In 2012, I wrote this essay for a contest by the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and submitted it, unsure of what would happen. I was rather surprised when I received a letter nearly six months later that I was second place in the state, only two points away from going to the Regionals.
“How did the faith and courage of Christopher Columbus give to mankind a new world?”
Imagine you’re standing on the grand, marble stone steps of the Lincoln Memorial, thinking about all of the great things that President Lincoln accomplished before his death. He was the man who after all signed the Emancipation Proclamation that stated that all the slaves in the states were to be freed. Perhaps it’s not a famous man like President Lincoln but your great, great grandfather who bravely fought in World War II and now has a plaque in his honor in some great hall. Whoever it may be, you must think, what do they all have in common? It is these things: faith, indomitable spirit, and courage. They come together and shape the true character in a man. Many, many men and women alike have portrayed true character and courage to reach a goal. If you can recall the countless names of the men and women who have reached out and made history in the United States of America, you must know that they had to have high faith, indomitable spirit, and courage. Of course, the United States and all of North and South America wouldn’t be where it was now if it weren’t for a man named Christopher Columbus. Maybe to you he is known as the explorer who sailed from Spain and found the Americas but he is more than that. He is a man who made his mark on the world.
Not much of Columbus’s childhood is known. It is believed he was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. Columbus came from a middle class family and had little education. His father was known to be a wool weaver and also owned a cheese stand in which Columbus worked in as a child. However, as many other young men his age did, he began his life as a sailor. Oblivious to Columbus, this is where his dream began. By the time he was an adult, he had an avid experience in sailing. Columbus came back home and married “Dona” Filipa Moniz Perestrela and had his first child, Diego Colón. Sadly, his wife died at the birth of Diego Colón.
Now for some time, there had been discussion of a westward route to Asia by sea. After his wife’s death, Columbus became interested in this idea and studied books and maps on the matter. He later married Beatriz Enríquez de Arana and he had a second son, Ferdinand Columbus. In 1484, Columbus sought support from King John II of Portugal to voyage across the high seas in search of a westward route. Unfortunately for Columbus, he refused the request.
This undoubtedly offered Columbus frustration. Even so, he refused to give up and after an innumerable amount of effort and time he eventually found support from King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. They made an agreement that Columbus would receive ten percent of the profit made from the voyage(s) and also to have the authority to govern the lands he discovered.
Columbus is known to make four important voyages in his lifetime. As he sailed bravely across the seas, it had not likely crossed his mind just how famous these voyages would make him in the future or how it would precisely affect mankind. Some would say he is only renowned for being the man out of the many other explorers who happened to be lucky enough to come upon the Americas. To others, however, it is not just a coincidence.
On his first voyage he took three ships, the Pinta, Niña, and the Santa Marìa. After several days at sea, they spotted landfall and before long they landed at an island in the Bahamas which Columbus named San Salvador. Believing he had found India, he called the natives there Indians.
On his second voyage, he brought with him 17 ships with 1500 men. He explored five different islands before coming to Cuba, which he thought was actually China. He attempted to govern the natives who lived there but was unsuccessful. Therefore, he journeyed back to Spain to report to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand five months later.
On May, 1498, Columbus was once again approved to take on a third voyage. He took with him six ships and before long he landed in Hispaniola on December 5. Sailing further, he sailed downward making landfall in Trinidad. The next day they reached the mainland, accordingly, discovering South America. The expedition then sailed across the Caribbean to Santa Domingo, meeting an unexpected hindrance: The colonists of Santa Domingo were in revolt. Since Columbus had requested that he governs the lands he discovers, he tried to do so but was soon forced to face the royal commissioner Francisco de Bobadilla. He detached him from the government and sent Columbus back to Spain in chains, only to be freed by royal command.
Columbus adorned a fourth voyage on May, 1502. He sailed back to Santa Domingo, but this time, he was denied permission to land, despite the coming of foul weather. Columbus was right being worried because as it was, a terrible hurricane passed through bestowing chaos through the area. When the storm elapsed, Columbus only found minor damage on his four aging ships and soon afterwards they were able to set sail again. Regrettably for Columbus and his crew, they were not fortuned with ideal weather. The four ships, weather beaten and old, would be a challenge to sail back to Spain. As a result, Columbus had to make a decision. He decided to abandon his four ships and so they became marooned in Jamaica for a little over a year.
Columbus did eventually make it back to Spain and lived to be fifty-four years old. He died on May 20, 1506 in Valladolid, Spain. Although he wasn’t essentially the first to discover the Americas, he was the first to bring back the news to the rest of the world that there was a new world out there, across the seas. When Columbus died, he died believing he had found Asia.
Because of Columbus’s discovery of the New World, the era of exploration and colonization began. Europeans migrated to the Americas, colonizing Canada, the United States, Mexico and the South American nations. For Europe, it was a substantial discovery because not only did it prove that there was land among Europe and Asia, but it endowed a possible new life for those who wanted it.
Nonetheless, Christopher Columbus was a brave man with a great mission. Regardless of the difficulties he faced he never gave up. He had to face rejection for funds to take on his first voyage; he had to conquer sickness, unpleasant weather and the many other hardships that transpired while sailing; he had to confront rebellious colonists. There was likely an hour when Columbus felt like giving up, but he didn’t. He persevered. We wouldn’t be where we were today if it weren’t for him. He gave us the intuition to create history because he created history himself. With his high faith and indomitable courage, he gave to us a new world where there was opportunity to build a story, a story about mankind, where sufferings and triumphs shaped us into today’s society.
Bibliography:
Rosenberg, Matt. “Christopher Columbus: A Biography of the Explorer of the Americas.” Education. Geography. About.com. geography.about.com/od/christophercolumbus/a/Columbus.htm
Ghare, Madhavi. “Christopher Columbus Biography and Life Story.” Buzzle.com. www.buzzle.com/articles/christopher-columbus-biography-and-story.html
Grolier Family Encyclopedia, Vol. 5. “Columbus, Christopher.” Pp. 114-116
“Christopher Columbus: The Untold Story.” Understanding Prejudice. Social Phycology Network. Understandingprejudice.org. www.understandingprejudice.org/nativei9/columbus.htm
Minster, Christopher. “The First New World Voyage of Christopher Columbus (1492). Education. Latin American History. About.com. latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/latinamericatheconquest/p/columbusfirst.htm
“Christopher Columbus Fourth Voyage.” Columbus Day. Columbus Day.com. columbus-day.212.net/the-fourth-voyage.php
“Christopher Columbus Death.” Columbus Day. Columbusday.com. columbus-day.212.net/Christopher-columbus-death/php
“Christopher Columbus Biography.” Columbus Day. 123Holiday.net. columbus-day.123holiday.net/Christopher_columbus.html
