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Monument of Christopher Columbus in Puerto Rico. 

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Monument of Christopher Columbus in Chicago.

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Quote on quote what Christopher Columbus said about the Native Americans when he discovered their land.

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Christopher Columbus proved to the King and Queen the world is round, which helped him convince them to finance his voyage.

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The Wait Is Finally Over...

It is currently March 15, 1493, and Christopher Columbus has arrived back to Spain from his first voyage. The question that keeps running through my head, “Is he really the greatest sailor of the 15th century?”. Many individuals are going to have different opinions towards this due to what occurred throughout the voyage compared to what everyone expected from it.

Everyone is impatiently waiting with anticipation to know what really happened in this voyage, like they say, “The Voyage to New Land”. This voyage was made possible due to Christopher Columbus receiving investments from Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Initially the ultimate plan was for Christopher Columbus to go on a voyage with his sailors on The Nina, The Pinta, and The Santa Maria and end up in Asia. He promised the King and Queen: gold, spices, minerals, great opportunities for investment and the ability to persuade the indigenous people to become Christians.

Unfortunately, Christopher Columbus ended up overestimating the size of Asia and underestimating the size of the ocean. He initially landed on a small Caribbean island he called San Salvador in search of gold and Christians. However, Columbus ended up returning with neither spices nor gold; failing to find riches. Everyone was relying on him, this caused a great let down to the country and showed his voyage was not as successful as everyone is making it seem to be just because he made it back safe.

Although he knew he failed he still wanted more help from their majesties. In return he said from the next voyage he will bring: "as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask."  Being filled with religious talk and persuasive language he was not willing to stop until he got what he wanted. He also added, "Thus the eternal God, our Lord, gives victory to those who follow His way over apparent impossibilities." Aside from all the convincing and talking he has done; do you really think it is worth giving him another chance if he promised the King and Queen the same thing the first time but could not manage to hold up to his part…?

Individuals might respond to that and say, “Well everyone in life deserves a second chance.” Which is a good point, but it seems like a very risky and fragile topic that the majesties really need to dwell upon before making a final decision. If I was one of the majesties, I would honestly just feel betrayed and I don’t think I would be able to give him another chance. More investments would have to be made when they are still yet to make any progress and receive anything in return. The cons outweigh the pros at this very moment in time. Maybe they just need a better plan, more preparation, a better mindset, or a new captain to take over this mission. I go back to asking myself again “Is he really the greatest sailor of the 15th century?”.  I’ll leave that to my readers to define the definition of greatness.

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Christopher Columbus asking Queen Isabella for investments so he could go on his voyage. 

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The departure of the first voyage on August 3, 1492 from Spain. 

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Map demonstrating the route Christopher Columbus took on his first voyage.

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Columbus arrives to the land where Native Americans are at; an island called The Bahamas.

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Summary of what happened throughout Christopher Columbus’s voyage.

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King Ferdinand was convinced so he supported and financed Christopher Columbus’s voyage with Queen Isabella.

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Queen Isabella, the one who supported and financed Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage.

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Christopher Columbus with his crew members on board.

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These were the three ships used on the voyage: The Niña, The Pinta, and The Santa Maria.  

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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who set sail across the ocean to discover new land.