1492: What Columbus and His Patrons Hoped to Gain

Among the many factors that contributed to Europe’s expansion in the early modern period, perhaps none was more important than simple human ambition. There is no better example of this truth than Christopher Columbus, the Genoese mariner credited with the “discovery” of the New World. The best available evidence suggests that Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo in Italian; Cristóbal Colón in Spanish) was born in 1451 to a weaver and went to sea as a teenager. As a young man he gained wide experience as a sailor, with voyages as far north as Ireland, as far south as Mina on the Gulf of Guinea, and as far west as the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores, all islands off Africa’s coast. Having taught himself to read, he began to study geographical texts, maps, and even biblical passages that provided him with a set of assumptions concerning the circumference of the Earth (everyone that was educated knew the Earth was round, but the actual circumference was still up for debate), the size of Europe and the distance of Japan from the Asian mainland. Although false, these assumptions convinced him it would be possible to reach Asia by sailing west into the Atlantic. In 1484, Columbus sought support for an exploratory voyage from King John II of Portugal, but the king, who was convinced that sailing around Africa was the most promising route to Asia, refused.

Undeterred, in 1486 Columbus gained an audience with the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, who on hearing Columbus’ proposal gave him a small stipend and appointed a commission of “learned men and mariners” to examine this plan. For five years Columbus followed the Spanish court from city to city, waiting for a final decision. Negotiations broke down in early 1492 when the king and queen balked at what they considered Columbus’ excessive demands. With Columbus preparing to take his ideas to the king of France, however, a last-minute appeal to Isabella resulted in an agreement among the parties. In two “capitulations,” excerpts of which I would like you to read (you can read the first one by clicking here [read starting at "The Capitulation" on pg. 442 and all of pg. 443] and the second one by clicking here), Ferdinand and Isabella in April 1492 promised Columbus a large share of any economic benefits that might accrue from his voyage and extensive authority over any lands he might discover. Preparations could now begin for Columbus’ historic voyage that departed the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492.

Columbus never realized his dreams of wealth and power. After his discoveries failed to produce either the gold or rich commercial opportunities he had promised, he lost favor at court, and from 1495 onward the monarchs ignored the agreements they had approved in 1492. Columbus made his forth and last voyage across the Atlantic in 1502, four years before he died in Valladolid, Spain, still pressing his claims with the Crown and still convinced he had reached Asia.

After you read the two documents I would like you all to consider and discuss the following: What assumptions underlie Columbus’ and the monarchs’ statements about the authority they expect to exercise in the land Columbus discovers? What kinds of authority will Columbus exercise over the lands he discovers? What role will be played by the monarchs? What kind of material benefits do Columbus and the monarchs expect to gain from Columbus’ promised discoveries? How will these gains be divided? How do the stated and implied goals of Columbus’ enterprise compare with the motives attributed by Gomes Eannes de Azurara to Prince Henry the Navigator? Your thoughts…