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Christopher Columbus - Explorer
(1451 - 1506) |
Famous for his expedition to the New World in
1492, Christopher Columbus made three more visits.
Sailing under the Spanish flag, he visited several
of the islands in the Caribbean and started
a few Settlements. His fortunes in the Caribbean
were varied. He rose to the heights of being
a Governor, and sank to the lows of being a
castaway.
This page details facts about Christopher Columbus's
life and the events that shaped his history.
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Christopher Columbus the Explorer
- Fun Facts for Kids ! |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 1: |
Christopher Columbus was born in 1451
in the port of Genoa, Italy. He had a sister, Bianchinetta,
and three younger brothers, Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino
and Giacomo. His father, Domenico, was a wool weaver and
merchant; his mother, Susanna Fontanarossa, was the daughter
of a woollen merchant. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 2: |
Little is known of his early life, although
it is suspected that his education was limited. Christopher
Columbus went to sea as a teenager and, in 1470, his family
moved to Savona. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 3: |
Following a battle in 1476, Christopher
Columbus was shipwrecked off the coast of Portugal. He swam
ashore and joined his brother Bartolomeo, who was working
in Lisbon as a Cartographer. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 4: |
Christopher Columbus sailed to Iceland
in 1477 and by 1478 was working as a merchant for the Genoese
firm Centurioni. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 5: |
In 1479 Christopher Columbus married
Felipa Perestrello Moniz, a member of a noble Portuguese
family. She was the daughter of Bartolomeu Perestrello,
an explorer who had played a part in the discovery of Madeira.
In 1480 they had a son Diego. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 6: |
Christopher Columbus spent the years
between 1482 and 1485 trading along the West African Coast.
In 1484 he made an unsuccessful attempt to gain royal patronage,
from King John II of Portugal, for his plan to find a quicker
trade route to the Indies by crossing the Atlantic. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 7: |
Christopher Columbus wife, Felipa Perestrello
Moniz, died of consumption (a wasting disease also known
as pulmonary tuberculosis) in 1485, and Christopher Columbus
moved to Cadiz in Spain. A year later he was introduced
to Dona Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, an orphan who was from
a noble Spanish family in Cordoba. He began a relationship
with her and in 1488 his second son, Ferdinand, was born. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 8: |
Christopher Columbus
continued to seek support for his plans to cross the
Atlantic but had his proposals declined by King Ferdinand
of Spain, King Charles VIII of France and King Henry
VII of England. Following intercession by Juan Perez,
a priest who had acted as confessor to Queen Isabella
of Spain, King Ferdinand finally agreed to finance and
supply ships for the expedition.
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Christopher Columbus
Fact 9: |
Three ships were
supplied to Christopher Columbus for the expedition,
the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. The Santa Maria
was a Carrack which displayed the flag of the Admiral,
Christopher Columbus. The Nina and Pinta were both caravels.
The Nina was commanded by Vicente Yanez Pinzon, the
Pinta was commanded by his brother Martin Alonso Pinzon.
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Picture
of King Henry VII of England
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Christopher Columbus
Fact 10: |
Christopher Columbus and his small fleet
left Palos, Spain on 3rd August 1492 and headed for the
Canary Islands. After restocking and making repairs, he
set off from San Sebastian de la Gomera on 6th September
1492, heading into the Atlantic Ocean. |
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Christopher Columbus
Fact 11: |
Christopher Columbus
and his fleet had been at sea five weeks when the
crew became agitated that they hadn’t reached land.
They were worried that their lack of provisions
would prevent them from returning home. He managed
to calm the situation and on October 12th 1492 land
was eventually sighted by a lookout on the Pinta.
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Christopher Columbus
Fact 12: |
On October 12th
1492, Christopher Columbus landed on Watlings Island,
in what is now known as the Bahamas, and named it
San Salvador. He believed that he’d reached the
passage to India and China.
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Christopher Columbus
Fact 13: |
Christopher Columbus
then sailed on to Cuba, where he landed on 28th
October 1492, before heading southeast to, what
we now as, Haiti and which he named Hispaniola.
On December 25th, Christmas Day, the Santa Maria
ran aground on Hispaniola and was wrecked.
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Picture
of the Santa Maria
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Christopher Columbus
Fact 14: |
Christopher Columbus established
a small settlement on the north coast of Hispaniola
which he called La Navidad. It consisted of 39 men
that he had left behind and a fort made by utilising
timber and provisions from the wrecked Santa Maria. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact 15: |
On 16th
January 1493 Christopher Columbus headed
back to Spain aboard the Nina. The Nina
and the Pinta were separated during a storm
and, following a stop at the Azores, Columbus
sailed into Lisbon. He finally arrived back
in Palos, Spain on 23rd March 1493, bringing
news of the new world to Europe.
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Christopher
Columbus
Fact 16: |
On 25th
September 1493 Christopher Columbus embarked
on his second voyage to the new world. His
fleet consisted of a minimum of 16 ships
and approximately 1500 men, one of whom
was
Juan Ponce de Leon. The purpose of this
expedition was to colonise the area as well
as bring home whatever riches they could
find.
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Picture of Juan Ponce de Leon
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Christopher
Columbus
Fact 17: |
After stopping, once
again, in the Canary Islands, Christopher
Columbus set off into the Atlantic.
On this occasion he followed a more
southerly route than before and arrived
at an island in the Lesser Antilles
on 3rd November 1493. He named the island
Dominica. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 18: |
Christopher Columbus arrived back at
Hispaniola on 23rd November and continued on to La Navidad.
