Line #2 UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/columbus_portrait.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:[[ArtisticLicense Columbus probably looked nothing like this]].]]
3
4	->Columbus sailed the ocean blue\
5	Back in Fourteen-Ninety-Two.\
6	He sailed across and spotted land,\
7	A beach, and people on the sand.\
8	\
9	He called them Indians because\
10	He had no idea where he was,\
11	India was just a guess.\
12	When in doubt, declare success.
13	-->--'''Ramon Montaigne'''
14
15	Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish: Cristóbal Colón, Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo, French: Christophe Colomb), born circa 1451 and died 20 May 1506, is a famous historical figure, known as the sailor who wanted to [[BoldExplorer find an easier trade route from Europe to Asia]] (NOT to prove the Earth was round, which is a common misconception) only to discover UsefulNotes/TheAmericas during his travels.
16
17	As you probably know, he was ''not'' the first European to discover the Americas [[note]]The credit goes to Leif Erikson and UsefulNotes/{{the Viking\|Age}}s some 500 years before Columbus. Ultimately their settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland (Canada) failed and were largely forgotten until more recent times.[[/note]], but it was his efforts that led directly to the the Colombian Exchange, through which European exploration and colonization shaped the Western Hemisphere, and with it the entire world, into its current form. An inestimable boon for the nations of Europe, though [[ThePurge considerably less advantageous]] for the [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans American indigenous natives]] [[note]]Albeit mostly for [[ThePlague reasons not intended by anybody]] - it's estimated that up to an ''[[AfterTheEnd apocalyptic]]'' 90% of the pre-Columbian American Natives were wiped out by diseases [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom unwittingly brought]] by Europeans, against which the Native populations had no antibodies due to animal domestication never reaching the scale it did in Europe, Asia and Africa, where it exposed human populations to more pathogens that would build up their immune systems. In an era before germ theory nobody could have thought of this, and the results would have been the same if an African or Asian made the trip instead of a European[[/note]].
18
19	On his most famous voyage, the 1492 transatlantic trip in the ships ''Niña'', ''Pinta'', and ''Santa Maria'',[[note]]These were not the actual names of ''Niña'' and ''Pinta'', but the crew's nicknames. Spanish ships at the time were generally named for saints, and ''Niña''[='=]s real name was ''Santa Clara''. ''Pinta''[='=]s real name has been forgotten by history, but the nickname is short for "la Pintada" (literally "the painted one" but in context "the prostitute").[[/note]] he was searching for a route to "India", which at the time meant Asia--specifically, he was hoping to find Japan. When he finally reached land, all he could tell was that the natives were neither Japanese nor Chinese, and so he was at a loss to figure out where he really was. Figuring he'd landed on some previously-unknown part of Asia, he referred to the natives generically as "Indians", and the island chain as the "East Indies". (Today, we've corrected this second mistake, and refer to these islands as the ''West'' Indies.) On his third voyage, in 1498, he realized he'd found a hitherto-unknown continent (South America), but he never learned that he hadn't come close to reaching Asia.
20
21	It's easy to laugh at him for being such an idiot that he thought he was in "India", but the maps of Asia Europeans had at the time where laughably inaccurate, so the man had to work with what he could get.
22
23	Nobody today is sure what he looked like; the picture here, painted after his death by someone who never met him, shouldn't be taken as fact. For one, he had auburn hair in his youth which would have turned white by the time he was the age depicted.
24
25	Columbus was born in October 1451, before the 31st. He was born in [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra Genoa]], which was a [[TheRepublic maritime republic]]. His father was a middle class weaver who also sold cheese, but his brother worked in a cartography workshop. In 1473, he began his apprenticeship as a sailor for a merchant family. He sailed to the Genoese colony of Chios. After that in 1476, he was a sailor in an armed convoy sailing from Genoa to Bristol, [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} England]]. After that, he might have even sailed to UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}} in 1477. In the fall of 1477 he sailed to Libson, UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}}. There, he met up with his brother and based himself there. [[BabiesEverAfter He married and had children]]. Between 1482 and 1487, Columbus sailed along the west African coast to the Portuguese colony of Elmina. His wife died, and he started dating a twenty year old orphan. [[CunningLinguist He taught himself Latin, Castilian, and Portuguese]], and he read up on astronomy and on the travels of Marco Polo and John Manderville.
26
27	He and his brother Bartholomew together conceived of an "enterprise of the Indies", a way to sail directly to the Orient without having to go through the Turkish-controlled land route or the very long route beyond Africa. Columbus argued that the world was smaller than what common scholarship held, and that Japan was very, very far east of China, which was in turn very, very far east of where it actually was. He believed the world was smaller than it was because while he was sailing in the Portuguese Canary Islands, he would often hear rumors of driftwood floating over from west. So while he was right in assuming something was close by, he was wrong in thinking it was Asia. He was right on one more count though, that the "Easterly" winds off the coast of Africa could propel a sailing ship a great distance in relatively little time.
