< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > introduction</h1>
Christopher Columbus, the navigator who "discovered" the Americas, is a great name in the history of world navigation, and many countries now have roads and festivals named after Columbus, and many people also regard it as an idol and worship his strong and brave character. But no one is perfect, Columbus has a good character such as perseverance and bravery, but also has an extremely strong desire for honor and wealth, and sometimes even robs his crew of honor and wealth, for which many lawsuits have been caused, and even went to court.
Statue of Columbus
Although the lawsuits related to Columbus are often beginningless and inconclusive, we can still see from those lawsuits the character of Columbus as a person, and now let us understand the true character of Columbus, the great navigator, through a few small things related to the lawsuit.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the entire crew was about to collapse, Columbus insisted on continuing westward</h1>
On October 10, 1492, the three expedition ships sent by the two kings of Spain and led by Columbus were filled with an eerie atmosphere, and the crew first gathered carefully to secretly not know what they were talking about, and then, as if they had made up their minds, elected representatives, gathered them and found their captain, asking him to convey their wishes to the commander of the expedition fleet, Columbus.
Portrait of Columbus
It turned out that after nearly two months of arduous sailing, the crew who had not even seen the shadow of the land was about to collapse en masse, and they were pessimistic about the voyage, most of the crew believed that there was no land in the western seas, and at the same time the trade winds began to blow westward, pushing the expedition further west, which meant that the expedition would take more time to return to Spain, but the supply on the ship was not enough to support the time of the expedition leader to sail. So the crew, in order to avoid death, went to the captains and asked to return.
The route of Columbus' previous Westward Voyage expeditions
The three captains of the expedition fleet also had the same attitude as most of the crew, and now they had the support of the crew, so the three captains united to find Columbus to convey the crew's wishes and demand that they abandon the Western Expedition and return immediately:
"Sir (Columbus), where are you going now?" We had walked 800 ligs, still hadn't found land, and the crew said they were sailing toward death. ”
Columbus
Columbus scoffed at the idea that the expedition was dying, but he thought that the trade wind blowing westward was a good omen, so he used a lot of strength to appease the three captains who were completely discouraged and bent on going home, and also talked about the petrels found at sea on October 3, thinking that since there were seabirds, it meant that the land was not far away, and he swore to ask them to give themselves three or four more days to explore west, and if the land was not found, He was willing to abandon the expedition and return immediately as the crew wished:
"I (Columbus) have no worries about this, for since God has given us such good weather, he will certainly give us another good weather to return, and you (the rebels) will not be able to do so, because even if you kill me and my servants, you will not gain much, but you can do one thing: you can give me three or four days to continue sailing along the original course, and if you do not find land within the time limit, then return as you wish."
Replica of columbus's ship
Seeing that Columbus was so insistent, the three captains did not want to be too stiff, so they went back to persuade most of the crew, ready to give Columbus another three days, but the good times were not long, and the trade wind blowing westward that afternoon was blowing harder, and the expedition ship sailed a long distance to the west. This aroused the fear of the crew, believing that at this speed and distance, if they did not return immediately, they would never be able to return to Spain, so the crew began to resist the captain's orders, and the situation became more and more serious, and the riot seemed to break out at the next moment.
Columbus quelled the riots
As the situation became more and more serious, Columbus bravely stepped forward and explained to the crew the problem of wind direction and course and the consequences of returning to Spain without any success, saying that the double kings and the sponsors of the voyage back to Spain at this time must not be willing to pay everyone's salary, and reiterated his conversation with the three captains at noon, asking the crew to give themselves another three days.
After much thought, the crew finally agreed to Columbus's plan and returned to work, and in this way, an impending riot was temporarily solved by the brave and determined Columbus.
Columbus' expedition fleet consisted of three ships
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Columbus's insistence gave the expedition the dawn of victory</h1>
On the morning of October 11, 1492, the expedition ship Niña, one of Columbus's expeditionary fleets, found a branch from the sea, and when the sailors fished it up, they found that the branch was still very tender and had a small flower that looked like a wild rose, which made everyone in the expedition happy, because the branches and flowers were all products of land, which meant that there must be land not far from the sea.
Wild roses
They had been sailing westwards on the Atlantic for nearly two months, and now they had finally found "real" signs of land! Morale, which had been so low, was lifted that sailors began to stare wide-eyed at the sea around them, hoping to find land or more land products.
In the afternoon, the crew who searched the sea carefully gradually fished out many things that were only available on land, such as vines, branches, planks, plants and a small wooden stick with obvious traces of processing.
ps: These things may have been products of the Lesser Andres or South America, and they were driven by the waves to the vicinity of the expedition.
sea level
The "garbage" fished from the sea made all the expedition members rejoice, and Columbus also breathed a solid sigh of relief, followed by indescribable excitement, because his dream land was finally about to appear, and the honor and wealth promised by the two kings of Spain were finally going to be obtained!
