an essay on christopher columbus

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Christopher Columbus

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 11, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he stumbled upon the Americas. Though he did not “discover” the so-called New World—millions of people already lived there—his journeys marked the beginning of centuries of exploration and colonization of North and South America.

Christopher Columbus and the Age of Discovery

During the 15th and 16th centuries, leaders of several European nations sponsored expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find great wealth and vast undiscovered lands. The Portuguese were the earliest participants in this “ Age of Discovery ,” also known as “ Age of Exploration .”

Starting in about 1420, small Portuguese ships known as caravels zipped along the African coast, carrying spices, gold and other goods as well as enslaved people from Asia and Africa to Europe.

Did you know? Christopher Columbus was not the first person to propose that a person could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe. In fact, scholars argue that the idea is almost as old as the idea that the Earth is round. (That is, it dates back to early Rome.)

Other European nations, particularly Spain, were eager to share in the seemingly limitless riches of the “Far East.” By the end of the 15th century, Spain’s “ Reconquista ”—the expulsion of Jews and Muslims out of the kingdom after centuries of war—was complete, and the nation turned its attention to exploration and conquest in other areas of the world.

Early Life and Nationality 

Christopher Columbus, the son of a wool merchant, is believed to have been born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. When he was still a teenager, he got a job on a merchant ship. He remained at sea until 1476, when pirates attacked his ship as it sailed north along the Portuguese coast.

The boat sank, but the young Columbus floated to shore on a scrap of wood and made his way to Lisbon, where he eventually studied mathematics, astronomy, cartography and navigation. He also began to hatch the plan that would change the world forever.

Christopher Columbus' First Voyage

At the end of the 15th century, it was nearly impossible to reach Asia from Europe by land. The route was long and arduous, and encounters with hostile armies were difficult to avoid. Portuguese explorers solved this problem by taking to the sea: They sailed south along the West African coast and around the Cape of Good Hope.

But Columbus had a different idea: Why not sail west across the Atlantic instead of around the massive African continent? The young navigator’s logic was sound, but his math was faulty. He argued (incorrectly) that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than his contemporaries believed it was; accordingly, he believed that the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be not only possible, but comparatively easy via an as-yet undiscovered Northwest Passage . 

He presented his plan to officials in Portugal and England, but it was not until 1492 that he found a sympathetic audience: the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile .

Columbus wanted fame and fortune. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted the same, along with the opportunity to export Catholicism to lands across the globe. (Columbus, a devout Catholic, was equally enthusiastic about this possibility.)

Columbus’ contract with the Spanish rulers promised that he could keep 10 percent of whatever riches he found, along with a noble title and the governorship of any lands he should encounter.

Where Did Columbus' Ships, Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria, Land?

On August 3, 1492, Columbus and his crew set sail from Spain in three ships: the Niña , the Pinta and the Santa Maria . On October 12, the ships made landfall—not in the East Indies, as Columbus assumed, but on one of the Bahamian islands, likely San Salvador.

For months, Columbus sailed from island to island in what we now know as the Caribbean, looking for the “pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, and other objects and merchandise whatsoever” that he had promised to his Spanish patrons, but he did not find much. In January 1493, leaving several dozen men behind in a makeshift settlement on Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), he left for Spain.

He kept a detailed diary during his first voyage. Christopher Columbus’s journal was written between August 3, 1492, and November 6, 1492 and mentions everything from the wildlife he encountered, like dolphins and birds, to the weather to the moods of his crew. More troublingly, it also recorded his initial impressions of the local people and his argument for why they should be enslaved.

“They… brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells," he wrote. "They willingly traded everything they owned… They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features… They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

Columbus gifted the journal to Isabella upon his return.

Christopher Columbus's Later Voyages

About six months later, in September 1493, Columbus returned to the Americas. He found the Hispaniola settlement destroyed and left his brothers Bartolomeo and Diego Columbus behind to rebuild, along with part of his ships’ crew and hundreds of enslaved indigenous people.

Then he headed west to continue his mostly fruitless search for gold and other goods. His group now included a large number of indigenous people the Europeans had enslaved. In lieu of the material riches he had promised the Spanish monarchs, he sent some 500 enslaved people to Queen Isabella. The queen was horrified—she believed that any people Columbus “discovered” were Spanish subjects who could not be enslaved—and she promptly and sternly returned the explorer’s gift.

In May 1498, Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic for the third time. He visited Trinidad and the South American mainland before returning to the ill-fated Hispaniola settlement, where the colonists had staged a bloody revolt against the Columbus brothers’ mismanagement and brutality. Conditions were so bad that Spanish authorities had to send a new governor to take over.

Meanwhile, the native Taino population, forced to search for gold and to work on plantations, was decimated (within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been 250,000 Taino were left on their island). Christopher Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains.

In 1502, cleared of the most serious charges but stripped of his noble titles, the aging Columbus persuaded the Spanish crown to pay for one last trip across the Atlantic. This time, Columbus made it all the way to Panama—just miles from the Pacific Ocean—where he had to abandon two of his four ships after damage from storms and hostile natives. Empty-handed, the explorer returned to Spain, where he died in 1506.

Legacy of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus did not “discover” the Americas, nor was he even the first European to visit the “New World.” (Viking explorer Leif Erikson had sailed to Greenland and Newfoundland in the 11th century.)

However, his journey kicked off centuries of exploration and exploitation on the American continents. The Columbian Exchange transferred people, animals, food and disease across cultures. Old World wheat became an American food staple. African coffee and Asian sugar cane became cash crops for Latin America, while American foods like corn, tomatoes and potatoes were introduced into European diets. 

Today, Columbus has a controversial legacy —he is remembered as a daring and path-breaking explorer who transformed the New World, yet his actions also unleashed changes that would eventually devastate the native populations he and his fellow explorers encountered.

HISTORY Vault: Columbus the Lost Voyage

Ten years after his 1492 voyage, Columbus, awaiting the gallows on criminal charges in a Caribbean prison, plotted a treacherous final voyage to restore his reputation.

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Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered the “New World” of the Americas on an expedition sponsored by King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492.

c. 1451-1506

Quick Facts

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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator. In 1492, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain in the Santa Maria , with the Pinta and the Niña ships alongside, hoping to find a new route to Asia. Instead, he and his crew landed on an island in present-day Bahamas—claiming it for Spain and mistakenly “discovering” the Americas. Between 1493 and 1504, he made three more voyages to the Caribbean and South America, believing until his death that he had found a shorter route to Asia. Columbus has been credited—and blamed—for opening up the Americas to European colonization.

FULL NAME: Cristoforo Colombo BORN: c. 1451 DIED: May 20, 1506 BIRTHPLACE: Genoa, Italy SPOUSE: Filipa Perestrelo (c. 1479-1484) CHILDREN: Diego and Fernando

Christopher Columbus, whose real name was Cristoforo Colombo, was born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, part of what is now Italy. He is believed to have been the son of Dominico Colombo and Susanna Fontanarossa and had four siblings: brothers Bartholomew, Giovanni, and Giacomo, and a sister named Bianchinetta. He was an apprentice in his father’s wool weaving business and studied sailing and mapmaking.

