THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
The birthplace of mankind is supposed to have been somewhere in Asia,
untold thousands of years ago. The race is thought to have spread
thence to the northern coast of Africa and to the peninsulas that jut
down from the south of Europe. The travelers of ancient times were the
Phoenicians. They occupied a narrow strip of land along the eastern
shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Their country was small and with
difficulty supported an increasing population. To the east of them were
barbaric hordes, who poured over the mountains and pushed the
Phoenicians to the sea, making of them traders and colonizers. As
early as twelve centuries before Christ they were founding colonies,
exploring strange lands, trading all over the known world, and leaving
their alphabet wherever they went. Arriving at a favorable place, they
would pull their ships ashore, plant a crop, wait till it had matured,
reap it, and go on. They founded many colonies on such sites.
Herodotus, a Greek, born in Asia Minor nearly five hundred years
before Christ, is called the father of history and geography. He tells
us that in his time the earth was thought to consist of the coast
regions of the Mediterranean Sea, extending rather vaguely north and
south, and bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east
by the great Persian Empire. The word _Mediterranean_ is made up of
two Latin words meaning "the middle of the earth." Eratosthenes, a
Greek geographer who was born on the northern coast of Africa about
three centuries before Christ, wrote a geographical treatise in which
he announced his belief that the earth was in the form of a sphere
revolving on its own axis. He succeeded in convincing only a few,
however, that his theory was right. The next great geographer was
Strabo, born in the northeast part of Asia Minor in the year 64 B.C.
He was a great traveler and observer, and wrote a work on geography
that has come down to us. The parts dealing with his own observations
are especially valuable.
The great traveler of mediaeval times was Marco Polo, an Italian, born
in Venice in 1254 A.D. He traveled widely, had many adventures, and
published an account of his travels. His experiences were a great
stimulus to geographical inquiry and discovery. About this time also
the mariners' compass was introduced into Europe. Civilization seems to
be indebted to the Chinese for the compass, for it is mentioned by them
as an instrument of navigation as early as the third or fourth century
after Christ. With the advent of the compass, seamen were no longer
compelled to hug the shore; they acquired more daring to sail the open
sea, and geographical exploration was correspondingly widened.
Geographical knowledge grew very slowly. By the beginning of the
eighteenth century, explorers had become familiar with the range of the
ocean, the outline of the continents, and with many islands. At the
beginning of the nineteenth century, four fifths of the land area of
the entire globe was unknown. Africa, except a narrow rim of coast, was
almost as little known as the planet Mars is to-day. At the opening of
the last century men knew little more about Asia than did Marco Polo,
three or four centuries earlier. In America the whole vast area west of
the Mississippi River was unknown in 1800. The coast of Australia had
not yet been traced, and nothing was known of its interior. At that
time South America was better known than any other of the continental
land masses, except Europe; now it is the least explored of all. The
nineteenth century, wonderful for advancement in many fields of human
endeavor, was a marvelous one for the growth of geographical knowledge.
As we stand in the doorway of the twentieth century, there is scarcely
one eleventh of the land area of the whole earth that remains
unexplored. Lewis and Clark pushed their way through the unknown
vastness of the American Northwest; Livingstone and Stanley penetrated
the dark continent of Africa; and in September, 1909, Lieut. Robert E.
Peary of the United States Navy startled civilization by announcing his
discovery of the North Pole. With the exception of a few interior
tracts to-day, the only portions of the earth unknown and unmapped lie
around the poles, and these are being rapidly sought out and brought to
knowledge.
Of all geographical conquests, by far the greatest is the discovery of
America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 A.D. The story of Columbus is
one of the most interesting and pathetic in history. It is a story of
toil, hardship, perseverance, and great success, requited with
disappointment and disgrace.
Christophoro Colombo was born in Genoa, Italy, about 1435 or 1436 A.D.
Following the custom of those times in giving names Latin forms, his
name became Christopher Columbus. In Latin the word _columba_ means
"dove." His father was a wool-comber who was wealthy enough to send
his son to a university, where he studied mathematics and astronomy.
On leaving the university, he worked a few months at his father's
trade, but when he was fifteen years old he determined to be a sailor.
