author
Christopher Columbus
1451–1506
An Italian navigator sailing for Spain, he made four Atlantic voyages that reshaped world history and linked Europe more directly with the Americas. His life remains a subject of fascination and debate because his expeditions opened the way for exploration, conquest, and lasting cultural change.
3 Audiobooks
The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci, and Other Documents Illustrative of His Career
by Amerigo Vespucci, Bartolomé de las Casas, Christopher Columbus
Amerikan löytöretken päiväkirja
by Christopher Columbus
About the author
Born in Genoa in 1451, Christopher Columbus became a seafarer and map-minded navigator long before he won support from the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. In 1492, after years of lobbying for backing, he set sail west across the Atlantic hoping to reach Asia by a new route.
Instead, his voyages brought him to islands in the Caribbean, and he went on to make four expeditions for Spain between 1492 and 1504. Although he believed he had reached lands near Asia, his journeys marked the beginning of sustained European contact with the Americas and changed the course of global history.
Columbus died in Valladolid in 1506. His legacy is deeply contested: he is remembered both as a daring navigator and as a figure tied to the violence, exploitation, and colonization that followed in the wake of his voyages.