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Why Columbus Sailed - An interview about Christopher Columbus and religious motivations-journey
KnightsofCoumbus.org ^ | 5/24/2014 | Alton Pelowski

Posted on 10/13/2014 9:59:24 AM PDT by Salvation

Why Columbus Sailed

 

5/24/2014

 

An interview about Christopher Columbus and the religious motivations for his journey

by Alton Pelowski

 

memorial

When the Knights of Columbus was founded 130 years ago, their namesake, Christopher Columbus, was a symbol of the idea that there is no contradiction in being a Catholic and an American. In recent decades, however, Columbus has become a figure of controversy, leaving conflicting opinions about his legacy.

In recent decades, however, Columbus has become a figure of controversy, leaving conflicting opinions about his legacy.

Carol Delaney, a cultural anthropologist and long-time professor at Stanford University, had little knowledge or interest in Columbus — that is, until she was teaching a course called “Millennial Fever” at Stanford in 1999 and came across a reference to the explorer’s apocalyptic beliefs. Delaney was intrigued and set out to research Columbus at Brown University in the summer of 2003. Two years later, she retired from Stanford to devote herself to research, which launched a remarkable journey in the footsteps of the explorer.

Columbia spoke to Delaney about the fruits of her research, published in her book titled Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem (Free Press, 2011).

Columbia: You argue that most people misunderstand the purpose of Columbus’ voyage. According to your research, what were his motivations?

Carol Delaney: Everybody knows that Columbus was trying to find gold, but they don’t know what the gold was for: to fund a crusade to take Jerusalem back from the Muslims before the end of the world. A lot of people at the time thought that the apocalypse was coming because of all the signs: the plague, famine, earthquakes and so forth. And it was believed that before the end, Jerusalem had to be back in Christian hands so that Christ could return in judgment. Columbus actually calculated how many years were left before the end of the world. He seemed to think of his whole voyage as a mission, which was part of this apocalyptic scenario.

Columbia: In addition to funding the crusade, did Columbus intend to evangelize the New World?

Carol Delaney: He was very much interested in evangelizing. He wrote against the idea that the natives could just be baptized and automatically become Christian. Rather, they really needed to be instructed about the Christian faith before being converted. He wrote to the pope requesting that good priests be sent to provide this instruction and even left money in his will for it.

Believing he was traveling to Asia, Columbus particularly wanted to convince the Grand Khan of China, who had already expressed interest in Christianity, to convert. He thought that the Grand Khan could help with the crusade to take Jerusalem by marching from the east, while the Europeans marched from the west — an interesting idea.

Columbia: Why don’t more people recognize and accept your claims about Columbus’ intentions?

Carol Delaney: Scholars have written articles about Columbus’ religious motivations, but they were published in very arcane journals.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, historians wrote about Columbus as the first modern man, who used science and reason as an explorer and discoverer. But I don’t think that was his motivation. He was a medieval man in a very religious context. He was very close to the Franciscans, who were involved in proselytizing before the end of the world.

Columbia: The popular view today is that Columbus is responsible for countless atrocities against the native peoples. In your opinion, is this a fair assessment?

Carol Delaney: No, not at all. The late 20th century brought a lot of critique about him from the perspective of the natives, and Columbus has become a symbol for everything that went wrong. But the more I read of his own writings and that of his contemporaries, my understanding of him totally changed. His relations with the natives tended to be benign. He liked the natives and found them to be very intelligent. He also described them as “natural Christians” because they had no other “sect,” or false faith, and believed that they could easily become Christians if they had instruction.

Columbus strictly told the crew not to do things like marauder or rape, and instead to treat the native people with respect. There are many examples in his writings where he gave instructions to this effect. Most of the time when injustices occurred, Columbus wasn’t even there. There were terrible diseases that got communicated to the natives, but he can’t be blamed for that.

A lot of the crewmembers didn’t like all of the restrictions and rebelled. In his writings, Columbus notes that the crew assumed that they could have slaves, that they could pick gold off of the trees, and that they didn’t have to work.

Columbia: What was Columbus’ view toward slavery?

Carol Delaney: As far as I can tell, Columbus never had any slaves, nor did he intend to get slaves when he went across the ocean. There was no possibility of enslaving the Grand Khan and his people. And [Columbus] believed the natives would become subjects of the Spanish sovereigns.

When they later met a different group of natives, whom they believed to be cannibals, Columbus’ brother sent some of these people back to Europe after their second voyage. It was considered morally acceptable at that time to enslave people who acted against their nature, with the hope that they would become good Christians. Slavery was common, even among people in the Caribbean. People ignore that fact and seem to think that Columbus instituted slavery.

Meanwhile, Bartolomé de Las Casas, an admirer of Columbus, is remembered for writing in defense of the Indians. But unlike Columbus, Las Casas owned slaves and operated encomiendas in the beginning. He didn’t have a change of heart until long after Columbus’ death, and even as late as the mid-16th century, he proposed slavery of African blacks as a substitute for the Indians.

Columbia: In your research, what did you find most significant about Columbus’ own writings?

