Stapley - Christpher Columbus

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November-2011

ISBN : 978-1-4121-7173-1

T RUE STORIES OFGREAT AMERICANS

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BY

MILDRED STAPLEY

Whatever can be known of earth we know, SneeredEurope's wise men, in their snail shells curled; No! said one manin Genoa, and that No Out of the dark created the New World.

- JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

S pain, as everyone knows, was the country behind the discovery of America. Fewpeople know, however, what an important part the beautiful city ofGranada played in that famous event. It was in October, 1492, thatColumbus first set foot on the New World and claimed it for Spain.In January of that same year another territory had been added tothat same crown; for the brave soldier-sovereigns, Ferdinand andIsabella, had conquered the Moorish kingdom of Granada in the southand made it part of their own country.

Nearly eight hundred years before, the dark-skinnedMoors had come over from Africa and invaded the European peninsulawhich lies closest to the Straits of Gibraltar, and the people ofthat peninsula had been battling fiercely ever since to drive themback to where they came from. True, the Moor had brought Arabianart and learning with him, but he had brought also the Mohammedanreligion, and that was intolerable not only to the Spaniardsbut to all Europeans. No Christian country could brook the thoughtof this Asiatic creed flourishing on her soil, so Spain soon set towork to get rid of it.

This war between the two religions began in thenorth near the Bay of Biscay whither the Christians were finallypushed by the invaders. Each century saw the Moors driven a littlefarther south toward the Mediterranean, until Granada, where thelovely Sierra Nevadas rise, was the last stronghold left them.Small wonder, then, that when Granada was finally taken the Spanishnation was supremely happy. Small wonder that they held amagnificent fete in their newly-won city in the "Snowy Mountains."The vanquished Moorish king rode down from his mountain citadel andhanded its keys to Ferdinand and Isabella. Bells pealed, bannerswaved, and the people cheered wildly as their victorious sovereignsrode by.

And yet, so we are told by a writer who was present,in the midst of all this rejoicing one man stood aside, sad andsolitary. While all the others felt that their uttermost desire hadbeen granted in acquiring the Moorish kingdom, he knew thathe could present them with a far greater territory than Granada ifonly they would give him the chance. What were these olive andorange groves beside the tropic fertility of the shores he longedto reach, and which he would have reached long ere this, he toldhimself regretfully, if only they had helped him! What was theChristianizing of the few Moors who remained in Spain compared withthe Christianizing of all the undiscovered heathen across theAtlantic!

And so on that eventful January 2, 1492, when awhole city was delirious with joy,

"There was crying in Granada when the sun was goingdown, Some calling on the Trinity - some calling on Mahoun. Herepassed away the Koran - there in the Cross was borne - And here washeard the Christian bell - and there the Moorish horn."

On that great day of jubilee one man, a stranger,but as devout a Christian as any of the conquerors, stood apartdowncast, melancholy, saddened by years of fruitless waiting for afew ships. That man was Christopher Columbus.

When you know that Columbus was present by specialinvitation, that a friend of the queen's had secured him thepromise of an interview with full consideration of his plans justas soon as the city surrendered, you may think he should havelooked happy and hopeful with the rest; but the fact was, that fornearly seven years the monarchs had been holding out promises, onlyto put him off, until his faith in princes had dwindled to almostnothing.

But, as it happened, they really meant it this time.Moreover, it is only fair to Ferdinand and Isabella to believe thatthey had always meant it, but they had been so preoccupied with theenormous task of welding poor Spain, long harassed by misrule andwar, into a prosperous nation, that they had neither time nor moneyfor outside ventures. Certain it is that when Granada was reallyconquered and they had their first respite from worry, the man whowas known at court as the "mad Genoese" was summoned to expound hisplan of sailing far out into the west where he was certain offinding new lands.

Where this meeting took place is not knownpositively, but probably it was in the palace called the Alhambra,a marvelous monument of Arabian art which may be visited to-day.Columbus stood long in the exquisite audience chamber, pleading andarguing fervently; then he came out dejected, mounted his mule, androde wearily away from Spain's new city; for Spain, after listeningattentively to his proposals, had most emphatically refused to aidhim. It was surely a sorry reward, you will say, for his six years'waiting. And yet the man's courage was not crushed; he started offfor France, to try his luck with the French king.

This is what had happened at the Spanish court. Thegreat navigator talked clearly and convincingly about the earthbeing round instead of flat as most people still supposed; and how,since Europe, Asia, and Africa covered about six sevenths of theglobe's surface, and the Atlantic Ocean the remaining seventh (herehe quoted the prophet Esdras), [Footnote: "Upon the thirdday thou didst command that the waters should be gathered in theseventh part of the earth. Six parts hast thou dried up and keptthem to the intent that of these some being planted of God andtilled might serve thee.... Upon the fifth day thou saidst unto theseventh part where the waters were gathered that it should bringforth living creatures, fowls and fishes, and so it came to pass."Apocrypha, 2 Esdras vi. 42, 47.] any one by sailing duewest must surely come to land. So clear was his own vision of thisland that he almost saw it as he spoke; and his eloquence made hishearers almost see it too. One after another they nodded theirapproval, and approval had never before been won when he addresseda Spanish audience. But when Archbishop Talavera, who was spokesmanfor King Ferdinand, asked the would-be discoverer what reward heexpected in case his voyage was successful, the answer was sounexpected that nearly every man in the room was indignant.

This answer is worth looking into carefully if oneis to understand why the Spanish nobility thought that Columbusdrove a hard bargain. He demanded of their Highnesses,

First: That he should be made Admiral overall seas and territories he might discover, the office to continuefor life and to descend to his heirs forever, with all itsdignities and salaries.

Second: That he should be made Viceroy andGovernor-General of all new territories, and should name theofficers under him.

Third: That he should have one tenth part ofall merchandise, pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, or spicesacquired by trade, discovery, or any other method.