In his 20s, Columbus moved to Lisbon, Portugal, and later resettled in Spain, which remained his home base for the duration of his life.

Columbus first went to sea as a teenager, participating in several trading voyages in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. One such voyage, to the island of Khios, in modern-day Greece, brought him the closest he would ever come to Asia.

His first voyage into the Atlantic Ocean in 1476 nearly cost him his life, as the commercial fleet he was sailing with was attacked by French privateers off the coast of Portugal. His ship was burned, and Columbus had to swim to the Portuguese shore.

He made his way to Lisbon, where he eventually settled and married Filipa Perestrelo. The couple had one son, Diego, around 1480. His wife died when Diego was a young boy, and Columbus moved to Spain. He had a second son, Fernando, who was born out of wedlock in 1488 with Beatriz Enriquez de Arana.

After participating in several other expeditions to Africa, Columbus learned about the Atlantic currents that flow east and west from the Canary Islands.

The Asian islands near China and India were fabled for their spices and gold, making them an attractive destination for Europeans—but Muslim domination of the trade routes through the Middle East made travel eastward difficult.

Columbus devised a route to sail west across the Atlantic to reach Asia, believing it would be quicker and safer. He estimated the earth to be a sphere and the distance between the Canary Islands and Japan to be about 2,300 miles.

Many of Columbus’ contemporary nautical experts disagreed. They adhered to the (now known to be accurate) second-century BCE estimate of the Earth’s circumference at 25,000 miles, which made the actual distance between the Canary Islands and Japan about 12,200 statute miles. Despite their disagreement with Columbus on matters of distance, they concurred that a westward voyage from Europe would be an uninterrupted water route.

Columbus proposed a three-ship voyage of discovery across the Atlantic first to the Portuguese king, then to Genoa, and finally to Venice. He was rejected each time. In 1486, he went to the Spanish monarchy of Queen Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. Their focus was on a war with the Muslims, and their nautical experts were skeptical, so they initially rejected Columbus.

The idea, however, must have intrigued the monarchs, because they kept Columbus on a retainer. Columbus continued to lobby the royal court, and soon, the Spanish army captured the last Muslim stronghold in Granada in January 1492. Shortly thereafter, the monarchs agreed to finance his expedition.

In late August 1492, Columbus left Spain from the port of Palos de la Frontera. He was sailing with three ships: Columbus in the larger Santa Maria (a type of ship known as a carrack), with the Pinta and the Niña (both Portuguese-style caravels) alongside.

On October 12, 1492, after 36 days of sailing westward across the Atlantic, Columbus and several crewmen set foot on an island in present-day Bahamas, claiming it for Spain.

There, his crew encountered a timid but friendly group of natives who were open to trade with the sailors. They exchanged glass beads, cotton balls, parrots, and spears. The Europeans also noticed bits of gold the natives wore for adornment.

Columbus and his men continued their journey, visiting the islands of Cuba (which he thought was mainland China) and Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which Columbus thought might be Japan) and meeting with the leaders of the native population.

During this time, the Santa Maria was wrecked on a reef off the coast of Hispaniola. With the help of some islanders, Columbus’ men salvaged what they could and built the settlement Villa de la Navidad (“Christmas Town”) with lumber from the ship.

Thirty-nine men stayed behind to occupy the settlement. Convinced his exploration had reached Asia, he set sail for home with the two remaining ships. Returning to Spain in 1493, Columbus gave a glowing but somewhat exaggerated report and was warmly received by the royal court.

In 1493, Columbus took to the seas on his second expedition and explored more islands in the Caribbean Ocean. Upon arrival at Hispaniola, Columbus and his crew discovered the Navidad settlement had been destroyed with all the sailors massacred.

Spurning the wishes of the local queen, Columbus established a forced labor policy upon the native population to rebuild the settlement and explore for gold, believing it would be profitable. His efforts produced small amounts of gold and great hatred among the native population.

Before returning to Spain, Columbus left his brothers Bartholomew and Giacomo to govern the settlement on Hispaniola and sailed briefly around the larger Caribbean islands, further convincing himself he had discovered the outer islands of China.

It wasn’t until his third voyage that Columbus actually reached the South American mainland, exploring the Orinoco River in present-day Venezuela. By this time, conditions at the Hispaniola settlement had deteriorated to the point of near-mutiny, with settlers claiming they had been misled by Columbus’ claims of riches and complaining about the poor management of his brothers.

The Spanish Crown sent a royal official who arrested Columbus and stripped him of his authority. 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 1502. 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. During this time, local islanders, tired of the Spaniards’ poor treatment and obsession with gold, refused to give them food.

In a spark of inspiration, Columbus consulted an almanac and devised a plan to “punish” the islanders by taking away the moon. On February 29, 1504, 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 1504.

In the two remaining years of his life, Columbus struggled to recover his reputation. Although he did regain some of his riches in May 1505, his titles were never returned.

Columbus probably died of severe arthritis following an infection on May 20, 1506, 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. According to the BBC , Columbus’ remains moved at least three or four times over the course of 400 years—including from Valladolid to Seville, Spain, in 1509; then to Santo Domingo, in what is now the Dominican Republic, in 1537; then to Havana, Cuba, in 1795; and back to Seville in 1898. As a result, Seville and Santo Domingo have both laid claim to being Columbus’ true burial site. It is also possible his bones were mixed up with another person’s amid all of their travels.

In May 2014, Columbus made headlines as news broke that a team of archaeologists might have found the Santa Maria off the north coast of Haiti. Barry Clifford, the leader of this expedition, told the Independent newspaper that “all geographical, underwater topography and archaeological evidence strongly suggests this wreck is Columbus’ famous flagship the Santa Maria.”

After a thorough investigation by the U.N. agency UNESCO, it was determined the wreck dates from a later period and was located too far from shore to be the famed ship.

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.

In what is known as the Columbian Exchange, Columbus’ expeditions set in motion the widespread transfer of people, plants, animals, diseases, and cultures that greatly affected nearly every society on the planet.

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.

The overwhelming benefits of the Columbian Exchange went to the Europeans initially and eventually to the rest of the world. The Americas were forever altered, and the once vibrant cultures of the Indigenous civilizations were changed and lost, denying the world any complete understanding of their existence.

As more Italians began to immigrate to the United States and settle in major cities during the 19 th century, they were subject to religious and ethnic discrimination. This included a mass lynching of 11 Sicilian immigrants in 1891 in New Orleans.

Just one year after this horrific event, President Benjamin Harrison called for the first national observance of Columbus Day on October 12, 1892, to mark the 400 th anniversary of his arrival in the Americas. Italian-Americans saw this honorary act for Columbus as a way of gaining acceptance.

Colorado became the first state to officially observe Columbus Day in 1906 and, within five years, 14 other states followed. Thanks to a joint resolution of Congress, the day officially became a federal holiday in 1934 during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1970, Congress declared the holiday would fall on the second Monday in October each year.

