What Are The Pros And Cons Of Christopher Columbus Voyages

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Christopher Columbus has gone down in history as a famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) explorer and discoverer of the New World. However, few people know more about Columbus than what is presented in elementary school. Therefore, this paper will attempt to evaluate the accomplishments and hindrances of the voyages undertaken by Columbus to the New World and evaluate insights gained from firsthand accounts of these voyages.
Columbus, born in Italy as Cristoforo Colombo, had lived in Portugal for many years before his voyages to the New World. There he and his brother were cartographers, Columbus’s brother making the maps and Columbus using his charm and wit as salesman. In the early 1480’s Columbus somehow managed to marry the daughter of a former governor and aristocratic noble; however, his wife soon died which left Columbus to care for his son. Soon, Columbus approached the king of Portugal Joao II, also known as John, and proposed he lead an expedition to find a new route to the Indies. Portugal was a nation of seafarers and experts in navigation, so …show more content…
On Christmas Day, while exploring the surrounding islands, the Santa Maria ran aground. Despite their best efforts to lighten the load of the ship, she started to break apart. Luckily, natives and the crew of the Santa Maria were able to unload most of the contents of the ship, however, Columbus knew that he could not fit all of the contents of the Santa Maria and the extra men on to the Nina. Unfortunately, Martin Pinzon, a captain of the Pinta, separated off on his own to explore Cuba and the surrounding islands in order to find gold which meant the Pinta was no longer near to help. Columbus had no choice but to leave the men there to start a settlement until help could come back and retrieve them. In retrospect, this was a recipe for disaster, however, it was the first attempt at
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