Voyage to Destiny: Sailing to Success

The incident took place on Wednesday, 10 October , after they had been at sea for over 31 days without seeing land. The sailors, who had been concealing their discontent, now openly threatened insurrection. They had come to believe that Columbus, the foreigner from Genoa, had deceived them; they supposed he was leading them on a journey from which they would never return. Others have stated, after the fact, that at this juncture, Columbus promised the men that they would return if they did not sight land within two or three days Morison 1: The second instance in which the Admiral altered his route was after sunset on 11 October, just a few hours before land was sighted.

For no apparent reason, he gave orders to change direction from west southwest back to the original course of due west Dunn and Kelly He gave no explanation for the change, but it was, nevertheless, an excellent choice. Had he continued on the west southwest course instead of steering due west, he would have missed the island of San Salvador, and would likely have ended up on the deadly reefs along the coast of Long Island in the Caribbean , perhaps never returning to Spain Morison 1: Having made this second course correction, Columbus was then right on target, and Justin time to meet with his destiny—to discover the New Land.

He commanded the night watch to keep an especially sharp lookout because he was confident that land was nearby. In addition to an annuity of 10, maravedis guaranteed by the Sovereigns, the Admiral also promised to give a silk jacket to the first sailor who sighted land Dunn and Kelly He did, however, bring it to the attention of Pedro Gutierrez, who also acknowledged seeing the flickering light. Rodrigo Sanchez was also called on to observe the light, but he claimed he could see nothing from where he was Phillips and Phillips One can only imagine the gratitude and relief they all must have felt, after more than a month of anxious days at sea, when their eyes first saw this obscure little island in the middle of the tropical Caribbean Sea.

It goes without saying that the crews were ecstatic and their respect and admiration for the Admiral soared, literally, overnight. For Columbus, this historic sighting was a rendezvous with destiny. He had proven, in spite of mounting opposition and a lack of faith on the part of his crew, that it was possible to sail westward across the great Atlantic. According to his agreement with the monarchs, Columbus officially became Admiral of the Ocean Sea, simultaneously gaining the titles of Viceroy and Governor of this island at the moment he discovered it.

Professor Hugh Nibley aptly put this celebrated moment into proper perspective when he said: The aim and purpose of all his work and suffering was what happened at 2 a. Impatient and anxious to explore their new discovery, the crew waited through the night, and sailed excitedly to shore at daybreak.

Upon reaching dry ground, the landing party knelt, kissed the sand with tears of joy, and offered prayers of thanks to God. Rising from his knees, the Admiral named the island San Salvador Holy Savior , thus beginning a personal tradition of giving names of religious significance to many newly discovered lands Ferdinand In deference to the crown, Columbus dedicated San Salvador, which lay off the northern coast of Cuba, to the Spanish monarchs.

The arrival of the ships did not go unnoticed by the inhabitants of the island. And all those that I saw were young people, for none did I see of more than 30 years of age. They are very well formed, with handsome bodies and good faces. Later in his journal, Columbus noted: He determined to take six of the islanders with him in order to educate them in Spanish and in the ways of European life. After three days of exploring on San Salvador, the Admiral set sail southward, passing various islands en route to an eventual landing at Cuba on 28 October.

An astonishing reception awaited the Spanish explorers at this port.

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Arriving at a village of about inhabitants 12 leagues from the shore, the men had been greeted with great reverence and adoration: When it came time for the two Spaniards to leave, hundreds of the natives wanted to go with them. This account of native Americans giving reverence to the fair-skinned men whom they believed had come from heaven is intriguing to those who believe in the Book of Mormon.

Virtually all tribes teach of him. He announced to the people that he was born of a virgin. Christopher was so impressed with the spiritual potential of the Indians that he made an immediate plea on their behalf in his journal that day: Columbus spent the entire month of November exploring the northeast coast of Cuba; then, on 5 December , he sailed across the windward passage and safely made his way to the island of Hispaniola. The climate and trees of this new land reminded him so much of Spain that he decided to name it Espanola Dunn and Kelly However, as early as , Peter Martyr, the first New World historian, began referring to the island as Hispaniola, its Latin name, by which it is still known today Morison 1: Haiti and the Dominican Republic are the two countries currently on the island.

This island would soon become the home of the first Spanish colony in the New World. Unfortunately, it would also be the scene of much frustration, tribulation, and humiliation for Columbus. Instead, it was the date of a major calamity on this historic voyage. On the days just prior to Christmas, while the fleet was exploring the shores of Hispaniola, the weather had been turbulent making it difficult for the crew to sleep. Then on Christmas Eve the weather finally turned calm. Unfortunately, the helmsman was also sleepy and turned the tiller over to a boy, even though Columbus had specifically ordered the crew not to allow a boy to steer the ship Dunn and Kelley Disaster struck just before midnight on Christmas Eve as the Santa Maria slid upon a coral reef so gently that the crew was not even aware that they were aground.