But as Columbus’ legacy—specifically, his exploration’s impacts on Indigenous civilizations—began to draw more criticism, more people chose not to take part. As of 2023, approximately 29 states no longer celebrate Columbus Day , and around 195 cities have renamed it or replaced with the alternative Indigenous Peoples Day. The latter isn’t an official holiday, but the federal government recognized its observance in 2022 and 2023. President Joe Biden called it “a day in honor of our diverse history and the Indigenous peoples who contribute to shaping this nation.”

One of the most notable cities to move away from celebrating Columbus Day in recent years is the state capital of Columbus, Ohio, which is named after the explorer. In 2018, Mayor Andrew Ginther announced the city would remain open on Columbus Day and instead celebrate a holiday on Veterans Day. In July 2020, the city also removed a 20-plus-foot metal statue of Columbus from the front of City Hall.

• I went to sea from the most tender age and have continued in a sea life to this day. Whoever gives himself up to this art wants to know the secrets of Nature here below. It is more than forty years that I have been thus engaged. Wherever any one has sailed, there I have sailed.
• Speaking of myself, little profit had I won from twenty years of service, during which I have served with so great labors and perils, for today I have no roof over my head in Castile; if I wish to sleep or eat, I have no place to which to go, save an inn or tavern, and most often, I lack the wherewithal to pay the score.
• They say that there is in that land an infinite amount of gold; and that the people wear corals on their heads and very large bracelets of coral on their feet and arms; and that with coral they adorn and inlay chairs and chests and tables.
• This island and all the others are very fertile to a limitless degree, and this island is extremely so. In it there are many harbors on the coast of the sea, beyond comparison with others that I know in Christendom, and many rivers, good and large, which is marvelous.
• Our Almighty God has shown me the highest favor, which, since David, he has not shown to anybody.
• Already the road is opened to gold and pearls, and it may surely be hoped that precious stones, spices, and a thousand other things, will also be found.
• I have now seen so much irregularity, that I have come to another conclusion respecting the earth, namely, that it is not round as they describe, but of the form of a pear.
• In all the countries visited by your Highnesses’ ships, I have caused a high cross to be fixed upon every headland and have proclaimed, to every nation that I have discovered, the lofty estate of your Highnesses and of your court in Spain.
• I ought to be judged as a captain sent from Spain to the Indies, to conquer a nation numerous and warlike, with customs and religions altogether different to ours.

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Christopher Columbus: A Summary of His Legacy and Impact

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History Resources

Columbus reports on his first voyage, 1493

A spotlight on a primary source by christopher columbus.

On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to find an all-water route to Asia. On October 12, more than two months later, Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas that he called San Salvador; the natives called it Guanahani.

For nearly five months, Columbus explored the Caribbean, particularly the islands of Juana (Cuba) and Hispaniola (Santo Domingo), before returning to Spain. He left thirty-nine men to build a settlement called La Navidad in present-day Haiti. He also kidnapped several Native Americans (between ten and twenty-five) to take back to Spain—only eight survived. Columbus brought back small amounts of gold as well as native birds and plants to show the richness of the continent he believed to be Asia.

When Columbus arrived back in Spain on March 15, 1493, he immediately wrote a letter announcing his discoveries to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who had helped finance his trip. The letter was written in Spanish and sent to Rome, where it was printed in Latin by Stephan Plannck. Plannck mistakenly left Queen Isabella’s name out of the pamphlet’s introduction but quickly realized his error and reprinted the pamphlet a few days later. The copy shown here is the second, corrected edition of the pamphlet.

The Latin printing of this letter announced the existence of the American continent throughout Europe. “I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance,” Columbus wrote.

In addition to announcing his momentous discovery, Columbus’s letter also provides observations of the native people’s culture and lack of weapons, noting that “they are destitute of arms, which are entirely unknown to them, and for which they are not adapted; not on account of any bodily deformity, for they are well made, but because they are timid and full of terror.” Writing that the natives are “fearful and timid . . . guileless and honest,” Columbus declares that the land could easily be conquered by Spain, and the natives “might become Christians and inclined to love our King and Queen and Princes and all the people of Spain.”

An English translation of this document is available.

I have determined to write you this letter to inform you of everything that has been done and discovered in this voyage of mine.

On the thirty-third day after leaving Cadiz I came into the Indian Sea, where I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance. The island called Juana, as well as the others in its neighborhood, is exceedingly fertile. It has numerous harbors on all sides, very safe and wide, above comparison with any I have ever seen. Through it flow many very broad and health-giving rivers; and there are in it numerous very lofty mountains. All these island are very beautiful, and of quite different shapes; easy to be traversed, and full of the greatest variety of trees reaching to the stars. . . .

In the island, which I have said before was called Hispana , there are very lofty and beautiful mountains, great farms, groves and fields, most fertile both for cultivation and for pasturage, and well adapted for constructing buildings. The convenience of the harbors in this island, and the excellence of the rivers, in volume and salubrity, surpass human belief, unless on should see them. In it the trees, pasture-lands and fruits different much from those of Juana. Besides, this Hispana abounds in various kinds of species, gold and metals. The inhabitants . . . are all, as I said before, unprovided with any sort of iron, and they are destitute of arms, which are entirely unknown to them, and for which they are not adapted; not on account of any bodily deformity, for they are well made, but because they are timid and full of terror. . . . But when they see that they are safe, and all fear is banished, they are very guileless and honest, and very liberal of all they have. No one refuses the asker anything that he possesses; on the contrary they themselves invite us to ask for it. They manifest the greatest affection towards all of us, exchanging valuable things for trifles, content with the very least thing or nothing at all. . . . I gave them many beautiful and pleasing things, which I had brought with me, for no return whatever, in order to win their affection, and that they might become Christians and inclined to love our King and Queen and Princes and all the people of Spain; and that they might be eager to search for and gather and give to us what they abound in and we greatly need.

Questions for Discussion

Read the document introduction and transcript in order to answer these questions.

• Columbus described the Natives he first encountered as “timid and full of fear.” Why did he then capture some Natives and bring them aboard his ships?
• Imagine the thoughts of the Europeans as they first saw land in the “New World.” What do you think would have been their most immediate impression? Explain your answer.
• Which of the items Columbus described would have been of most interest to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella? Why?
• Why did Columbus describe the islands and their inhabitants in great detail?
• It is said that this voyage opened the period of the “Columbian Exchange.” Why do you think that term has been attached to this period of time?

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Christopher Columbus: his life, his work, his remains as revealed by original printed and manuscript records, together with an essay on Peter Martyr of Anghera and Bartolomé de las Casas, the first historians of America

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LC Copy 1 acquired through Copyright, 1903-1904, under nos. A 56742, 64569, and 76359. In library buckram.

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The Ages of Exploration

Christopher columbus, age of discovery.

Quick Facts:

He is credited for discovering the Americas in 1492, although we know today people were there long before him; his real achievement was that he opened the door for more exploration to a New World.

