He worked with as a draftsman and a book collector. In Lisbon, Christopher met a woman named Felipa Perestrello e Moniz. They were married after a short courtship and in 1480 they had a son who they named Diego. The next few years Columbus went on few voyages and spent most of his time gaining more knowledge by reading books. Felipa belonged to a noble family of Portugal which gave Christopher access to her father's maps and papers. The knowledge he gained led him to his theory. To go east you have to go west. This theory is what started his Enterprise of the Indies.
While studying, Columbus devised a plan to sail west to get to the Indies. His newfound inspiration came from many people he talked to on his journeys and also from his life experiences. Even though Felipa's noble family was poor, they still had connections in the royal court. The only thing left for Columbus to do was to get royal sponsorship from the King and Queen. Columbus finally had the courage to go to King John II and tell the King of his plans. After telling the King his new plan to get to the west, the King refused saying the trip was too expensive. He felt Columbus was only a visionary and wrong about distances and measurements. Columbus went to France and England to gain support from their royal monarchies, but neither country wanted to back up Columbus. Finally in 1491, Columbus presented his idea to the Spanish Court. The King and Queen of Spain offered to assist Columbus on his journey to the west. After negotiating a contract, Columbus now had a way to finally make his dreams come true.
Christopher Columbus was given three ships. The ships were the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. The Nina and the Pinta were about 70 feet long and weighed about 60 tons each. The Santa Maria was about the same length, but weighed about 90 tons. About 90 men went on the journey and all of them were experienced seamen. There were supplies on board such as tools, ropes, planks, nails, whale oil, sulfur, and useful weapons for the long journey ahead.
