COLUMBUS
141
COLUMBUS
li Iters written in 1474 by Paolo Toscanelli, a renowned
I'liysicist of Florence, to Columbus and a ineinbor of
I 111' liou.sehold of King Alfonso V of Portugal, has been
- iil:iikeil on the ground of the youth of Columbus, al-
ili.iugh they bear signs of authenticity. The experi- ences and researches referred to fit in satisfactorily with the subsequent achievements of Columbus. For the rest, the early part of Columbus's life is inter- \vi)ven with incidents, most of which are unsupported Iv evidence, though quite possible. His marriage linut 1475 to a Portuguese lady whose name is given
Cell of Prior Ju.in Perez. La Rabida
imetimes as Doiia Felipa Moniz and sometimes as I >nna Felipa Perestrella seems certain.
( 'olumbus seems to have arrived in Portugal about 1471, although 1474 is also mentioned and supported I A certain indications. He vainly tried to obtain the -ii|i|)ort of the King of Portugal for his scheme to dis- 1 liver the Far East by sailing westward, a scheme -upposed to have been suggested by his brother Bar- tlinlomew, who is said to have been earning a liveli- liniid at Lisbon by designing marine charts. Colum- liiis went to Spain in 14S.5, and probably the first .i-;<istance he obtained there was from the Duke of Medina Celi, Don Luis de la Cerda, for whom he per- I' irnied some service that brought him a compensation I .t :i(J(X) maravedis in May, 1487. He lived about two yars at the home of the duke and made unsuccessful ■ iideavours to interest him in his scheme of maritime ' xploration. His attempts to secure the help of the i 1 1 ike of Medina Sidonia were equally unproductive of rrvults. No blame attaches to these noblemen for de- I lining to undertake an enterprise which only rulers of nations could properly carry out. Between 148.5 and 1 ISS Columbus began his relations with Dona Beatriz 1 jiriquez de ,\rana, or Harana, of a good family of the rity of Cordova, from which sprang his much beloved -oil Fernando, next to Christopher and his brother I'.artholomew the most gifted of the Colombos.
Late in 1485 or early in 1486 Columbus appeared t A ice before the court to submit his plans and w-hilc iIm Duke of Medina Celi may have a.ssisted him to
ine extent, the chief support came from the royal t n asurer, Alonzo de Quintanilla, Friar Antonio de Marchena (confounded by Irving with Father Perez 'I La Rabida), and Diego de Dcza, Bishop of Placen- na. Columbus himself declared that these two priests A 'TO always his faithful friends. Marchena also ob- 1, lined for him the valuable sympathy of Cardinal I Kinzalez de Mendoza. Through the influence of the.se men the Government appointed a junta or commission of ecclesia.stics that met at Salamanca late in 1486 or I arly in 1487, in the Dominican convent of SanEstc- lian to investigate the scheme, which they finally re- jicted. The commission had no connexion with the ciUbrated University of Salamanca, but wa.s under the L'liidance of the prior of Prado. It seems that Colum- bus gave but scant and unsatisfactory information to
the commission, probably through fear that his ideas
might be improperly made use of and he be robbed of
the glory and advantages that he expected to derive
from his project. This may account for the rejection
of his proposals. The prior of Prado was a Hierony-
mite, while Columbus was under the especial protec-
tion of the Dominicans. Among his early friends in
Spain was Luis de Santangel, whom Irving calls "re-
ceiver of the ecclesiastical revenues of Aragon", and
who afterwards advanced to the queen the funds nec-
essary for the first voyage. If Santangel was receiver
of the church revenues and probably treasurer and
administrator, it was the Church that furnished the
means (17,()tJ0 ducats) for the admiral's first voyage.
It would be unjust to blame King Ferdinand for de- clining the proposals of Columbus after the adverse report of the Salamanca commission, which was based upon objections drawn from Seneca and Ptolemy rather than upon the opinion of St. Augustine in the " De Civitate Dei". The king was then preparing to deal the final blow to Moorish domination in Spain after the struggle of seven centuries, and his financial resources were taxed to the utmost. Moreover, he was not easily carried away by enthusiasm and, though we now recognize the practical value of the plans of I olumbus, at the close of the fifteenth century it seemed dubious, to say the least, to a cool-headed ruler, wont to attend first to immediate necessities. The crushing of the Moorish power in the peninsula was then of greater moment than the search after dis- tant lands for which, furthermore, there were not the means in the royal treasury. LTnder these conditions Columbus, always in financial straits himself and sup- ported by the liberality of friends, bethought himself of the rulers of PVance and England. In 14.SS his brother Bartholomew, as faithful as sagacious, tried to induce one or the
other of them to ^
accept the plans • ^ •
of Christopher, .
but failed. The C /^ .J" .
idea was too * •' *
novel to appeal „^
to either. Henry y\ y^
VII of England was too cautious .H'V'" H f A PA/^. / to entertain pro- ./l/" t L 'l-t. fr ^ y posals from a /
comparatively Sigsatcre of Columbus
unknown .sea- farer of a foreign nation, and Charles VIII of Franco was too much involved in Italian affairs. The pros- pect was disheartening. Nevertheless, Columbus, with the assistance of his friends, concluded to make another attempt in Spain. He proceeded to court again in 1491, taking with him his son Diego. The court being then in camp before Granada, the last Moorish stronghold, the time could not have been more inopportune. Another jimta was called before Granada while the siege was going on, but the commis- sion again reported unfavourably. This is not sur- prising, as Ferdinand of Aragon could not undertake schemes that would involve a great outlay, and divert his attention from the momentous task he was en- gaged in. Columbus always directed his proposals to the king and as yet the queen had taken no official notice of them, as she too was heart and soul in the en- terprise destined to restore Spain wholly to Christian rule.
Tlie junta before Granada took place towards the end of 1491 , and its decision was such a blow to Colum- bus that he loft the court and wandered away with his boy. Before leaving, however, he witnessed the fall of Granada. 2 January, 1492. His intention was to re- turn to Cordova and then, perhaps, to go to France. On foot and reduced almost to beggary, he reached the Franciscan convent of La Rdbida probaVjly in
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