefly, I feel that if you used his "Updated Letter to Fernando and Isabel" within the textbook and pulled more quotations from this, you could have expanded on Columbus' own religious beliefs and more specifically why he felt like his journeys were his destiny, or as even he called it "a Crusade". His own words represent the most powerful source there is, and if you better tied in his religious beliefs, especially when he recognizes his own talents, but attributes it to God versus his own cunning, then we could have gained a better insight into his religious beliefs.
ReplyDelete- Nathaniel Dees
Hi there! I really enjoyed reading this post; you have a very clear and defined writing style. You did a very good job summing up Columbus's journey of navigational education and knowledge accumulation. Your final points reminded me of an interesting article I came across on the Huffington Post, entitled, "Was Christopher Columbus on a Religious Crusade?[1]" The article highlights some of Columbus' more Christian desires in his journey, and less of his greed. I think that your final point, about his desires to retake Jerusalem, demonstrate the same point quite nicely.
ReplyDeleteHowever, by the time he was preparing for his last journey, he had already accumulated a fair amount of wealth. One might have to accept that at least at the beginning of his crusades, his focus was less on spreading Christianity, and more on accumulating wealth, fame, and power[2].
1.Kuhn, Josef. "Was Christopher Columbus on a Religious Crusade?." The Huffington Post, October 05, 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/05/was-christopher-columbus-on-a-religious-crusade_n_995131.html (accessed March 16, 2012).
2.Ferdinand and Elizabeth. Yale Law School, "Privileges and Prerogatives Granted by Their Catholic Majesties to Christopher Columbus : 1492." Last modified 2008. Accessed March 16, 2012. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/15th_century/colum.asp.
Hello How are you?
ReplyDeleteI liked your post where you mentioned about how religion affected his career in exploring the world. The main point here is that he needed support of religion to have funding and sponsorship as most of sponsorship came from Spanish Kingdom who advocated beliefs in religion.
When discussing impetus for Columbus, we can not ignore his beliefs in Christianity. You have good texts in explaining religion but since there may be resources, I hope there can be further explanations about Columbus's interests in Christianity.
-J.Ishimoto-