Christopher Columbus

I am Christopher Columbus. This book will tell you a lot about me. I chose to
write it because I felt I wanted to let people know more about myself, my journeys, my
explorations, and my unexpected discovery of America.

In 1451, I was born in Genoa, Italy during a time when Europe was looking for a
sea route to Asia. My dad was a middle class wool weaver. I have 3 brothers and a sister.
I worked with my dad growing up, but later became more interested in a life at sea and
became a sailor at age 14. The first time I sailed into the Atlantic Ocean was at the age of
25. It was an expedition of 5 ships. Our fleet was attacked by French privateers and my
ship was burnt. I swam to shore clinging to wreckage. I made my way to Lisbon where I
started working with my brother as a mapmaker (which helped me in my pursuit of
exploration). At age 31 I was married to Felipa Perestrello e’ Moniz, who was the
daughter of a Portuguese nobleman. We had a son named Diego, but Felipa died soon
after. I never remarried but I had another son, Ferdinand, who later traveled with me on
my journeys.

In 1482 I sailed to the Portuguese fortress of Elmina on the western coast of

Africa. I was impressed with the riches Africa had to offer, especially gold. It was here
that I learned about winds and ocean currents, in particular “the Canaries Current”, which
gave me an idea to plan my voyage to reach the east by going west which was my dream.
I called this the “Enterprise of the Indies”. I was not the only one to think of this idea,
but I knew I had an enormous knowledge of the sea. I also had a skill of interpreting
signs of nature like the behavior of birds, the smell of the air, the color of the sky, the
condition of the seas & pressure in my joints which was all a part of being a great
mariner.

My inspirations to explore & discover were great. My marriage gained me access

to a wealth of information from my father-in-law including maps, charts with ocean
currents and interviews with sailors. In 1492 my first expedition was finally funded after
8 years. The three ships that set sail were the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria which I
took. We finally sighted land after 36 days. We were greeted by the people who were
friendly and curious. We discovered 3 islands during this voyage. After my return I was
awarded the title “Admiral of the Ocean Sea”. During my next few expeditions, I made 4
more new discoveries. However, my third and fourth trips did not go as smoothly. The
colonists were disorderly and destroyed the land. On my last expedition I was stranded
and had to be rescued. I never found the sea passage to reach the east by going west.

From a historical perspective I was not the first European mariner to sail to the
new world. The Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland around the year
1000. But my voyages marked the beginning of continuous European efforts to explore
and colonize the Americas.

By Ryan Dziedziech Jr 02/08/2007