Name : Christopher Columbus [Kri-stə-fər] [Kə-luhm-bəs]

Birth/Death : 1451 - 1506

Nationality : Italian

Birthplace : Genoa, Italy

Christopher Columbus leaving Palos, Spain

Christopher Columbus aboard the "Santa Maria" leaving Palos, Spain on his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The Mariners' Museum 1933.0746.000001

Introduction We know that In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. But what did he actually discover? Christopher Columbus (also known as (Cristoforo Colombo [Italian]; Cristóbal Colón [Spanish]) was an Italian explorer credited with the “discovery” of the America’s. The purpose for his voyages was to find a passage to Asia by sailing west. Never actually accomplishing this mission, his explorations mostly included the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America, all of which were already inhabited by Native groups.

Biography Early Life Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, part of present-day Italy, in 1451. His parents’ names were Dominico Colombo and Susanna Fontanarossa. He had three brothers: Bartholomew, Giovanni, and Giacomo; and a sister named Bianchinetta. Christopher became an apprentice in his father’s wool weaving business, but he also studied mapmaking and sailing as well. He eventually left his father’s business to join the Genoese fleet and sail on the Mediterranean Sea. 1 After one of his ships wrecked off the coast of Portugal, he decided to remain there with his younger brother Bartholomew where he worked as a cartographer (mapmaker) and bookseller. Here, he married Doña Felipa Perestrello e Moniz and had two sons Diego and Fernando.

Christopher Columbus owned a copy of Marco Polo’s famous book, and it gave him a love for exploration. In the mid 15th century, Portugal was desperately trying to find a faster trade route to Asia. Exotic goods such as spices, ivory, silk, and gems were popular items of trade. However, Europeans often had to travel through the Middle East to reach Asia. At this time, Muslim nations imposed high taxes on European travels crossing through. 2 This made it both difficult and expensive to reach Asia. There were rumors from other sailors that Asia could be reached by sailing west. Hearing this, Christopher Columbus decided to try and make this revolutionary journey himself. First, he needed ships and supplies, which required money that he did not have. He went to King John of Portugal who turned him down. He then went to the rulers of England, and France. Each declined his request for funding. After seven years of trying, he was finally sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

Voyages Principal Voyage Columbus’ voyage departed in August of 1492 with 87 men sailing on three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. Columbus commanded the Santa María, while the Niña was led by Vicente Yanez Pinzon and the Pinta by Martin Pinzon. 3 This was the first of his four trips. He headed west from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean. On October 12 land was sighted. He gave the first island he landed on the name San Salvador, although the native population called it Guanahani. 4 Columbus believed that he was in Asia, but was actually in the Caribbean. He even proposed that the island of Cuba was a part of China. Since he thought he was in the Indies, he called the native people “Indians.” In several letters he wrote back to Spain, he described the landscape and his encounters with the natives. He continued sailing throughout the Caribbean and named many islands he encountered after his ship, king, and queen: La Isla de Santa María de Concepción, Fernandina, and Isabella.

It is hard to determine specifically which islands Columbus visited on this voyage. His descriptions of the native peoples, geography, and plant life do give us some clues though. One place we do know he stopped was in present-day Haiti. He named the island Hispaniola. Hispaniola today includes both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In January of 1493, Columbus sailed back to Europe to report what he found. Due to rough seas, he was forced to land in Portugal, an unfortunate event for Columbus. With relations between Spain and Portugal strained during this time, Ferdinand and Isabella suspected that Columbus was taking valuable information or maybe goods to Portugal, the country he had lived in for several years. Those who stood against Columbus would later use this as an argument against him. Eventually, Columbus was allowed to return to Spain bringing with him tobacco, turkey, and some new spices. He also brought with him several natives of the islands, of whom Queen Isabella grew very fond.

Subsequent Voyages Columbus took three other similar trips to this region. His second voyage in 1493 carried a large fleet with the intention of conquering the native populations and establishing colonies. At one point, the natives attacked and killed the settlers left at Fort Navidad. Over time the colonists enslaved many of the natives, sending some to Europe and using many to mine gold for the Spanish settlers in the Caribbean. The third trip was to explore more of the islands and mainland South America further. Columbus was appointed the governor of Hispaniola, but the colonists, upset with Columbus’ leadership appealed to the rulers of Spain, who sent a new governor: Francisco de Bobadilla. Columbus was taken prisoner on board a ship and sent back to Spain.

On his fourth and final journey west in 1502 Columbus’s goal was to find the “Strait of Malacca,” to try to find India. But a hurricane, then being denied entrance to Hispaniola, and then another storm made this an unfortunate trip. His ship was so badly damaged that he and his crew were stranded on Jamaica for two years until help from Hispaniola finally arrived. In 1504, Columbus and his men were taken back to Spain .

Later Years and Death Columbus reached Spain in November 1504. He was not in good health. He spent much of the last of his life writing letters to obtain the percentage of wealth overdue to be paid to him, and trying to re-attain his governorship status, but was continually denied both. Columbus died at Valladolid on May 20, 1506, due to illness and old age. Even until death, he still firmly believing that he had traveled to the eastern part of Asia.

Legacy Columbus never made it to Asia, nor did he truly discover America. His “re-discovery,” however, inspired a new era of exploration of the American continents by Europeans. Perhaps his greatest contribution was that his voyages opened an exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas both during and long after his journeys. 5 Despite modern criticism of his treatment of the native peoples there is no denying that his expeditions changed both Europe and America. Columbus day was made a federal holiday in 1971. It is recognized on the second Monday of October.

• Fergus Fleming, Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration (New York: Grove Press, 2004), 30.
• Fleming, Off the Map, 30
• William D. Phillips and Carla Rahn Phillips, The Worlds of Christopher Columbus (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 142-143.
• Phillips and Phillips, The Worlds of Christopher Columbus, 155.
• Robin S. Doak, Christopher Columbus: Explorer of the New World (Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2005), 92.

Bibliography

Doak, Robin. Christopher Columbus: Explorer of the New World. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2005.

Fleming, Fergus. Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration. New York: Grove Press, 2004.

Phillips, William D., and Carla Rahn Phillips. The Worlds of Christopher Columbus. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Map of Voyages

Click below to view an example of the explorer’s voyages. Use the tabs on the left to view either 1 or multiple journeys at a time, and click on the icons to learn more about the stops, sites, and activities along the way.

• Original "EXPLORATION through the AGES" site
• The Mariners' Educational Programs

Should We Remember Christopher Columbus as a Conqueror or Explorer?

Two scholars debate this question.

Written by: Mark Christensen, Assumption College

Suggested sequencing.

• This point-counterpoint should follow the First Contacts  and  Columbian Exchange  Narratives, and pairs well with the  Paideia Seminar: Christopher Columbus  Lesson.

Issue on the Table

Controversy has arisen over the validity of honoring Christopher Columbus. Should his actions be viewed through the lens of modern values, or should they be viewed within the context of his time?

Instructions

Read the two arguments in response to the question presented, paying close attention to the supporting evidence and reasoning used for each. Then complete the comparison questions that follow. Note that the arguments in this essay are not the personal views of the scholar but are illustrative of larger historical debates.