Nevertheless, the boy knew what had happened as soon as he felt the rudder lodge in the coral Taviani, The Great Adventure, — Even though it was not a tumultuous wreck and no lives were lost, the resulting leakage was so severe that the ship was unsalvageable. The accident forced Columbus to abandon the wreckage, and he was obliged to leave 39 of his crew in a make-shift fort built from what was left of the ship. This fort, named La Navidad because of their arrival on Christmas day, became the first Spanish colony in the New World, although it came about quite by chance.

After exploring the islands of the Caribbean for three months, Columbus prepared to return to Europe in his substitute flagship, the Nina.

The route the Admiral chose for his homeward journey is yet another example of his being inspired of God. Columbus did not return to Spain by the same southern sea passage that had carried him to America. Instead, he sailed northeast and caught winds coming out of the west that took him back across the Atlantic to the Azores. With no prior trans-Atlantic sailing experience, how did Christopher enjoy such good fortune on both legs of the trip? Login or Sign up. It's been about five hundred years since Christopher Columbus made his first voyage to America.

While many myths and legends have distorted actual events and have disguised the historical Columbus, few stories in history are more familiar than the one of Columbus sailing west for the Indies and finding instead the New World. Indelibly imprinted in our memory is the verse from childhood: But when Columbus set sail, he was also in search of wealth.

After , warfare in eastern Europe and Asia, as well as the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, made overland trade difficult. Europeans began looking for an all-water sea route to India and East Asia. By this time, there were technological innovations, such as improved navigational instruments and sails, which contributed to the creation of ships that enabled Europeans to undertake global exploration.

One result of this was that Portuguese sailors ventured further and further southward along the Atlantic coast of Africa, searching for a new route to Asia. The Portuguese did ultimately reach India in , thereby dramatically expanding Europe's vision of the world.

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Italy, with centuries of seafaring experience to draw on, also produced navigators and cartographers. One of these men was Columbus, a Genoese sailor and map maker, who emigrated to Portugal in , where he married the daughter of a ship's captain who had sailed with the Portuguese exploratory expeditions. Columbus examined the geographical information available in his day; he studied the works of Marco Polo and of Muslim and ancient Greek geographers, and he came to the conclusion that the shortest sea trip to the East would be not southward around Africa, but westward across the Atlantic Ocean.

Columbus calculated the distance from Europe to Japan at fewer than 5, miles - about a quarter of what it actually is - near enough for a ship to arrive without resupplying with food and water. Columbus tried to persuade the Portuguese government to fund his expedition; however, Portugal decided that its African explorations were a better investment.

Columbus was certain that he had reached islands off the eastern coast of Japan; he refused to accept the plain evidence that this was an entirely new world. Although the copper-colored people on the island could not understand the Arabic widely understood throughout Africa and Asia, Columbus convinced himself that he had reached the 'Indies'.

That is why he called the natives 'Indians', and the area the 'West Indies'. Landing in what he thought was the West Indies, Columbus paid little attention to the natural environment of the islands; instead, on each island he visited, he made finding gold a priority. According to the journal he wrote of his voyage, he sought out the gems and metals which the king and queen expected him to bring back to Spain; what he found - not in large quantities - were small pieces of gold jewelry that the native peoples wore.

In order to have his voyage considered a success, Columbus returned to Europe with stories of unimagined riches and newfound lands, of rivers that contained gold and of mines for gold and other metals.

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Thus, the search for gold became a fundamental part of the European exploratory expeditions in the Americas from Columbus' first voyage onward. Columbus led three more voyages across the Atlantic, in , and , during which he explored the Caribbean, the coast of Central America and the northern coast of South America, each time becoming more greedy for gold and treating the natives more savagely.

Along the way, he alternately befriended and did battle with the native peoples he called 'Indians,' was twice shipwrecked and contended with a rogue's gallery of Spanish rebels and mutineers. To the end, he never found the passage to Japan or the Indies. So, how are we to judge the historical Columbus - the man and not the legend? Was he a great man? We will never know if the course of history might have been any different if Columbus had been a kinder, more generous man.

Whatever his original objective, his lust for gold drove him from island to island, and the only future he seemed to anticipate was wealth for himself and his heirs.

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One might consider Columbus a great man if greatness does indeed derive from the audacity of his undertaking and the magnitude of its impact on subsequent history. Columbus did cross the uncharted Atlantic, which was no small feat. He did find new lands and people, and he did return to tell of it so that others could follow, opening the way to intercontinental travel and expansion.

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Want to watch this again later? Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in , hoping to find a route to India in order to trade for spices. He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years The Portuguese reached India in Geographical Considerations of Columbus Italy, with centuries of seafaring experience to draw on, also produced navigators and cartographers. Columbus' Quest for Support Columbus tried to persuade the Portuguese government to fund his expedition; however, Portugal decided that its African explorations were a better investment.

Columbus found gold jewelry that native peoples wore In order to have his voyage considered a success, Columbus returned to Europe with stories of unimagined riches and newfound lands, of rivers that contained gold and of mines for gold and other metals. Try it risk-free No obligation, cancel anytime. Want to learn more?