Of the late boyhood and early manhood of Columbus little is known. He
seems to have traveled much, and it is certain that he studied much. It
was popularly supposed in the time of Columbus that the earth was flat;
that it was surrounded by a great world-river called "Oceanus" or the
ocean, and that if one should come to the edge he would plunge down
into illimitable space. From the time of Eratosthenes and Aristotle,
Greek thinkers and scholars who lived several hundreds of years before
the birth of Christ had known that the earth was round, and Columbus
believed this fact too. He mastered the books, both ancient and
contemporary, on geography and navigation, learned to draw charts and
to construct spheres, and fitted himself to be a practical seaman and
navigator.
In 1470 he arrived at Lisbon, Portugal, after he had been shipwrecked
in a sea fight and had escaped to land on a plank. In Portugal he
married the daughter of an old sea captain. He pored over the logs and
papers of his father-in-law, and talked with old seamen of their
voyages and of the mysteries of the western sea. About this time he
seems to have arrived at the conclusion that much of the world remained
undiscovered. There were strange rumors about the western sea.
Navigators had seen queer pieces of wood and some canes in the ocean,
and the bodies of two strange men had been washed ashore, "very
broad-faced, and differing in aspect from Christians." European
commerce was in need of a shorter route to Asia than the overland route
then in use. Columbus hoped that he could reach the eastern coast of
Asia by sailing west. He did not believe the earth as large as it
really is, and he over-estimated the size of Asia, so that he did not
realize the breadth of the Atlantic or the magnitude of the task before
him.
Columbus was poor, and money was required for so huge an undertaking as
a voyage to Asia. It was necessary, therefore, for him to seek aid in
the enterprise. He asked help first from the senate of his native town,
Genoa; but Genoa turned to him an unhearing ear. He applied next to
King John of Portugal. The king referred the matter to a council of
geographers, who reported against it. With the lurking hope that there
might be something in the plan, the king was dishonorable enough to
send out an expedition secretly to test it. The sailors who made the
attempt soon lost heart and returned without having accomplished
anything. When Columbus learned of the king's secret attempt, he was so
outraged that he left Portugal for Spain. At about the same time he
sent his brother Bartholomew to England to enlist the assistance of the
British sovereign, King Henry VII. After much waiting and much
vexation, Columbus at last gained the interest of the Spanish king,
Ferdinand, who referred the proposition to a council of his astronomers
and geographers. They finally decided that the project was vain and
visionary and that they could have nothing more to do with it.
In great discouragement Columbus began preparations to go to France. At
the door of a monastery in the little maritime town of Palos, he
knocked and asked for bread and water for his son, Diego, who was
accompanying him. He was received at the monastery, and there he met
some persons of influence who interceded for him with the Spanish
queen, Isabella. He went to the Court again, his plan was once more
investigated, and once more Columbus was refused the aid he was
seeking. He set out for France and had journeyed some distance on the
way. In the meantime an official won the queen's consent to the
enterprise, and there is a story that in her enthusiasm she offered to
pledge her jewels to raise money for the expedition. A messenger who
was sent to overtake Columbus brought him back, and on the seventeenth
of April, 1492, the formal agreement between him and the king and queen
of Spain was entered into, signed, and sealed.
Columbus's aim was to find the east coast of Asia. For the
accomplishment of this he had a number of motives. He wanted to win
wealth and fame for himself, to provide a shorter and cheaper route for
commerce with the East, and to convert to Christianity the Grand Khan,
a great Asiatic ruler, to whom he bore a letter of introduction from
the rulers of Spain.
Great difficulty was experienced in finding sailors for so uncertain
and terrifying a trip. Freedom was offered to convicts and bankrupts if
they would accompany the expedition. At last seamen were secured to man
three small ships, stores were provided, and everything was made ready
for the voyage. The adventurers numbered, all told, one hundred and
twenty. The shore presented a strange spectacle on the morning of
departure. The friends of the sailors stood on shore weeping and
wringing their hands, confident in the belief that their loved ones
would be swallowed up by some fabulous monster of the western deep, or
in some way be forever lost to them. On the morning of Friday, August
3, 1492, at eight o'clock, the little fleet of three ships weighed
anchor at the port of Palos, Spain, and set out on the most uncertain
and the greatest of all ocean voyages.
