Christopher

            In 1451, a boy named Christopher Columbus (See Appendix A), who was born in Genoa, became a sailor and discoverer of a new continent. He spoke Castilian with a little Portuguese. Although he received little education, he worked with his father, who was a weaver and had a wine shop. During Columbus' youth, he sailed in between his looming duties, shipping and receiving wool and wine for his father. When Columbus was in his twenties, he joined other exporting fleets, traveling around Spain, to England, Portugal, the Mediterranean Sea, and to West Africa (see Appendix B). In his youth he wanted to find easier ways to trade. Columbus thought of reaching Asia by sailing West. He worked with a map maker, and "Became obsessed with the idea of reaching the Spice Islands via Western route", (Sources of the West, 187). This is a goal he hoped to accomplish when he became a sailor. During his youthful sailing days, his ship was sunk by pirates on a trip to Portugal (Parry, 344)! .
             He took refuge in Portugal where he was left poor. After his youth days had ended, it was time to find his profession as a man. .
             In the 15th Century Spain, trade was a primary source of their economy. The Turks conquered Constantinople and the Eastern Mediterranean. Land routes were restricted from Europe to Asia. Spaniards knew that the Earth was round, and scientists backed the idea. Spain was in need of new sources of wealth. With 98% of Spain poor peasant (Zinn, 2), the idea of finding a western sea trade route was not improbable. It would open up a new trade route, and bring wealth to the suffering country. .
             When Columbus was in Portugal, he decided to propose his idea of sailing West to monarchs. He brought his ideas to Portugal first. They rejected his idea because of his underestimates of the size of the ocean. Columbus thought it was 25% smaller than what it really was. Next, Columbus brought his ideas to Spain. Here they turned him down for seven years because ships were already rounding Africa.