Life Stories of Amazing People
Welcome to this eStory, which is part of an extensive book and audio series from The Amazing People Club. The story is written in the form of a BioView, which is a short name for a biographical interview. A BioView is a new concept that reveals amazing stories, as if the person has given an interview about their life. Each of the stories can normally be read in around five to ten minutes and is based on the known facts of the individuals life, alongside what they may have felt about their experiences. BioViews provide an easy way of learning about people who made major contributions to our world. The unique format and flow enables each persons story to come alive, as if it is being personally told to you.
Each of the stories in the series reflects the individuals interests, emotions and passions, as well as their accomplishments. The amazing people in the series discovered and developed special talents. In doing so, they focused on making significant contributions in times when they had less resources and opportunities than we have today. Their stories show what can be done if one tries. To what extent do you feel you are using your own time and talents to the best? We hope that the efforts and performances of those in this series will inspire you to further develop your own abilities and achievements. The career notes at the end provide helpful support information.
We trust that you will enjoy this eStory as it can provide ideas and inspiration for your own lifes journey. To explore this book and audio series, please visit
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Christopher Columbus
1451 1506
They said we would not return Doomed before we started Seeking fools gold, beyond the known world A voyage to nowhere, other than hell That is what the flat-earth believers told us They said we would come to the end of the ocean Then, we would crash, like a waterfall, into an abyss Who were these know it alls, who had been nowhere? Priests with their scriptures Academics with their theories The bar room opinion-makers Armchair clairvoyants who only saw fear and dread I was of a different breed than those flat-earth worms The sights, sounds and smell of the sea, were with me from birth Born in Genoa, the sea was part of my childhood With my four brothers, many hours were spent fishing At the age of ten, I had already made one sea-going voyage My father, in contrast, was a wool weaver He was concerned about my fascination with ships It was an itinerant life, subject to great danger By the age of 19, I was in the service of Ren of Anjou As pirates, we attacked ships belonging to the Moors Another task was to conquer Naples It was the start of a seafaring life A life of service to powerful and wealthy sponsors Most of my education came from my apprenticeship In 1473, I began training as a business agent The Centurione family employed me Various voyages were required to export and import goods Trips to the Aegean Sea, and later, to England and Ireland They all gave me a wider understanding of the world In 1476, my ship was sunk in a battle Fortunately, I was able to swim ashore On one of the voyages, I visited Lisbon, Portugal My brother, Bartholomew, lived there We talked about the opportunities I promised to return It was to be a place that would be important in my life The following years, I sailed to Iceland, and also to Guinea The cold and the heat were both challenging Traveling north and south, I learnt a lot It was a time of discovery Returning to Portugal, I was introduced to a young lady She charmed me, after all my years at sea Filipa Moniz Perestrelo became my wife She came from a seafaring family In 1480, we had a son who we named Diego Colon With family responsibilities, I looked for opportunities My knowledge, until that point, came from travel and action My wife gave me navigation charts that her father had drawn They were of the Atlantic Ocean, and proved very helpful In the fifth year of our marriage, disaster struck My wife died of consumption Making arrangements for my son, I moved to Cadiz It gave me time to think There, I met Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, a lady from a noble family We enjoyed each others company In 1488, we had a son, Ferdinand During that time, I made plans for a voyage of discovery My ambition was to explore new destinations The sea route to China was quite well-known Silks, spices and opiates regularly arrived in Europe The Indies, however, were a mystery The King of Portugal would not support the plan Traveling to Spain, I found the King and Queen more positive Ferdinand and Isabella were willing to sponsor an exploration
The Capitulations of Santa Fe was an agreement we signed They believed new lands, with great riches, lay to the west My task was to claim them for Spain It was a position of great trust After all, I was an Italian leading a Spanish expedition A voyage to the New World New people to meet New spices to find New lands to conquer Gold and silver Riches beyond imagination It was the first of four such journeys in just over ten years Small ships and big storms Battling huge waves and surviving to tell the tale
The First Voyage In my 42 nd year, we set sail from Palos, Spain There were three ships It was August 3 rd 1492 However, problems arose with the vessels Repair work required us to spend a month at Gomera Island From the north-east coast of Africa, we sailed west A meteorite hit the ocean ahead, causing concern from the crew They had heard the doom-mongers and were anxious Fortunately, no major damage fell upon us For 35 days we sailed, often through lots of seaweed Serious trouble arose with crew members Some threatened to throw me overboard if we did not turnabout On Wednesday October 10 th there was open talk of mutiny Fortunately, on the 11 th , land was spotted We had traveled about 3400 nautical miles The crew were delighted not to be falling off the Earth A Spanish flag was raised on San Salvador Within a short time, some tribal natives arrived Most were under 30 years of age All were naked and their skin was dark in color Some wore gold jewellery On October 28 th , following their directions, we set sail for Cuba The people there ran away when they saw us I ordered that not one thing of their belongings be touched We moved on and arrived in Hispaniola by December 5 th It was later renamed as Haiti The other part became the Dominican Republic It was a beautiful place and we stayed to explore it On Sunday December 16 th , there was a surprise The local King arrived with 500 men I sent him a gift and told my men not to harm anyone We stayed a month, searching for gold On Christmas Day, our ship the
Santa Maria ran aground From the wreckage, we built the first settlement in the New World The 40 men of the
Santa Maria crew were left to guard it On January 16 th , with two ships, we sailed for Spain It was a tough voyage, with storms and large ocean waves Our ships became separated Eventually, the
Nina arrived in Lisbon on March 3 rd The
Pinta arrived on March 15 th 1493 There was much celebration and many stories to tell Much drink was consumed and passions fulfilled The King and Queen were pleased with the land acquired