The story of Christopher Columbus and his voyages to the New World is one of cruelty and greed. Departing Spain, Columbus sought a westward route to Asia and the riches it held. His accidental arrival in the Caribbean in 1492 proved frustrating for the explorer, because the islands held none of the spices he desired and only small amounts of gold. Repeated attempts to uncover rich kingdoms in his voyages of 1493, 1498, and 1502 further frustrated the man who became the governor of Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Without access to easy riches, Columbus turned to the exploitation and enslavement of the Native Americans.

The former settler turned friar, Bartolomé de Las Casas, criticized the actions of Columbus, stating that, in his efforts to please the king, he committed “irreparable crimes against the Indians.” Indeed, Columbus’s crimes against the Native Americans began on his first encounter with the peaceful Arawak. Seeing some of the Arawak with gold ornaments, Columbus took them prisoner and demanded they lead him to the source of the gold. When he returned to Spain from his first voyage, he brought with him some captured Native Americans to show the king. His subsequent expeditions likewise involved the enslavement and mistreatment of Native Americans. During the exploits of Columbus’s second voyage, Michele da Cuneo reported in a letter that Columbus had captured a beautiful Native American woman. Columbus subsequently gave this woman to Da Cueno, and Da Cuneo then proceeded to beat and rape her in the most grotesque manner.

Over the years, Columbus sent an estimated several thousand Native Americans to Spain as slaves, with many perishing on the journey. Those Native Americans who did resist succumbed to the Spaniards’ superior steel swords and armor in battle, or were later hanged or burned. The violence perpetrated and allowed by Columbus on Hispaniola coupled with the diseases introduced by the Spanish led to the eventual  eradication  of the Native American population there by the early seventeenth century. In short, Columbus forever poisoned European–Native American relations.

Columbus’s mismanagement of Hispaniola and acts of cruelty and torture led to his eventual arrest by colonial administrators and forcible return to Spain. Statements from detractors and supporters of the governor provided lengthy accusations that included his punishing of others, including Spaniards, through the amputation of hands, the nose, tongue, or ears for crimes as petty as slander. His mistreatment and enslavement of the Native Americans was also a common complaint, and even those who supported Columbus admitted things were out of hand. After spending six weeks in jail, he was released and appeared before the Spanish monarchs, who allowed him his freedom and even financed his fourth voyage to the Caribbean. Columbus, however, would never regain his position as governor. Even those who supported and excused his behavior realized the man for what he truly was: a villain.

In 1991, on the eve of the celebration marking five hundred years since Columbus discovered the Americas, the City Council of Berkeley, California, voted to replace Columbus Day with  Indigenous  Peoples’ Day. The council adopted the resolution in 1992. In so doing, they joined thousands of others who mistakenly deem Christopher Columbus as a villain whose greed-fueled voyages brought only death and destruction. Indeed, it is not uncommon for critics to use the loaded word “ genocide ” in the same sentence as Columbus. But there is more to the story. The  vilification  of Columbus is not justified.

The transatlantic voyage of Christopher Columbus and his subsequent actions continued a pattern of European exploration and expansion established centuries before. Indeed, his most criticized actions—the capture and enslavement of Native Americans; the cutting off of hands, ears, lips, and noses of those deemed insubordinate; and his quest for riches—all had precedent in those who had reconquered Spain or conquered the Atlantic islands. The acts are reprehensible by today’s standards to be sure. Yet they are certainly not unique to Columbus, who simply used practices in most cases considered the status quo by many European and non-European cultures at the time.

In fact, an argument can be made that Columbus would prove beneficial to the colonies in the long run. The Americas developed in isolation from Europe for millennia, but that could not last. Eventually, the Americas and its inhabitants would have to find their place in an increasingly interconnected world dominated by a technologically superior Europe. Within this meeting of two worlds, it is true that Native Americans suffered, but most suffered from the unintended consequences of disease. Moreover, many Native Americans benefited. Many of them allied with the Spanish to further their own political and economic ambitions, engaging with the new export colonial economy to make themselves fortunes or using the Spanish to overthrow oppressive Native American overlords such as the Aztecs, ending their practices of human sacrifice and incessant warfare. Given what we know about the violence and warfare of the Aztecs or many other groups of Native Americans, had they possessed the technology to cross the ocean and invade Spain, would they have displayed any more mercy than the Spanish?

Columbus and his patron country of Spain recognized the authority of the Native American nobility and, eventually, would allow the sociopolitical structure of many cultures to continue throughout colonial rule. In truth, colonial life for many Native Americans continued many indigenous traditions. Moreover, unlike other European countries, Spain was not so averse to settlers having sexual relations with Native Americans and even encouraged Spaniards to marry into the indigenous nobility. Particularly when compared with Native Americans living outside Spanish America, those in Spanish America fared much better and continued and preserved much of their culture, a culture that survives today intertwined with that of Spain throughout the Americas. Seen in this light, Columbus and his introduction of Spanish culture to the Americas benefited the Native American population in the long term by allowing them to maintain much of their culture and traditional ways of life in ways unmatched throughout the Americas today, as they transitioned into an increasingly interconnected world.

Historical Reasoning Questions

Use  Handout A: Point-Counterpoint Graphic Organizer  to answer historical reasoning questions about this point-counterpoint.

Primary Sources (Claim A)

Christopher Columbus, Extracts from Journal:  https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/columbus1.asp

Symcox, Geoffrey, and Blair Sullivan.  Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents . Boston: Bedford Books, 2005.

Primary Sources (Claim B)

Suggested resources (claim a).

Sale, Kirkpatrick.  The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy . New York: Knopf, 1990.

Suggested Resources (Claim B)

Bergreen, Laurence.  Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504 . New York: Penguin, 2012.

Morison, Samuel Eliot.  Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus . Boston: Little, Brown, 1991.

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Christopher Columbus: his Life, his Work, his Remains, as Revealed by Original Printed and Manuscript Records, together with an Essay on Peter Martyr of Anghera and Bartolomé de las Casas, the First Historians of America . By John Boyd Thacher. (New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1903–1904. Three vols., pp. x, 670; vi, 699; vii, 775.)

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Edward G. Bourne, Christopher Columbus: his Life, his Work, his Remains, as Revealed by Original Printed and Manuscript Records, together with an Essay on Peter Martyr of Anghera and Bartolomé de las Casas, the First Historians of America . By John Boyd Thacher. (New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1903–1904. Three vols., pp. x, 670; vi, 699; vii, 775.), The American Historical Review , Volume 9, Issue 4, July 1904, Pages 785–789, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/9.4.785

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104 Christopher Columbus Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best christopher columbus topic ideas & essay examples, 📍 interesting topics to write about christopher columbus, 💡 good essay topics on christopher columbus, ❓ christopher columbus discussion questions.