All the members of the expedition began to compete to be lookouts, and before that, the crew was always thankful for the work of the lookout and could hide, because the daily job of the lookout was to climb the high mast and then keep looking into the distance, which was full of dangers, and once the hand slipped or the foot slipped, the lookout without any safety measures would fall heavily on the deck, and his end was either dead or seriously injured.
Ship construction from the Age of Discovery
But now all the crew members were crazy and competing to be the lookouts, and they all wanted to be the first to discover the land, because before the voyage began, the Spanish double kings had already offered a huge reward, ordering that whoever discovered the land first would be given a decent silk garment and an annual salary of ten thousand Malavidi (Spanish currency) per year.
According to the price of Spain at that time, not counting silk clothing, the annual salary of only 10,000 Malawidi is a large income, to know that the total cost of Columbus's first West Airlines expedition was only 2 million Malawidi, and the total monthly salary of all the personnel of the West Airlines (90 people) was only 250,000 Malawidi, while the annual salary of ordinary sailors did not exceed 8,000 Malawidi.
Bazaars in Spain
The huge rewards were so attractive to the poor Spanish sailors that, at their urging, the previously cautious voyages became bold, and even when night fell, the expedition fleet did not stop sailing. Prior to this, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, Columbus was generally not allowed to sail at night, but the excited expedition members were willing to take great risks and land as soon as possible.
Columbus's Exploration Fleet
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > a dispute between Columbus and the crew</h1>
Although the dawn of victory has been revealed, Columbus, in order to prevent accidents, cautiously emphasized the safety of navigation, assigned special personnel on duty, and required all sailors on duty to keep their eyes open in case they hit the reef, ran aground, or missed land.
The night from the evening of October 11 to the morning of October 12 was called by Western historians because of its extreme importance: "an important night about the fate of mankind."
Columbus's first western voyage expedition route
On this night, most of the crew did not rest as ordered, they gathered together to constantly talk or argue about their thoughts about the land, and many of them walked around the deck irritably, constantly exploring the dark sea, hoping to be the first to discover the land and then collect the reward.
Columbus, like most of the crew, had no patience to rest, he stood on the deck to communicate with the crew, imagining the future, so he stood until about 10 o'clock, and suddenly Columbus seemed to see something incredible, excitedly told his companions that he saw a bright light on the west side of the ship, which was like "a small candle that flickered on and off." Listening to Columbus's greeting, the companions quickly looked to the west, and some of the companions said that they also saw the light, and some of the companions said that they did not see anything.
Columbus saw the light
The mixed rhetoric of his companions made Columbus unsure of his thoughts, so he did not tell the others any more, and returned to the captain's room to rest, but soon after, A sailor on duty on the deck, Pedro Ischieldo, cried out, saying that he had seen the light and the land, and praised God loudly.
Hearing the sailor's shouts, one of Columbus's servants told him to shut up, saying that his master (Columbus) had seen the light before, and the two sides quarreled, and Columbus, who heard the argument, hurried to the deck and announced to the crew gathered around: "The light I saw and talked about earlier was emitted on land." ”
The members of the expedition heard Columbus's announcement and congratulated him, but they did not see the light again, so they thought that Columbus's claim to have found land was too low, the real land had not been found, and it was unknown whose hand the deer had died.
Modern scientists believe that Columbus and the crew of the expedition did not see a real light, but a fantasy and illusion that arose in their hearts due to people's desire for land.
Because the expedition fleet at this time was still tens of nautical miles away from the nearest land, at this distance, it was impossible for humans to see any scenery on land, and there were no active volcanoes in the nearby seas. It was once thought that the light was the fishing lamp used by the Indians when fishing at sea, but this speculation is not reliable, because in terms of the backward ship technology of the Indians, they cannot run so far from the coast to fish under the intrusion of strong winds and waves. Later, a senior naval officer, starting from his many years of sailing experience, made his point of view, which was accepted by most people:
"The theory of light is due to the illusion that Columbus saw countless signs of land that day and was very excited."
Statue of Columbus
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Columbus's scramble for the title and prize money of the "Land Finder."</h1>
The incident in which Columbus declared the light his first discovery caused an uproar on the ship, and some people agreed, but many more were not convinced, after all, most people did not see the so-called light, and the light of that moment was not enough to prove that Columbus had discovered land.
The expedition continued to sail westward, and as the minutes and seconds passed, more and more people left the deck to find a place to sleep because they were tired, and only the duty officers were still holding their posts.
Landing in the Americas
At two o'clock in the morning of October 12, Juan Rodríguez Bermeo, the lookout of the expedition ship Pinta, suddenly saw the shadow of some behemoth in the bright moonlight far to the west of the ship, and he realized that it might be a cliff, so he shouted loudly, saying that he had found land.
