Christopher Columbus's Voyages
Christopher was born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, which is now Italy. In his 20s, he moved to Portugal, and later went to Spain, which is the country he sailed for most of his voyages. He first went to sea as a teenager, going on several trade voyages. On his first voyage in the Atlantic Ocean, he nearly lost his life. He nearly lost it because his ship was attacked by French privateers, and his ship was burned down. He ended up having to swim to the shore of Portugal. …show more content…
The Muslim domination of trade routes made it difficult to travel there eastward, so Columbus had his mind set on finding a new and faster trade route, so it would be quicker and safer. Many people disagreed with his vision of going west, but he still did it. Columbus went to the king many times and proposed a three-ship voyage to go across the Atlantic. He was rejected every single time. Then he went to the Spanish monarchy of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, and their nautical experts were skeptical, and they rejected him once again. Finally, the monarchs seemed somewhat fascinated with the idea, so they payed for his journey to cross the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of finding a new trade