• Christopher Columbus: Life, Discoveries, and Contributions Christopher Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa in the middle of the 15th century. It led to the development of market relationships and the emergence of new items in Europe.
• The Four Voyages by Christopher Columbus The voyages were made in the Caribbean and Central America between 1492 and 1504 following the consent granted to him by the monarch. In the course of his expedition, he discovered and named the Island […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• “Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress” by H. Zinn Focusing on two major issues – the difference between the native civilizations and the Western civilization in the context of sharing; and the depopulation of the natives in Bahama due to Spanish exploitation and natives […]
• History of Christopher Columbus’ Voyage Each country was famous for its particular products and searching for the new way to the East with the purpose to make increase the delivery of goods might be the reason for financing the voyage.
• Zheng He and Christopher Columbus as Great Explorers Besides, he is renowned for his voyages that were of the state of the art, and he played a major role in the economic development of China.
• Analysis of Christopher Columbus Voyage According to Butterway, the fallacy anchored on the aim of Christopher’s voyages was that he was not motivated by the possibility of gaining more wealth for himself and his Spanish government, but to construct the […]
• “The Letter of Discovery” by Christopher Columbus The extensive description of the journey along with the highly detailed depiction of people inhabiting America, the environment, and the related issues, can be seen as the primary advantage and strength of the letter.
• Columbus’ Letter to Luis de Sant Angel Regarding the First Voyage Columbus heard that the people living on the second island at the entrance to India are considered the most ferocious and eat human flesh.
• “Sea of Lentils” by Rojo and “The Four Voyages of Columbus” by Columbus The conquest principles of possession and the nobility of purpose are first introduced and discussed in the context of Columbus’s text.
• The Concept of American Dream: Examples of Columbus and Bradstreet Bradstreet’s other dream was to be able to secure a position in the ‘New world’ and still be seen as a woman who cares for her family.
• Columbus’ Voyage to America The purpose of this paper is to reveal the factors that have drawn the Europeans to the exploration of the New World.
• C. Columbus and the Underground Railroad The claim that Columbus was the first person to discover America can be disapproved by the fact that; the Muslim had encountered contact with the people of the American land long before Columbus came into […]
• Was Christopher Columbus an Imperialist? The travel narratives of Christopher Columbus were given in the Letter and Journal of Columbus. The Letter by Columbus was addressed to his mentors namely Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, is not just a narrative […]
• European Expansionism: Columbus, Arawaks, and Aztecs Zinn and Stannard in their works expose that the new settlement was attended by gross interference into the peaceful life of the indigenous population, provoking war and leading to the indigenes’ total extermination.
• The Changing Legacy of Christopher Columbus The current legacy of Columbus states that he was the first person to discover America and that he had set sail to prove that the Earth was round and hence an oceanic voyage westward would […]
• The Voyages of Christopher Columbus Through the means of his discoveries, Christopher Columbus shattered the myth that the world was flat and that the entire planet was centered on the holy town of Jerusalem.
• The Life of Christopher Columbus He was much fascinated with Marco Polo who had managed to travel across Europe to India in reaching the far East, and it was in this context that the idea was born in him to […]
• Columbus Day: An Incorrect Celebration The impression received by the school child is that a promising age of wealth and discovery was launched by this single explorer, bringing Europe out of the dark ages and into the light of the […]
• First Voyage of Columbus and Biography of John Smith In a few words, the explorer is trying to assure the king that the decision to send him on the voyage was sensible and would surely turn profitable, He also mentions the magic word of […]
• The Heirs of Columbus: Discovery and Innovation As such, the introduction of the New World to Europeans can be seen to have initiated the development of innovative thought in terms of anthropology, philosophy, social sciences, as well as biology, and geography.
• Christopher Columbus as a Famous Historical Figure Basically, the political aspects of the modern world should be attributed to the efforts and achievements of Christopher Columbus. In conclusion, Columbus is accredited for the discovery and exploration of the Americas after his successful […]
• Columbus’ Discovery for Western and Native Civilizations Instead, the article promotes the message of acknowledging the idea that the discovery of America led to immense progress, societal growth, innovation, and development.
• Period of the Indians Discovery by Christopher Columbus Each extract from the letters is a unique opportunity to learn and try to understand the past and history.”The Diario of Christopher Columbus ” is the story of how the Admiral found the land and […]
• Traveling With Columbus: How to Have a Smooth Trip If cameras and phones are not allowed during the trip, they would have to rely on drawings and paintings to capture the beauty of the newly discovered lands and the unique culture of the island […]
• Columbus’s Encounter With Caribbean Natives The history of the discovery by Caribbean people of Christopher Columbus in the service of the king and queen of Spain who assumed he was on the coast of China has explained the impact of […]
• West European Studies: Columbus’ Journey The period from the beginning of the 15th century until the end of the 17th century was marked as the Age of Discovery.
• Christopher Columbus and His Condescending Attitude Columbus’ entrepreneurial family initiated him into the world of seafaring, however it was the expansion of the Turkish Empire that fired up his imagination with regards to testing the claim that the earth is round […]
• Technology and Colonization: Columbus Discovers the ‘New World’ The mission to the discovery of the new world was enhanced by the ruler of Spain in 1492. The spirit of colonization was enhanced by the struggle for supremacy and the increased technological advancements that […]
• Rethinking Columbus, Rediscovering America: In Search for the Promised Land Speaking of the most appropriate way to introduce the new facts about Columbus to the elementary school students, a teacher can possibly start with asking the kids what they know about Columbus and his adventure.
• Christopher Columbus- Not an American Hero This is generally because the discovery of America is greatly attributed to Columbus who in 1942 is said to have visited the Central America.
• Columbus Discovered America in 1492 and How It Impacted the History of America To begin with, it is profound to note the contemporary civilization being experienced in America was mainly triggered by the Columbus’ discovery of 1492.[1] While some historians may argue that the American civilization was bound […]
• A Biography and Actions of Christopher Columbus, an Italian-Born Spanish Explorer
• A History of the First Voyage of Christopher Columbus in a Letter to King Ferdinand of Spain
• A Look at the Impact of Christopher Columbus in the History of America
• An Analysis of Christopher Columbus and the Spread of the Religion of Catholicism in America
• An Analysis of the Discovery of the America by Christopher Columbus in 1492
• An Examination of the Morality and Personality of Christopher Columbus
• An Overview of the Curiosity of the European Countries and the Travels of Christopher Columbus
• Christopher Columbus: American Hero or Is It All Just a Sham?
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• How Natives Today React Christopher Columbus
• If Christopher Columbus Returned To The “New World” In The Year 2000
• Marco Polo’s Influence on Christopher Columbus
• The Columbian Exchange By Christopher Columbus
• The Debate About Honoring Christopher Columbus
• The Difference between Myth and Reality about Christopher Columbus
• The Face of America If Christopher Columbus Have Not Discovered It
• The Fact and Fiction Surrounding Christopher Columbus Voyage
• The Historical Legacies of Christopher Columbus
• The History Behind Tobacco Goes As Far Back As Christopher Columbus
• The Importance and Role of Christopher Columbus in Our History
• The Inevitable American Revolution By Christopher Columbus
• The Life, Achievements and Influence of Christopher Columbus
• The Life and Times of Christopher Columbus
• Theme of Cannibalism in the Age of Exploration in the Writings of Christopher Columbus
• Themes Of Cannibalism And Torture At Christopher Columbus
• The Motivations of Christopher Columbus and Father Jogues in Coming to the New World
• The Portrayal of Christopher Columbus in Elementary School
• The Positive and Negative Impacts of Christopher Columbus on the Americas
• The Significant Contributions of Christopher Columbus
• The True Story Of Christopher Columbus
• The Ugly Truth Behind the Expeditions of Christopher Columbus
• Truth About Christopher Columbus: The Man Behind a Genocide
• Was Christopher Columbus A Man Responsible For The Decimation
• Positive Impact Of Christopher Columbus ‘s Discoveries
• The Age Of Exploration By Christopher Columbus
• Did Christopher Columbus Shape Global History?
• What Does Columbus Say About the Natives That Might Attract the Attention of Christian Missionaries?
• How Did Chinese Rudder Affect Christopher Columbus?
• Was Christopher Columbus a Pirate or Hero?
• What Does Columbus Say That Might Attract the Economic Ambitions of Ferdinand and Isabella?
• How Influential Was Christopher Columbus to Spain and Europe?
• Why Christopher Columbus Isn’t the Person, He’s Presented to Be?
• How Did Contemporaries Depict Hernan Cortes and Christopher Columbus?
• What Do Columbus and the Crew See on Their Voyage?
• Why Did Christopher Columbus Not Discover America?
• How Do Native Americans Today React to Christopher Columbus?
• What Are Some Contributions Left by Columbus?
• How Different Would Be the Western Civilization if Christopher Columbus Had Not Discovered America?
• Do You Think That Columbus Should Be Glorified? Should Columbus Day Still Be Celebrated?
• How Would You Describe the Tone of Christopher Columbus’ Letters?
• What Were Christopher Columbus’ Intentions for His Voyage?
• Do You Think Columbus’ Actions Could Be Classified as a Genocide?
• How Does Columbus Describe the Reason for His Expedition, and Its Beginning?
• What Is the Voyage Across the Atlantic Like for Columbus and His Sailors?
• Should We Consider Christopher Columbus a Villain or a Hero?
• How Did Columbus Describe the Natives?
• In What Ways Might Politics and Economics Have Influenced, and Perhaps Biased, Columbus’s Account of His Discovery?
• How Did Columbus Describe the Landscape of the New World and Its Inhabitants?
• What Kind of a Person Was Christopher Columbus?
• Should Columbus Day Be Removed From the Calendar and if So, Why?
• Was Columbus the First European to “Discover” America?
• What Were the Names of Columbus’ Three Ships? What Were Some of the Difficulties in Columbus’ First Expedition?
• Where Do We Derive the Term “Indian Giver?” How Did the Explorers Misinterpret This Generosity?
• How Was Columbus Regarded in Spain Upon His Return? What Was Spain’s Second Voyage to the New World?
• What Differentiates Columbus’ Third Journey From Other Expeditions? Where Did He Land on His Third Journey?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Essay on Christopher Columbus