Martin Alonso Pinzon, the captain of the expedition ship Pinta, heard the call of the lookout and hurried to the deck to confirm, and after confirming that it was correct, fired a cannon to report the good news to the other two ships in the fleet, and ordered the crew to stop and wait for Columbus's flagship to arrive.
Model of Columbus's fleet
As the two ships approached, Columbus loudly asked Martin Alonso Pinso what had happened, and after receiving an affirmative answer, Columbus acknowledged pinta's discovery, and then Martin Alonso Pinson asked Columbus if he could get a reward, to which Columbus replied, "I'll give you 5,000 Malawidi as a reward." ”
The reason why Columbus gave Martin Alonso Pinson 5,000 Malawidi as a reward here is because the captain shouted that he had seen the land scene on September 25, although the captain's claim was less reliable than Columbus, but in order to block his mouth, Columbus could only grit his teeth and pull out 5000 Malawidi as a reward.
Columbus landed in the Americas for the first time
In addition, although the expedition actually discovered the land at this time, Columbus insisted that he had already discovered the light on the land at 10 o'clock last night, so Columbus, under the influence of greed and vanity, declared his victory before the real discoverer of the land, took the title of "Land Finder" and the annual reward of ten thousand Malavidy for himself, and on the morning of October 12, he landed on the land of the Americas and named it the island of San Salvador.
Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador and occupied the area in the name of the Spanish Viceroy
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Columbus's complex character and flaws</h1>
Many of the crew thought columbus' title of "Land Finder" unworthy of his name, that what he had done was not at all disgraceful and unjust, so they were critical of it, but because the voyage was not over, the crew did not have a seizure, but when the expedition fleet returned to Spain, the lawsuit for the reward came.
The landing site of Columbus's first westward voyage expedition
Pedro Ischieldo, the first sailor to shout out the light and the land, was particularly angry at Columbus's actions, believing that Columbus had cheated him out of his reward, and wanted to file a lawsuit after returning to Spain after the end of the first voyage expedition, but the wood was already in the boat, and the two kings of Spain had already awarded Columbus a reward, so he angrily left the expedition, ran to Africa, and gave up his Catholic faith.
In addition, others also had lawsuits against Columbus, but Columbus, who discovered the new land, was in the limelight at that time, and the two kings of Spain and the courtiers were very protective of them, and these lawsuits were closed, and when Columbus returned from the third and fourth voyages, people saw that Columbus had gradually lost the favor of the king, so they attacked it and launched many lawsuits.
Columbus landed in the Americas
In these lawsuits, there are indeed facts, such as the "land finder", and some are the dirty water splashed by the jealous people, and from these lawsuits, we can see the complexity of Columbus's character.
Columbus was indeed quite brave and resolute, daring to rely on some unreliable views or opinions to give up his life to practice for decades, and he was indeed very witty, often able to persuade others with "powerful words" or to quell rebellions and regain people's hearts, but Columbus also had many shortcomings.
Columbus talked to the Indians
Columbus placed too much emphasis on honor and wealth, which was one of the main reasons for his hardships in life.
Before being financed by the Spanish Double Kings, the King of Portugal had been interested in Columbus's seafaring program, but Columbus's asking price was too high, and he demanded that the King of Portugal grant him the title of nobleman and commander of the seas, as well as the lifelong viceroy and vice-king of the discovered land, and also demanded that one-tenth of the proceeds of the discovered land should be owned by himself, and that these rights be inherited by his eldest son and hereditary after his death. Columbus's greedy asking price infuriated the Portuguese king, so he gave up his support for Columbus.
Columbus returned to Spain
In terms of wealth and honor, Columbus appeared to be very calculating and arrogant, and when other Spanish colonists and nobles were struggling to colonize the Americas, Columbus was unwilling to give up his own little interest to improve the living conditions of the colonists. Even if the colonies lacked materials and the colonists had no motivation to open up, Columbus was not willing to give wealth or benefits to motivate everyone, and only when the colonists really did not have the confidence to continue to persevere, Columbus reluctantly took out some benefits to "give" to the colonists.
Columbus's behavior made countless enemies, the colonists did not believe him, so the rebellion continued, the colonists gathered to demand more benefits, and some colonists simply snatched the ship back to Spain to complain to the king, and finally Columbus was shackled, pulled back to Spain for trial, and lost many rights and interests forever.
Because of Columbus's discovery, the Age of Discovery has truly arrived
(This article ends here, thank you for reading, please pay attention ~)
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > references:</h1>
The Biography of Columbus [U.S.] by Serena E. Morrison
History of Latin America [in] by Zhao Deming
History of Spain [Spain] by Raymond Carr
A General History of the World by Stavrianos
Columbus's Voyage Diary [meaning] by Christopher Columbus