Christopher Columbus

Born in Genoa in 1451, Christopher Columbus became a sailor, trader, and navigator before winning support from the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella for a westward voyage across the Atlantic. In 1492, he reached islands in the Caribbean, believing he had found a route to Asia. He went on to make four voyages under the Spanish crown and became one of the most famous figures of the Age of Exploration.

Columbus wrote letters and kept records that helped spread news of his journeys across Europe. Those voyages had enormous historical impact: they opened the way for sustained contact between Europe and the Americas and for the expansion of the Spanish empire. They also marked the beginning of violent conquest, colonization, and suffering for Indigenous peoples, which is why Columbus remains such a debated and contested historical figure.

He died in 1506 in Valladolid, Spain. Over the centuries, Columbus has been remembered in dramatically different ways — as a daring navigator, a symbol of European expansion, and a figure whose legacy must be understood alongside the human cost of colonization.