Students are often asked to write an essay on Christopher Columbus in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Christopher Columbus

Who was christopher columbus.

Christopher Columbus was an explorer born in Italy around 1451. He is famous for sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He wanted to find a new route to Asia but instead landed in the Americas, which were unknown to Europeans.

Columbus’s Voyages

Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain. He visited islands in the Caribbean, such as the Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola. His voyages opened the way for the widespread European exploration of the Americas.

Impact of Columbus’s Discoveries

Columbus’s journeys changed history. They connected the Americas to Europe and started European settlements in the New World. But his arrival also led to the suffering of Native Americans, who faced diseases and were forced from their lands.

250 Words Essay on Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a famous explorer from a long time ago. He was born in Italy around 1451. Many people know him because he sailed across the ocean and reached parts of the world that Europeans had never been to before. His voyages marked the beginning of European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

Columbus made four big trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain. He wanted to find a new way to get to Asia, but instead, he found a place that was new to Europeans. On his first trip in 1492, he reached an island in the Caribbean. He thought he had found India, so he called the people he met “Indians.” During his later voyages, he explored more of the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America.

Ships and Crew

On his first journey, Columbus had three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. These ships were small and sturdy, built to handle the open sea. He had a crew of sailors who worked hard to sail these ships across the unknown ocean.

Columbus’s Legacy

Columbus’s trips had a big impact on the world. They led to Europeans coming to America and starting new lives there. But not everything was good. The arrival of Europeans caused many problems for the native people, like diseases and losing their land. Today, people have different opinions about Columbus. Some think he was a hero for exploring, while others focus on the bad effects of his journeys. Schools and books often teach about Columbus so that students can learn about this important part of history.

500 Words Essay on Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a famous explorer from a long time ago. He was born in 1451 in a place called Genoa, which is now part of Italy. Columbus became well-known because he went on big trips across the ocean a long time before airplanes were invented. Many people remember him because they think he was the first European to discover the land that would later be called America.

His Big Idea

Columbus had an idea that if he sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean, he would find a new way to get to Asia. Back then, people wanted to find new routes to Asia to trade for spices and silk, which were very valuable. Columbus thought the world was round, and he could reach Asia by going west instead of east around Africa. He was very determined to prove his idea was right.

Getting Ready to Sail

To go on his trip, Columbus needed ships and a crew. He asked the rulers of different countries to help him, but many said no. Finally, the King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, said yes. They gave him three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. With these ships and his crew, Columbus was ready to set out on his adventure.

The Voyages Begin

Columbus made a total of four trips across the Atlantic Ocean. On his first voyage in 1492, he left Spain and sailed west. After many weeks, he and his crew saw land. They landed on an island in the Bahamas, which Columbus named San Salvador. He thought he had found Asia, but he was actually in a place that was completely new to Europeans.

On his later voyages, Columbus explored more islands in the Caribbean and even reached the coasts of Central and South America. But he never realized he had found a continent that was not Asia.

The Impact of His Journeys

Columbus’s voyages had a big impact on the world. They led to more exploration and eventually to Europeans moving to the Americas. This changed the lives of the people who already lived there and the course of history for the whole world.

Remembering Columbus

People have different feelings about Columbus. Some think he was a hero for his bravery and for finding new lands. Others point out that his journeys led to difficult times for the native people in the Americas. Because of this, some places celebrate Columbus Day, while others choose to remember the history and cultures of the native people instead.

Christopher Columbus is a name that many school students learn about. He was an explorer who lived a long time ago and went on big trips across the ocean. His voyages changed the world in many ways, and people still talk about him today. Whether seen as a hero or not, Columbus is an important part of history that helps us understand how the world we live in came to be.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Christopher Columbus — Christopher Columbus: A Controversial Figure in History

Christopher Columbus: a Controversial Figure in History

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Published: Mar 16, 2024

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The voyages of christopher columbus, legacy and controversy, reevaluating columbus's legacy.

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How An Eclipse Saved Christopher Columbus And His Crew From Doom

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With lives at risk, the Sun and the Moon came to the rescue.

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Columbus is said to have saved his crew from famine by predicting an eclipse.