The ships had been on the sea three weeks, and no land had yet been
sighted. The compass no longer pointed due north. A meteor fell into
the ocean not far from the ships. The sailors lost courage. They
declared that they must perish if they went on, and that their
commander ought to be compelled to return. Some of them proposed to
throw him into the sea. Columbus kept two reckonings; a correct one for
himself, and an incorrect one to appease the sailors. He pleaded with
his men to be courageous, as long as mild methods availed. He then grew
harsh and commanded them. Through all the uncertainty and the
mutterings of the sailors, he clung unwaveringly to his purpose--to
push forward. He had no thought of going back.
Flying birds and floating objects promised land, but time went on and
no land appeared. The sailors grew more and more violent. On the night
of the eleventh of October, Columbus himself saw a light in the
distance, which sometimes flickered and sometimes disappeared, as if it
might be a torch borne by some one walking. All were now in eager
expectancy. At two o'clock on the morning of Friday, October twelfth, a
cannon fired from one of the vessels announced that a sailor had
actually discovered land.
When daylight came, Columbus landed. The first thing he did upon
reaching the shore was to fall upon his knees, kiss the earth, and with
tears of joy thank God for deliverance from the perils of such a
voyage. His men, ashamed of their mutiny and distrust, threw themselves
at his feet, imploring his forgiveness. Columbus next drew his sword,
planted the royal banner, and in the name of the Spanish sovereigns
took possession of the country. In honor of his deliverance he named
the place San Salvador, which means Saint Savior, or Holy Savior.
One of his three vessels was wrecked by a storm near the island of
Santo Domingo, called also Hayti and Hispaniola. Columbus built a fort
on this island from the wrecked ship, and left in it a colony of about
forty of the crew. Desirous of returning to Spain with an account of
his voyage, he set sail in January, 1493, on the return trip. A
terrific storm was encountered. Columbus, fearing that his ships might
sink, and wishing to preserve a record of what he had done, wrote an
account of the voyage on a piece of parchment and placed it in a cask,
which he threw overboard in the hope that it might be carried to shore
and found. The storm abated, however, and on the fifteenth of March he
sailed with two of his vessels into the port of Palos.
[Illustration: COLUMBUS ON THE DECK OF THE SANTA MARIA. From the
painting by von Piloty]
He entered the city amid the shouts of the people, the booming of
cannons, and the ringing of bells. Hastening to Barcelona, where the
king and queen were then holding court, he was received with a
triumphal procession. Seated next to the throne, he gave an account of
his discoveries and exhibited the new country's products which he had
brought back--gold, cotton, parrots, curious weapons, strange plants,
unknown birds and beasts, and the nine Indians whom he had brought with
him for baptism. Great honors were poured upon him. The king and queen
could scarcely do enough for him.
In September, 1493, Columbus sailed westward on his second voyage. The
fort which he had built on Santo Domingo was found burned, and the
colony was scattered. He decided to build a second fort, and coasting
forty miles east of Cape Haytien he selected a site where he founded
the town of Isabella, named in honor of the Spanish queen. He
discovered and explored a number of the islands of the West Indies,
including Porto Rico, which has belonged to the United States since the
recent war with Spain. The second voyage closed with his return to
Spain in June, 1496.
On next to the last day of May, 1498, with six ships Columbus set out
on his third voyage. On the first day of August he discovered the
Continent of South America. He thought it was only an island. Sailing
along the shore, he believed that the various capes which he passed
were islands, and not until he reached the mouth of the great Orinoco
River did he conclude that what he had discovered was not an island but
a great continent.
On his return to the new town of Isabella, he found that matters had
not gone well there while he was away. The natives had risen in revolt
against the tyranny of the governor whom Columbus left to rule the
island in his absence. For some time Columbus's enemies, who had become
jealous of him, had been trying to poison the minds of the Spanish king
and queen against him. Finally the Spanish rulers sent an officer to
inquire into the affairs of the new colony. When this officer arrived,
he took possession of Columbus's house, put Columbus in chains, and
sent him back to Spain. These chains Columbus kept to the day of his
death, and his son Hernando says his father requested that they might
be buried with him. After he arrived in Spain, he was restored to the
good will of the king and queen who soon sent him on another voyage.
In May, 1502, Columbus set sail on his fourth and last voyage, during
which he endured very great dangers. Two of his vessels were destroyed
by a storm and the other two were wrecked off the coast of Jamaica.
