Notes

As you may have read in our past papers, Italian sailor "Christopher Columbus" went In 1483, and approached the royal court of Portugal and presented his idea of sailing to King John II. King John rejected Columbus, having conferred with other explorers and mariners, claiming that the idea was unthinkable and unrealistic. Thus dismissed, Columbus sought out our Queen Isabella of Spain. Attempting to convince Ferdinand and Isabella of his intended journey left them with many questions. They have not, however, rejected his proposal. Queen Isabella is quite impressed with Columbus and his presentation. The King and Queen strongly desired a chance to catch up with the power and influence of their Portuguese neighbors, and Columbus’s plan—if it succeeded—offered this chance. Soon agreeing to finance and support his expedition. It has been many years at many courts, but Christopher Columbus has finally convinced a nation to support his journey across the Atlantic. Columbus states he wants to "sail west across the Atlantic to find the East Indies in Asia". Apparently there are lots of spices and gold there. Columbus promises to bring riches back for the queen if she would help pay for his ships and crew. He also promises to claim new lands for Spain. Our Queen has purchased three ships for Columbus and he has named them the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. Columbus is hiring about 90 sailors to help with this voyage. The Santa María is larger than the other two ships so that is the one Columbus chooses to sail himself. Columbus and his new crew are now going to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. He sets sail August 3, 1492, and I will continue to provide any other information on this journey