Image credit: Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com

Sometimes it really is your lucky day, and for Christopher Columbus that day came on February 29, 1504. As well as being a leap day, this peculiar date also saw a total lunar eclipse occur in the Caribbean night sky, allegedly allowing the famous navigator to trick his native hosts into treating him and his crew like royalty.

According to reports attributed to Columbus’s son Ferdinand , the sneaky move came at a time when tensions between the sailors and the local Arawak people of Jamaica were dangerously fraught. Having been stranded on the island since mid-1503 thanks to an infestation of marine worms eating chunks out of their ships, Columbus and his men were initially well-received by the natives, yet after more than half a year of supplying their guests with food, the Arawaks’ patience and hospitality were beginning to wear thin.

Supposedly, things took a sour turn when half of the crew mutinied, going on a rampage that saw some Arawak killed and others robbed. Faced with the prospect of famine as their supply of complementary food was subsequently held, Columbus is said to have hatched an ingenious plan to save his skin.

Fortunately for him, all European sailors at the time were equipped with an almanac containing astronomical tables for the period 1475 to 1506. Compiled by the great German mathematician  Johannes Müller von Königsberg - also known as Regiomontanus - the document provided vital information about the movements of the sun, moon, planets and stars.

A quick glance at the almanac in late February 1504 told Columbus that a total lunar eclipse was imminent. Approaching the Arawak chief, Columbus said that his Christian god had become enraged at the locals’ unwillingness to feed their guests, and would obliterate the full moon as a sign of his displeasure.

Legend has it that when the lunar eclipse occurred at the exact time specified by Columbus, the panic-stricken Arawak begged forgiveness and promised to appease the Christian god by keeping the sailors well-fed. The story goes that from that moment onwards, Columbus and his crew wanted for nothing as they continued to wait for a rescue ship, which eventually arrived in June 1504 .

In truth, the historical veracity of this legend is difficult to ascertain, although we do know that a total lunar eclipse occurred over Jamaica on this date. Typically referred to as the Columbus Eclipse , this famous astronomical event has inspired numerous fictional episodes, including one incident in Mark Twain’s 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, in which the lead character weasels his way out of being burned at the stake by foretelling a solar eclipse.

With a total solar eclipse set to occur over North America on April 8, this old trick might come in handy for anyone who finds themself in mortal peril at this time.

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Fate of city's Christopher Columbus statue remains unclear despite heartfelt debate

Columbus statue's fate still uncertain as public meetings tiptoe around the elephant in room.

About 40 people gathered Tuesday evening in a fourth-floor banquet room at Columbus State Community College, breaking into small groups at round tables and prompted to talk about topics like family, feelings, respect, and authority vs. responsibility.

But the real reason everyone was there — though it seemed to come up only in passing from time to time during the two-hour meeting — was to address the question: What is the city of Columbus to do with its massive statue of Christopher Columbus , the city's namesake, and a 7,000-pound bronze gift from the residents of Genoa, Italy ?

The statue sat prominently in front of City Hall for 65 years but was stored away out of the public eye on July 1, 2020, after racial justice protesters and some rioters who clashed with Columbus police over the death of George Floyd Jr. just over a month earlier began targeting the statue as a symbol of racism, slavery and genocide.

The city has been ever-so-slowly and carefully crafting a plan that might eventually return the statue to a less-prominent public or private space, surrounded with contextual information that would lay bare all of the reasons that Columbus, while an early European explorer and major historical figure, shouldn't be considered a role model.

"What I hope will happen is that the city will take into account that the impact of whatever they do in either direction is much deeper than just aesthetics," said Kimberly Brazwell, who led the meeting on behalf of Reimagining Columbus, a project funded by the city and the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project.

The project is committed to creating new public art and commemorative spaces that reflect the city’s collective history, values, and aspirations. "And to reckon with our city’s namesake, Christopher Columbus," according to literature on the project's mission.

What is Christopher Columbus really known for?

City officials need to "realize that there are generations of stories that are tied in any direction as to whether it (the Columbus statue) should be up or not," she said.

For some people, the statue represents a "pain point," making it difficult to create context around it if it should be brought back on display someplace, Brazwell said. The context has to incorporate people's stories and "their context for how they're processing history."

The program dialogue used by Reimagining Columbus didn't seek to simply ask the participants: How do you feel about bringing back the city's statue?

To get the discussions going, provocative topics were thrown out, like how might you describe the essence of your culture at its worst and its best? Or how might colonization have impacted the way you understand or experience your cultural "roots?"

Columbus State's Columbus statue never came up

Although the gathering was held at Columbus State, it never came up that the community college was hiding a Columbus statue, too . Its 20-ton statue was removed just ahead of the city's statue in 2020, but for identical reasons.

But there was a table at the back of the meeting room for participants to leave written thoughts on whether the city's Columbus statue should be brought out of storage, including what would be an appropriate space to display it if it were.

"The decision has to ultimately go back to the city on what are you going to do," Brazwell said.

City's Italian-Americans fear they're being erased

To members of the city's Italian community, the gift from the residents of Genoa, Italy, Columbus' sister city, was more than just a statue of the city's namesake. It was a coming of age .

Landa Masdea Brunetto's father and grandfather hurriedly worked through the night in the family's machine shop to fabricate specialty bolts and washers needed by the next day to erect the newly arrived statue of Christopher Columbus outside Columbus City Hall.

Masdea Brunetto has been attending all the meetings held on the matter, and is hopeful that the statue can come out of exile.

Masdea Brunetto noted that Columbus was chosen for Italian Americans as their cultural symbol by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892, following the 1891 New Orleans lynchings of 11 Italian-Americans and immigrants by a mob, the largest mass lynching in U.S. history.

"If it was Marconi, no one would be saying anything. The statue would still be here," Masdea Brunetto said. " ... The Italians are being erased, and no one is standing up for us."

The immediate plan for now is to continue with the public meetings, where the stories and experiences are gifts to be exchanged, helping to define and refine what a statue is supposed to mean.

"Partly what's happening is whose family story is going to win," Brazwell said.

Tension leads some to decline publicly identifying themselves

"Statue yes or no? To me, that's a waste of time," said one woman hanging out at a table as the two-hour meeting was breaking up for the night. She declined to give her name, but said she participated in the protests that led to Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announcing that the statue would be removed as "one more barrier to meaningful and lasting change to end systemic racism.”

"If, now, if they're saying we're going to put it back up, what that says to me is that was all bull----," the woman added of Ginther's announcement.

That prompted a middle-aged man at the table, who had previously disclosed that he's an Italian-American, to jump in on behalf of Columbus. "He's a man. He had a heartbeat. He got in a thing the size of a trailer home and went across the ocean. It is intellectually dishonest to judge people from another generation."

Or, in this case, from 1451.

Even if the city is named after him (which at least one man at the event indicated also may need to change), why have a statue of him?

Because Columbus "had a lot of guts," responded the middle-aged man, who also declined to give his name, saying anti-statue protesters had visited his house after he wrote a letter to the editor on the subject.

Such is the tension caused by a statue of an almost 600-year-old figure that people on both sides at a public meeting thought twice about giving out their identities when speaking publicly for fear of repercussions.

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