To: Chris Talk
Don't forget, he was also looking for the Kingdom of Prester John and a route to attack the Ottoman Empire from behind. One of Columbus' great goals was to free the Holy Land.
Spices and gold were just immediate paybacks for his royal investors.
20 posted on
02/09/2004 6:20:01 AM PST by
Little Ray
(Why settle for a Lesser Evil? Vote Cthuhlu for President!)
To: Little Ray
There seem to be two different traditions about Prester John, one putting him in Africa and one in Asia. Both seem to be rooted in the existence of Christian communities, Copts in Africa and Nestorians in Asia.
To: Little Ray
Don't forget, he was also looking for the Kingdom of Prester John and a route to attack the Ottoman Empire from behind Wasn't "Prester John" just a bastardization of "Genghis Kahn?" IIRC, the Crusaders heard stories of a great warrier who was smiting the Muslims in the 13th century and put together a bunch of rumors and wild stories and concluded that there was a Christian king coming to their rescue.
23 posted on
02/09/2004 10:43:44 AM PST by
Modernman
("When you want to fool the world, tell the truth." -Otto von Bismarck)
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