The process that made Christopher Columbus a great navigator begins at the place of his birth, Genoa. The city of Genoa was a place of trade and merchants. Here is where Columbus began his education of seamanship and business. The combination of becoming a merchant’s apprentice and a sailor on local ships began the long line of gained experienced for Columbus, destined to discover new lands. Business is the first step in the process of Columbus’ career as one of the best navigators of his time. The desire to turn materials, supplies, and goods into profit are what first fueled Columbus’ desire to explore.[1] Along the path to his great voyage of 1492, Christopher Columbus gained great skills from the voyagers of Portugal, his temporary home. The Portuguese mariners were using advances in science to navigate their travels. These mariners were using angles of the Sun to help determine degrees in latitude that would help them better define their position on a map.[2] Columbus reaped the benefits of the new systems gained by the Portuguese and applied his new knowledge of the effects of wind, currents, and land masses to his own travels. When Columbus worked as a book dealer, he had access to the most current maps available. He also read books by scientists who had theories that explained the cosmos and had mathematical figures pertaining to the size of the Earth. Columbus would use this new science to generate his proposal for his voyage to the Orient. [3]
After Columbus had the financial backing for his first voyage, it was not religion that drove his desire but profit. It wasn’t until his later voyages that Columbus began to reconsider how he was able to discover new lands. He began to see the Earth and the land as images detailed in the Bible and convinced himself that he was preparing the people of these newly discovered lands for the second coming of Christ. [4] His own ideas of faith were changing and how he documented his travels changed as well. He believed in part that his purpose of traveling and making new discoveries was to spread Christianity and religion. It was enough to receive further financial support for his voyages.
[1] Symcox Geoffrey and Blair Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies: A Brief History with Documents 5, 7.
[2] Symcox and Sullivan, 8.
[3]Symcox and Sullivan 9, 10.
[4]Symcox and Sullivan 25,26.
Portugal seemed to be where Columbus acquired his navigation skills. Portugal had pioneered exploration in the 15th century.1 It is important to note that “from the early 15th century, the nautical school of Henry the Navigator had been extending Portuguese knowledge of the African coastline.”2 The Portuguese were driven by the unknown of the sea. They produced many famous Explorers. Names such as Vasco da Gama, Henry the Navigator, Ferdinand Magellan and Bartholomeu Dias are now legendary for having made great discoveries in the New World in the name of Portugal.3Portugal contributed many advances to navigation. “The Portuguese were the first to introduce the art of using latitude in navigation which gave them mastery over the oceans. They were also the first to introduce longitude into navigation, in the early sixteenth century.”4
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1.History World. “History of Portugal: Navigation and exploration: AD 1415-1460.” http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=gpq (Accessed online March 14, 2012)
2.Rodrigues, Patrick J. “Famous Navigators: A Tribute to the Great Potugese Navigators.” http://www.navigators.ws/navigators/default.html (Accessed online March 14, 2012.
3.Rodrigues, Patrick J. “Famous Navigators: A Tribute to the Great Potugese Navigators.” http://www.navigators.ws/navigators/default.html (Accessed online March 14, 2012.
4.Rodrigues, Patrick J. “Famous Navigators: A Tribute to the Great Potugese Navigators.” http://www.navigators.ws/navigators/default.html (Accessed online March 14, 2012.
Columbus' religious beliefs were very convincing to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in getting them to support his voyages. Both were intensely religious to the point where they launched the Spanish Inquisition in 1480. They firmly believed in converting all non Catholics to Catholicism and doing quality control to make sure converts were following all aspects of the religion as well.
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I agree with you where Columbus's religious beliefs affected in further making Columbus in studying about astronomy, maps, navigation, and geography.
ReplyDeleteSuch beliefs motivated Columbus to further his interests in navigation to the New World.