2016-12-06 Tue

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on forever, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.” - Anonymous.

Christopher Columbus…an Italian explorer, navigator and coloniser under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European colonisation of the New World.

A devout Christian, Columbus wanted to sail to the East to gain wealth to finance another of his crusades of taking the Holy Land from the Muslims – a crusade he “hoped to lead personally”. Also, money having replaced barter and a rise in trade, gold coins and precious metals were on the minds of many people.

Post rejections by the then leading maritime, Portuguese, Columbus was sponsored by Ferdinand of Aragon and his wife Queen Isabella of Castile after they conquered Grenada from Spain’s Muslims and Jews in 1492. Isabella, an able administrator and concerned with the political significance of wealth was willing to gamble a little money on Columbus’ plan to reach India by a shorter route by sailing west.

Having previously reached a small flat island called San Salvador on August 12, 1492, Columbus reached San Domingo (currently known as Hispaniola) in search of Gold on December 6, 1492. He was impressed by the beauty of the islands, especially Hispaniola and the local inhabitants – Taino whom Columbus felt were easily dominated and would make “fine servants”.

What impressed him most was the gold worn by Tainos, especially the island’s chiefs found in the island’s rivers. For Europeans like him, gold represented a greater wealth than it did for natives who merely used it for decoration and jewellery.

He arrived back in Spain on March 5th, 1493 along with a few bit of gold, six natives and species of birds and plants. This stimulated new curiosity among Europeans about new people, cultures, animals and plants leading to the emergence of new voyagers.

US post issued a $5 stamp on commemorating the 4th centenary of Columbus’s first successful expedition to the west! Issued in 1892, this stamp depicts the bust of Columbus flanked by two women holding staffs in their hands.