Separated from all the rest of the world, a number of his companions
revolted, threatened his life, deserted him, and settled on another
part of the island. The natives ceased to bring him food, and death
seemed imminent. In this extremity he took advantage of an approaching
eclipse of the moon. He told the natives that his God would destroy the
moon as a token of the punishment to be inflicted upon them, if they
did not bring the white men food. When the eclipse came, the natives
implored Columbus to intercede for them with his God, and they brought
him food in abundance. After the shipwreck, the navigator sent some of
his boldest men in canoes to ask relief of the governor of the colony
in Hispaniola. The messengers reached the colony in safety, but the
governor would not undertake the rescue of Columbus. They bought a
vessel, took it to Jamaica, and after a year of danger and anxiety on
the island, in June, 1504, Columbus started on his homeward voyage. In
September of this year he landed on Spanish soil for the last time.
This final voyage was not productive of any important results.
Soon after his return Queen Isabella died, and about two years later,
on May 12, 1506, Columbus himself died at Valladolid, Spain. He was
buried first at Valladolid, but his remains were soon transferred to a
monastery in Seville, Spain. They were exhumed in 1536 and taken across
the sea to the city of Santo Domingo, on the island of Hayti, which he
had discovered. In 1796 the remains were taken to Havana, Cuba, where
they remained until the close of the Spanish-American war. In 1898,
after the island of Cuba had passed from Spain to the United States,
the body of the great admiral was taken across the Atlantic again to
Spain, where it now rests.
In person Columbus was tall and well formed. Early in life he had
auburn hair, but by the time he was thirty years old his hair had been
turned white with care, hardship, and trouble. His face was long, and
he had gray eyes and an aquiline nose. He was moderate in all his
habits, and was one of the most religious of men. He was of a poetic
temperament and thus lacked some of the essential qualities of great
leadership. He was broad in his outlook, noble in his aspirations, and
benevolent in spirit.
Columbus died ignorant of the fact that he had discovered a new world.
He believed that the great continent which he gave to civilization was
Asia, and that he had only found a new way to that country. He called
the natives whom he found "Indians," thinking that they were
inhabitants of India. When it was known that a new country had actually
been discovered, it was named "America" in honor of Amerigo Vespucci,
an Italian geographer and navigator, who visited, it seems, the
mainland of this country in 1497. The land discovered by Columbus on
the night of October 12, 1492, is believed to have been Watling's
island, one of the groups of the West Indies.
Eighteen years elapsed between the time when Christopher Columbus
conceived his enterprise and that August morning in 1492 when he set
sail on his first voyage of discovery. He had gone about from place to
place seeking aid, but spurned everywhere. These years were spent in
almost hopeless anxiety, in poverty, and in neglect. The people of his
day thought him crazy. When he passed by, they pointed to their
foreheads and smiled. He braved the dangers of unknown waters, of
mutinous crews, of hostile natives, and of starvation. What is worse,
he endured the arrows of jealousy, slander, and misrepresentation. He
had a contract with the Spanish crown whereby he was to receive certain
honors and wealth as a result of his discoveries. He could not get King
Ferdinand to fulfill the contract. He was sent home in chains from the
great hemisphere he had discovered, and even the honor of its name went
to another who had no claim to it.
Through the career of every successful man there runs a grim
determination to do the thing in hand. Columbus had this determination
and with it he triumphed. The stars hid themselves behind storms; the
compass refused to act normally; a strange and terrible ocean roared;
mutiny howled and jealousy hissed, but on one thing he was
determined--he would do his best to accomplish the thing he had set
himself to accomplish; and he did it.
One of the most inspiring poems in American literature is Joaquin
Miller's "Columbus:"--
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the Gate of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said: "Now must we pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Adm'r'l, speak, what shall I say?"
"Why, say: 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'"
"My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak."
The stout mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
"What shall I say, brave Adm'r'l, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?"
"Why, you shall say at break of day:
'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'"
They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said:
"Why, now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way,
For God from these dread seas is gone.
Now speak, brave Adm'r'l, speak and say"--
He said: "Sail on! sail on! and on!"
They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
"This mad sea shows his teeth to-night.
He curls his lips, he lies in wait,
With lifted teeth as if to bite!
Brave Adm'r'l, say but one good word:
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The word leapt like a leaping sword:
"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"
Then, pale and worn he kept his deck
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck--
A light! a light! a light! a light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be time's burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
Its grandest lesson: "Oh! sail on!"