This chapter explores the historical backdrop of Christopher Columbus's voyages, focusing on the population dynamics and disparities between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres in 1491. It highlights the grim realities of late Middle Ages Europe, characterized by plague and conflict, which set the stage for Columbus's explorations and their far-reaching consequences.
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Episode notes
This episode is a remastered and slightly revised version of the first of five on Christopher Columbus, the “Admiral of the Ocean Sea.” The episode discusses why Columbus should figure in to The History of the Americans in the first place, the state of Europe in 1491, how it changed after Columbus’s discovery, why it was a European who connected the hemisphere rather than an Asian, American Indian, African, or Muslim, and how it came that Columbus got the idea and built his proposal – a medieval venture “pitch deck” – to raise the money for his venture.
The Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493 (referred to in the episode):
Selected references for this episode (Commission earned for Amazon purchases through the episode notes on our website)