28
29	He went to Portugal in 1485 and presented his plan, along with a demand that he be made "Great Admiral of the Ocean", appointed governor of any lands he discovered, and received 10% of revenue derived from anything he found. The Portuguese flatly rejected his proposal, and the English simultaneously rejected a similar proposal made by his brother. Then Columbus went to the Spanish, who held a similar opinion but decided to keep him around by paying him not to go anywhere else. This was in 1489.
30
31	In 1492, hurting for cash after defeating Muslim Granada, UsefulNotes/TheCatholicMonarchs of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, decided to give him what he wanted (although Isabella initially turned him down). Most likely, [[SnipeHunt Ferdinand didn't think he'd come back]]. However, Columbus was an experienced sailor and was fully aware that the trade winds could carry across the Atlantic with ease. While many would say that Columbus just got lucky, in actuality his feat was impressive. He had to sail in open waters for over a month (longer than anyone else in history up to that point) and had to quell his mutinous sailors who knew less about geography and were afraid they were too far out from land. Eventually, against the odds, they reached land. He landed first in the Bahamas, and the natives he met there were peaceful.
32
33	After returning to Spain, Columbus was given 1500 men and 14 ships, and sent back to set up a colony. However, not all natives were {{Noble Savage}}s, and the measures Columbus and his brother Bartholomew had to take to survive against hostile tribes soon extended to a regime where enslaving and brutalizing natives became too usual, even although Queen Isabella had [[EveryoneHasStandards explicitly forbidden this]] and ordered to treat the indigenous as [[FairForItsDay full-fledged vassals]]. Even Spaniards started complaining that the Columbus brothers were acting like tyrants, and when Isabella got tired of being disobeyed, she had Columbus and his entourage brought back to Spain in chains. Though he was released and his property was returned to him, he did not get his governorship back and basically fell out of grace in Spain.
34
35	Over time, through money and favors, Columbus managed to restore a bit of his reputation and got funds to explore a bit more, landing in Venezuela and sailing along the Panama coast in search of a strait from which he could dial to Asia, but found none.[[note]]You probably know that the Panama Canal was man-made and opened in the early 20th century, four centuries after Columbus. Bypassing Panama as a trade option instead of having to circumnavigate the entire South America was only viable to the Spaniards after the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire in 1521, when they achieved control of both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of Central America.[[/note]] This would be the fourth and last of his travels.
36
37	Many historians have credited Columbus for the European colonization of the Americas, which involves [[HegemonicEmpire many Europeans battling each other for colonies and land in the New World]], [[RapePillageAndBurn looting and destroying many tribes for gold and valuable resources]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic massacres of populations to take their land]], and [[CulturePolice forced destruction of native cultures]]. Most Indian victims, however were claimed by the European diseases, which their immune systems could not handle. Although obviously, how the Europeans approached the New World and the Native American tribes varied.[[note]]The Spanish and the Portuguese ruled over and intermixed with the natives; meanwhile, the French and Dutch were less interested in taking control of the natives lands and more [[ProudMerchantRace establishing lucrative trading relationships with them]]. The English were mostly fleeing from political persecutions in their home country, and intentionally separated themselves from neighboring native tribes. It should be noted that although Columbus was ironically much more brutal than many of the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors that came after, most of the atrocities of any empire happened well after Columbus arrived, [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade so people blaming them all on him might not be entirely fair]].[[/note]] For much of the 20th century, Columbus Day was a popular holiday celebrated in many New World countries on October 12th, though as modern sensibilities bring more light to Columbus' true nature, the tradition has begun to be downplayed (in some parts the United States, it's taken on the new name of Indigenous People's Day, for obvious reasons).
38
39	Columbus's descendants hold the Spanish noble title Duke of Veragua, and the hereditary title of "Admiral of the Ocean Sea". Both the current Duke and his father were named Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) and the father was actually a naval officer, which means he was an Admiral even when he was a Lieutenant.
40
41	As for his legacy, several things in the new world were named for him, including the [[{{UsefulNotes/Colombia}} Republic of Colombia]], [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC The District of Columbia]] (no relation to the Republic), the Territory of Columbia (no relation to the District) which later became the state of Washington ([[LondonEnglandSyndrome no relation to the city located in the District]]), British Columbia (the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains), the cities of Columbus in Ohio and Columbia in South Carolina (each the capital of their respective states), and [[NationsAsPeople Columbia]], the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the United States of America (before she was overshadowed by Uncle Sam). UsefulNotes/PreColumbianCivilizations refers to American indigenous cultures before the European conquests starting at the tail end of the fifteenth century with him, as he was the first of that era to venture westwards. Ironically, he did not get to name the whole America, this honor belonging, possibly unknowingly so, to his associate UsefulNotes/AmerigoVespucci.
42	----
43	!!Columbus in fiction:
44
45	[[foldercontrol]]
46
47	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
48	* ''Anime/TheAdventuresOfChristopherColumbus'', a 1992 French-Japanese anime film. He's voiced by Creator/DanielBeretta.
