Christopher Columbus 1451-1506

Born in the trading city of Genoa, Italy, Columbus first went to sea when he was nine or ten years old. In 1476, he was wounded in a sea battle off the coast of Portugal. His Genoese ship was sunk but he was able to swim ashore. He remained in Portugal for the next ten years, making his living as a chart maker.

Portugal, the leading seafaring nation at that time, was financing expeditions to find a route to the Indies around the west coast of Africa. (The Turks had closed the shorter eastern route to the Indies when they occupied Asia Minor.) Columbus, who believed that the Indies could be reached by sailing west across the Atlantic, sought financial support for an expedition from the King of Portugal. When the Portuguese king refused, Columbus obtained backing from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle of Spain. They provided him with three ships and 100 sailors, conferred on him the title "Admiral of the Ocean Sea", promised that he would be governor of the lands he might discover, and agreed that he would receive a share of the profits that these lands might earn.

Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492. After sailing for 37 days, he reached San Salvador in what are now known as the West Indies on October, 12th.