| General Note |
- General note - Italian by birth, Columbus--known in Spain as Cristobal Colon--sailed under the Spanish flag in 1492 with the blessings of Ferdinand and Isabela. His mission: to reach Asia by sailing west. The land mass we call America today intervened. On October 12, 1492, he made his landfall in the Bahamas. He died thinking he had reached the east, but is known today as the discoverer of America. Italian explorer and discoverer of America, born at or near Benoa in 1451; settled in Lisbon, Portugal (circa 1477), where he married and had a son named Diego. Believing that the earth was round, he conceived the idea of reaching Asia by sailing west. He submitted this proposal to the King of Portugal, suggesting that he dispatch an expedition. When he was refused by the Portuguese monarch, he approached Ferdinand and Isabela of Spain, who, after many refusals, finally agreed to the proposal. Columbus sailed on April 7, 1492 with three vessels; the Santa Maria, his flagship which he commanded with Juan de la Casa as his pilot, the Niña, and the Pinta. On October 12, 1492, he landed at one of the Bahamas Islands (Guanahani, renamed by Columbus San Salvador and presently identified with Watling Island). He died in Villadolid in poverty and neglect on May 20 (?), 1506, still believing that he had discovered coast of Asia. Reproduced painting in the photo is found at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
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