49	* ''Christopher Columbus'', a 1992 anime series by Mondo TV and Nippon Animation.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Audio Play]]
53	* A sketch in ''AudioPlay/StanFrebergPresentsTheUnitedStatesOfAmerica'' depicts Columbus's discovery of America, played purely for RuleOfFunny. Turns out, the reason he didn't discover any gold in the New World was that the banks were all closed for Columbus Day.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
57	* ''Film/FourteenNinetyTwoConquestOfParadise'', 1992 Creator/RidleyScott film released for the [[MeaningfulReleaseDate 500th anniversary]] of Columbus' transatlantic voyage. He was portrayed by Creator/GerardDepardieu.
58	* George Corraface portrayed him in ''Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'', which, like ''1492'' above, came out in 1992, also for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage.
59	* In a case of BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy, he appears in a short but crucial role in the 2016 ''[[Film/AssassinsCreed2016 Assassin's Creed]]'' film, played by Gabriel Andreu.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Literature]]
63	* In ''Literature/PastwatchTheRedemptionOfChristopherColumbus'', he turns out to have led a crusade against Muslims in an alternate timeline. A time traveler's attempt at preventing this results in him discovering the Americas and enabling the centuries of genocide to follow. A second time travel attempt seeks to [[TitleDrop redeem Columbus]] and lead the Old World and New World civilizations to meet peacefully.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Live-Action Series]]
67	* ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'': In ''Tiempo de lo oculto'', he shows up in 1485, just as he begins his plans to convince the Monarchs of Castile to fund his enterprise.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Radio]]
71	* ''[[Radio/IntergalacticalMagicalRadio The Wacky Musical Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Intergalactical Magical Radio]]'', an AudioAdaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TheWackyAdventuresOfRonaldMcdonald'' that only saw distribution through United Airlines' in-flight radio, has a bit where one of the historical events picked up by the gang's radio during the track "We'll Be Listening for the Signal" is of Christopher Columbus preparing to sail to the Americas, which perpetuates [[ArtisticLicenseHistory the misconception that no one knew the Earth was spherical before Columbus sailed]].
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Video Games]]
75	* In a ''[[VideoGame/WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego1997 Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?]]'' level, one of Carmen's time-traveling thieves leaves Columbus and his crew marooned in the Caribbean. You, the player, have to cross the Atlantic in order to find and rescue them. This is often regarded as ThatOneLevel, due to the tedious nature of the ocean-crossing MiniGame. And you have to play it ''twice'', first to reach the Caribbean and then to return to Spain afterwards.
76	* In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', he appears as the Rider of the Resistance in the Agartha chapter. The game shows both the good and the bad side of him, as while he did do a lot of immoral things once he discovered America which still carries over to the modern day, he is still an excellent leader and a bold adventurer, albeit ''extremely'' self-centered beneath all that. In practice, he's mostly portrayed as a BitchInSheepsClothing who used his aforementioned positive qualities as a mask to cover his more selfish desires and [[CardCarryingVillain revels in being called a villain and going down in history as a mass murderer]] as long as he can keep up with [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil promoting slavery]], something he refused to let go of, despite the fact that other Heroic Spirits used to utilize slavery but eventually let it go to 'keep up with the times', because, as far as Columbus is concerned, slavery is still one of the best ways to accumulate profit. His playable/summonable incarnation is a bit less wicked, but still somewhat self-centered and focuses on whatever he can do to make the most profit, which majorly includes conning (apparently it generates more profit than slavery in Chaldea), and [[CardCarryingVillain still wears the 'villain' badge proudly]] that even others think he's untrustworthy.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Web Originals]]
80	* Appears in Season 1 of ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', where he battles fellow explorer [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Captain James T. Kirk]].
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Western Animation]]
84	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''
85	** Played by WesternAnimation/PorkyPig in 1939's "Kristopher Kolumbus, Jr."
86	** WesternAnimation/BugsBunny accompanies Columbus (whom he calls "Chris") on his first voyage in "WesternAnimation/HareWeGo".
87	* The French {{edutainment}} series ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois'':
88	** 1978's ''Il était une fois... l'Homme'' (''Once Upon a Time... Man'') about human history has an episode about the Spanish Golden Age where he appears.
89	** 1996's ''Il était une fois... les Explorateurs'' (''Once Upon a Time... the Explorers'') about {{Bold Explorer}}s naturally has an entire episode dedicated to him.
90	* Portrayed in ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicVoyage'', a [[SoBadItsGood strange]] [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory very-loose adaptation]], where he's voiced by Creator/DomDeLuise.
91	* His clone is a main character in the revival of ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh''. In an effort to distance himself from the original Columbus' misdeeds, he's reinvented himself as "Topher Bus", presenting himself as a social progressive as a facade for his {{jerkass}} behavior.
92	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Toonsylvania}}'' has a Melissa Screetch segment titled "Here There Be Monsters" where Melissa is assigned to do a report on Columbus' voyage and decides to write her own interpretation of events where she is a crew member of Columbus who organizes a mutiny against him.
93	* ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'' has a segment titled "Christopher Columbused" where the Warner Siblings sing a TheVillainSucksSong about Columbus that sheds light on his atrocities and questions whether he deserves to have a holiday named after him.
94	[[/folder]]
95

Context UsefulNotes / ChristopherColumbus