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What Everyone Should Know About Columbus Day?
by:
Antonio Howell, M.D. The most important accomplishment of Christopher Columbus was not his discovery of America. In addition to the fact that Columbus was convinced he had landed in the Indies. Columbus' discovery of America is disputed by historians. The importance of Columbus' discovery was that he took a chance and as a result of his gamble the entire world was forever changed. Columbus story begins as a man who loved the seas. Columbus became a sailor at a very young age, in his early teens by some accounts. Columbus was also a business man and based on his research and experience as a sailor, C.C. devised a business proposition the gist of which was to discover and outline a fast and efficient route to the Indies. A shorter route would provide an easier and faster way to travel to the Indies and thus provide an opportunity to enter the very lucrative spice trade. For thousands of years the secret of the spice trade was simple - a great demand and highly controlled supply. A very desirable enterprise if Columbus could pull-it-off because the spice trade was at the time dominated by long overland routes. The spice trade is still important today, a billion dollar industry by conservative estimates. However, Columbus needed money to fund his business venture and at the time if you needed money, you didn't go to Bank of America as one would today or put it on a credit card. In Columbus' day you went and shopped your business plan to royalty, to the Kings and Queen's of the day. Columbus approached King Henry of Portugal, King Henry VII of England, King Charles VIII of France and others, all of whom said no to him. But Columbus did not give-up his dream. He kept at it and even had to appear twice to see King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain before finally getting a yes. On August 2, 1492 Christopher Columbus left Palos, Spain sailing west in the Santa María (Saint Mary), La Niña (the little girl), and La Pinta (the painted one) in search of the Indies. About two months later on October 12 Columbus landed on Watling's Island in the Bahamas. He re-named the island San Salvador. After sailing to other islands Columbus returns to Queen Isabelle with a sizeable bounty including parrots, pearls, gold, and some "Indians." As Columbus' ships came into port cannons thundered, church bells clanged, and people cheered. The Queen who was very pleased named Columbus the ruler of the lands he discovered. Shortly afterward, everyone wanted to go with Columbus on his next trip, their imaginations filled with thoughts of gold and becoming filthy rich. Columbus never new he discovered a new continent. An understandable mistake since the entire American continent was missing from the maps of the day. As a result, he died believing he landed in the East Indies of South East Asia. Columbus without a doubt was one of the great explorers. And his newly discovered continent would eventually grow into the America we know today. The rest of the story is history, as they say. About the author: Dr. Antonio Howell, M.D. is a health and wellness student who enjoys sharing information and ideas to enhance health http://drhowell.net |