Christopher Columbus

This article is about the explorer. For other uses, see Christopher Columbus (disambiguation).

"Cristoforo Colombo" and "Cristóbal Colón" redirect here. For other uses of "Cristoforo Colombo", see Cristoforo Colombo (disambiguation). For other uses of "Cristóbal Colón", see Cristobal Colon (disambiguation).

Christopher Columbus

Portrait of Christopher Columbus by Alejo Fernández. It is not known for certain if any portrait of Columbus was painted from real life.[1]

Born  before 31 October 1451

Genoa, Republic of Genoa, in present-day Italy

Died  20 May 1506 (aged c. 54)

Valladolid, Crown of Castile, in present-day Spain

Nationality   Genoese

Other names         Italian: Cristoforo Colombo

Catalan: Cristòfor Colom

Spanish: Cristóbal Colón

Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo

Latin: Christophorus Columbus

Genoese: Christoffa Corombo

Occupation Maritime explorer

Title   Admiral of the Ocean Sea; Viceroy and Governor of the Indies

Religion       Roman Catholic

Spouse(s)    Filipa Moniz Perestrelo

Partner(s)    Beatriz Enríquez de Arana

Children      Diego

Fernando

Relatives     Giovanni Pellegrino, Giacomo and Bartholomew Columbus (brothers)

Signature    

Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo; Spanish: Cristóbal Colón; French: Christophe Colomb; circa before 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an explorer, navigator, and colonizer, born in the Republic of Genoa, in what is today northwestern Italy.[2][3][4][5] Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents. Those voyages, and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola, initiated the Spanish colonization of the New World.

In the context of emerging western imperialism and economic competition between European kingdoms seeking wealth through the establishment of trade routes and colonies, Columbus's speculative proposal, to reach the East Indies by sailing westward, eventually received the support of the Spanish crown, which saw in it a promise, however remote, of gaining the upper hand over rival powers in the contest for the lucrative spice trade with Asia. During his first voyage in 1492, instead of reaching Japan as he had intended, Columbus landed in the Bahamas archipelago, at a locale he named San Salvador. Over the course of three more voyages, Columbus visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming them for the Spanish Empire.

Though Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the Americas (having been preceded by the Norse expedition led by Leif Ericson in the 11th century[6]), Columbus's voyages led to the first lasting European contact with the Americas, inaugurating a period of European exploration, conquest, and colonization that lasted for several centuries. They had, therefore, an enormous impact in the historical development of the modern Western world. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of the spreading of the Christian religion.[2]

Never admitting that he had reached a continent previously unknown to Europeans, rather than the East Indies he had set out for, Columbus called the inhabitants of the lands he visited indios (Spanish for "Indians").[7][8][9] Columbus's strained relationship with the Spanish crown and its appointed colonial administrators in America led to his arrest and dismissal as governor of the settlements on the island of Hispaniola in 1500, and later to protracted litigation over the benefits which Columbus and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the crown.