Christopher Columbus: The Navigator's Life and Legacy

Christopher Columbus, a Genoese navigator, convinced the Spanish monarchs to fund his expedition across the Atlantic in search of a western ocean route to the spice markets in the East Indies. In 1492, he made contact with the Taino Lucayan people in the Caribbean island known as Guanahani, now the Bahamas. Columbus was a self-taught scholar, well-read in classical and contemporary texts, with a particular interest in geography and cosmology. Despite mistakenly believing he had reached Asia, his voyages opened up the transatlantic world, transforming the lives of people on both sides of the Atlantic forever. His actions, including capturing indigenous people and claiming their lands for the Spanish crown, set a precedent for European colonization and contributed to the ongoing legacy of colonialism in the Americas.