Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Italy formerly known as Republic Genoa to Domenico Colombo. Colombo was a weaver who owned a cheese stand in which his son Christopher served as a helper in Savona and Genoa. Christopher's mother was Susanna Fontanarossa while his brothers included Giacomo, Bartolomeo and Giovanni Pellegrino. Bartolomeo, his brother worked in Lisbon in a workshop during his adulthood. Despite the fact that Christopher's formal education is less known, he received elementary reading and writing skills in Italian schools (Goodrich 11). He spent most of his time helping his father to weave especially after acquiring basic skills.
Just like many other children who were brought up in a seaport, he had passion and interest for sea life and soon he started a seafaring life at an early age of only fourteen years. It is important to note that Columbus never did his early writing in his original language. As an explorer and navigator, Christopher argues in one of his written works that he had already gone to the shore by the time he was only ten years. The Columbus family relocated to Savona where Domenico, Christopher's father took charge of a hotel.
On the other hand, Columbus was a hired by a ship in support of Rene I of Anjou who was attempting to capture the Kingdom of Naples.Christopher continued to pursue his dreams and in 1473, he started serving as a business agent for Di Negro, Centurione and Spinola families. He later claimed that he made a trip to a Genoese colony, Chios. Notably, Christopher participated in a tightly secured convoy that was sent to Northern Europe to carry precious cargo.
It was during this time, 1477 that he docked in Galway, Ireland, Bristol and in Iceland (Goodrich 14). One of the major events in the life of Christopher Columbus are the many positions he held especially in shipping. He made several historical trips and made claims of having received expedition letters, a fact many people doubt. He met his brother Bartolomeo in Lisbon as he carried on his trade. Christopher Columbus married Filipa Moniz, daughter to Bartolomeu Perestrello, who was the governor of Porto Santo and a nobleman in Portuguese. It is speculated that Christopher had his first born son, Diego Columbus in 1479 or 1480.
Other researchers have also argued that Christopher's wife died in 1485 while others allege that he abandoned his first wife after meeting a mistress in 1487 in Spain. This mistress was aged twenty years named Beatriz Enriquez de Arana.In early 1481, Columbus travelled to the current Ghana formerly known as the Portuguese fort of Elmina in West Africa. Columbus was very much attracted to African riches like gold, one of the most precious mineral. Like his colleagues, Columbus had interest in learning, more about ocean currents and winds from pilots and sailors who were locally available.
Columbus made a number of observations including the Canaries Current which is an ocean phenomenon. His commence to cross the Atlantic was attributed to the knowledge he received concerning far south in Portugal. This led to his desire to navigate to the eastern side by going in the opposite direction, western side (enterprise of the Indies).Columbus received support and inspiration from a number of sources including his Portugal marriage link. Although, he hailed from a poor family, he directly had a bond with the Portuguese courts, a factor that favored him during navigation. This marriage connection gave him an opportunity to gain access to his father-in-law's private information including but not limited to maps, wealth information, interviews, ocean current charts, and more information about particular objects which had been moved to the Madeira Islands coast.
Additionally, Columbus interaction with the Genoese community augmented the development of Columbus' plan together with several expeditions to Africa. His numerous trips to Africa and thirst for knowledge allowed him to gain a better understanding of Canaries Current. It is also believed that Columbus might have heard stories during his navigation to England and other Northern regions. He is remembered for his outstanding ability to harvest information around the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and interlacing it with theories from books in a unique way compared to his colleagues.
Columbus made his first voyage in 1492 from Palos de la Frontera and later made other voyages until November 7, 1504 in Spain when he completed his fourth and last voyage. It is important to note that Columbus and his crew went through thick and thin throughout the four voyages and some of the experiences greatly endangered their lives including hunger, storms among others (Goodrich 180).As a governor, he was considered to be tyrannical. He was however weak and could not govern well due to arthritis infection and ophthalmia. He therefore asked for governance assistance from the Court of Spain.
However, Francisco de Bobadilla, stretched his governance beyond what Christopher had requested gaining total control from the time he was appointed, 1499 to 1504 when he died. At the age of fifty three years, Christopher Columbus was arrested as a result of false testimonies against him as he eagerly waited to get to Spain. It was alleged that Columbus had used barbaric governance approach in Hispaniola. Together with his brothers, Columbus was detained for weeks before his release was ordered by King Ferdinand. It was after this release that the royal family agreed to restore everything owned by the Columbus brothers including complete funding of the fourth voyage.Columbus also grew religiously citing the conversion of non-believers as one of his major reasons for navigation.
He died at the age of fifty five in May 1506 with considerable wealth that was accumulated in Hispaniola during his governance (Goodrich 187). He died believing that most of lifetime journeys were mainly along East Coast of Asia. Columbus died of heart attack which was caused by arthritis that affected him during his reign as a governor.