On arrival, he found the fort had been destroyed and the
men killed. On 2nd January 1494 Christopher Columbus founded
a new settlement, in modern day Dominican Republic, which
he named La Isabela after the Spanish Queen. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 19: |
On 2nd February Christopher Columbus
sent a fleet of 12 ships, laden with cargoes including
gold, slaves and spices, back to Spain. The fleet led
by Antonio de Torres, also carried news of the demise
of La Navidad. Meanwhile he took a few ships and explored
the coast of Cuba and, on 5th May 1494, landed on the
island of Jamaica. After unsuccessful searches for gold,
and clashes with the Carib and Arawak natives, Christopher
Columbus decided that Hispaniola held the best spoils. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 20: |
On 10th March 1496 Christopher
Columbus left two of his brothers in charge and
left La Isabela. He set sail for Spain, arriving
in Cadiz on 11th June. He began petitioning King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella for a third voyage
almost immediately. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact 21: |
On 30th May 1498, once again
backed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella,
Christopher Columbus set off from Sanlucar de
Barrameda on his third voyage to the new world.
His small fleet consisted of six ships, three
of which were loaded with supplies for the settlement
in Hispaniola. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact 22: |
On 21st June 1498, after
a brief stop at the Canary Islands, Christopher
Columbus sent the supply ships on to Hispaniola
while he took the three remaining ships
to the Cape Verde Islands. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact 23: |
Christopher Columbus
left the Cape Verde Islands on 4th July
and headed across the Atlantic. He arrived
at Trinidad before moving on to the
mainland of South America where he landed
in what is now known as Venezuela. It
was on this journey that he discovered
the existence of a variation between
geographic north and magnetic north. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 24: |
Noting the huge
amount of fresh water that flowed
from the Orinoco River into the
Atlantic, Christopher Columbus realised
that he had discovered a new continent. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 25: |
Christopher
Columbus headed back to Hispaniola
where he found the settlers
had rebelled as they were not
happy with the way he and his
family were managing the settlements.
Columbus attempted to stem the
rebellion in a heavy handed
manner which included hangings. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 26: |
News
of the problems reached
Spain and Francisco de Bobadilla
was despatched to investigate.
He decided that Christopher
Columbus and his family
were at fault and had them
chained and sent back to
Spain. They arrived in Cadiz
aboard the La Gorda in October
1500. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 27: |
King
Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella ordered their
release, however they
decided that Christopher
Columbus was an unsuitable
Governor and appointed
Nicolas de Ovando as
the new Governor of
the West Indies. Columbus
was permitted to make
a fourth voyage to the
new world, and in October
1501 headed to Seville
to make the necessary
preparations. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 28: |
In early May 1502
Christopher Columbus,
accompanied by his
brother Bartolomeo
and son Ferdinand,
left Cadiz with
a small fleet of
four ships. On 15th
June, following
the fastest crossing
to date, he landed
on Martinique. He
sailed on to Hispaniola,
only to be denied
entrance to Santo
Domingo by the new
Governor Ovando. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact 29: |
Continually
searching for
the strait that
would lead him
to the Indies,
Christopher
Columbus resumed
his exploration
of the Caribbean
taking in Jamaica,
Cuba, Honduras,
Nicaragua and
Costa Rica. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact 30: |
Christopher
Columbus
explored
the Panama
area and
attempted
to set up
a fort at
the entrance
of the Belen
River. His
plan was
thwarted
by Indian
resistance
and the
condition
of his ships
which were
damaged
and suffering
from woodworm.
Reduced
to only
two ships,
Christopher
Columbus
headed for
Hispaniola,
however
his damaged
ships only
managed
to get to
Jamaica
where, in
June 1503,
Christopher
Columbus
found himself
a castaway. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact 31: |
In July
1503 two
of the castaways,
Diego Mendez
and Bartolomeo,
set off
for Hispaniola
in a canoe.
They successfully
negotiated
the open
sea and
tried to
gain assistance
for Christopher
Columbus.
Unfortunately
Ovando,
who had
little respect
for Christopher
Columbus,
was in no
hurry to
help. It
was June
1504 before
assistance
finally
arrived.
Christopher
Columbus
reached
Hispaniola
on August
13 before
sailing
for Spain
and arriving
at Sanlucar
on 7th November
1504. |
Christopher
Columbus
Fact
32: |
During
his
final
years
Christopher
Columbus
became
disillusioned,
believing
that
he had
been
badly
used
and
poorly
rewarded.
He made
many
attempts
to have
this
rectified
by King
Ferdinand
without
success. |
Christopher Columbus
Fact 33: |
On May 20th 1506 Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid. His remains were initially kept at a Franciscan friary in Valladolid, before being moved on to a monastery in Seville. They were moved to Santo Domingo on Hispaniola in 1542 and to Havana, Cuba in 1795. They were eventually returned to Seville and placed in the Cathedral. |
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Christopher Columbus
Fact 34:
Another set of remains attributed to
Christopher Columbus is held in the Columbus Lighthouse
in Santo Domingo, now part of the Dominican Republic. DNA
testing of the remains in Seville has concluded that they
are genuine, however exhumation of the Santo Domingo remains
has never been allowed which has made verification impossible.
Christopher Columbus
Fact 35:
Columbus Day is a public holiday,
in the United States of America, in commemoration of
Columbus's 1492 voyage to the Americas. In 2020, Columbus
day is October 12. |
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Christopher Columbus
the Explorer (1451 - 1506) Fun Facts Info for Kids
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