Carol Delaney: I read all of Columbus’ writings that are extant. Columbus’ original diary does not exist. Las Casas and Columbus’ son, Ferdinand, each had a copy, and a lot of the story coincides in their redactions. Many of Columbus’ writings express respect for the natives and concern about his crew.

Before I began my research, I didn’t know Columbus had written anything. I liked the tone of his letters, and I enjoyed reading them. His devotion to his sons comes across, and he took care of the women in his life, which really helped change my opinion of him.

Columbia: In addition to his faith, what were some of Columbus’ most notable personal qualities, and what role did they play in his quest?

Carol Delaney: I think he was very patient. He waited more than 10 years before his first voyage came about. He petitioned the Portuguese first, then the Spanish. The council rejected his proposal three times, yet he continued to persist. He really believed he could do it. He showed tremendous courage in going across the ocean in tiny wooden ships, with basically a compass to guide his way.

Also, when the crew was grounded on Jamaica during the fourth voyage, Columbus kept trying to negotiate with the rebels and expressed forgiveness.

Columbia: To what extent can Columbus’ exploration be considered a failure or a success?

Carol Delaney: I think he went to the grave thinking that he had not accomplished what he wanted to do. He was angry with King Ferdinand for not pursuing the crusade, and he recognized that terrible crimes had been committed. From this point of view, he felt the quest was a failure. In reality, it was a major accomplishment. Columbus went across the ocean four times in small wooden ships, without the use of modern instruments. In the process, he discovered the New World, even though he thought that he had found only the periphery of Asia.

 



TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: altonpelowski; catholic; christophercolumbus; columbiamagazine; columbus; columbusday; knightsofcolumbus; kofc
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To: Salvation
Columbus' made a deal with the King and Queen of Spain:
1. He was to get 10% of the gross off the top of all treasure found in the New World.
2. He was to be named Viceroy
3. He was to get an hereditary title, which IIRC, his family still holds.
4. He was a biblically inspired man, of deeply religious conviction.
5. He took his obligation to bring the Word to the natives of the New World very seriously.
6. He prayed every day.
and all things considered was quite humble about divine credit for the success of his voyages.
7. The Spaniardfs who were trying to settle and exploit the New World had so little use for him, they denounced him and sent him home in chains.

The Portuguese, to whom he first turned for funds thought he was a charlatan, as he claimed the Earth was about 13,000 miles around the equator. They knew that was simply nonsense, as it had been known since the Greeks that it was 25,000 miles in circumference. Columbus had misinterpreted the units of measurement. The Portuguese (who consider other Europeans somewhat slow-witted and are really good at numbers) suspected that he had fudged his data on purpose to better "sell the deal!" They also thought he might have been working for Venice on some sort of spice shedazzle. BTW, every seafaring nation knew there was something out there to the west. After all, Iceland and Greenland already had settlers.

More columbian factoids: He was a Genoese, which means he spoke the city dialect which is really Catalan, so Ferdinand (a Catalan) and Isabella understood him very well. He also wised up a bit, and like a Hollywood guy selling a movie idea, he signed up with an agent!

It took a few years, but eventually, Ferdinand and Isabella really figured something like the 15th C equivalent of: "Whatever, he's not asking for that much, let's roll the dice with him."

PS: no one who could read and write thought the "Earth was flat." Nonetheless, Christopher Columbus, who took his first name Christus Ferens, i.e., the Bearer of Christ very seriously was a man for the ages and the fellow who got our New World on the map. But, he was human, too, one of us. And he deserves this day

21 posted on 10/13/2014 1:30:48 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Program. Plan. Leader?)
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To: OleShep
Possibly true, but more probably the settlers of Hispaniola dug up the "converso" bit when they denounced Columbus , had him arrested and sent home in chains.

BTW, the religious warfare endemic in Europe is why those from Protestant countries, particularly the Anglo-Saxon peoples, tend to denigrate Spanish culture and all things Hispanic. That's also true in the other direction, of course. But since we live in the English-Speaking World, (for a while longer anyway) we never get the whole picture.

Stop and think that the original 13 colonies and the first United States were tiny indeed compared with the Spanish possessions in the New World, and that major Spanish cities in the New World were already over 100 years old when the Pilgrims arrived.

22 posted on 10/13/2014 1:42:46 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Program. Plan. Leader?)
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To: Wisconsinlady

Indeed.


23 posted on 10/13/2014 3:09:46 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Slyfox

Interesting tidbit there. Thanks.


24 posted on 10/13/2014 3:10:47 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Verginius Rufus

I was taught the ships were named
the Nina,
The Pinta
and the Santa Maria.


25 posted on 10/13/2014 3:12:18 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

I don’t know of any dispute about the names of Columbus’ ships, but I don’t know who named them. It could be that they were named before he got them.


26 posted on 10/13/2014 8:14:49 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Verginius Rufus

Does Domingo mean this?

Sunday(noun)

the first day of the week, the day following Saturday, kept for rest and worship among Christians.


27 posted on 10/13/2014 8:21:24 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Dominus is Latin for "lord." Sunday is the Lord's day, reflected in the Italian domenica for Sunday, the Spanish and Portuguese domingo and French dimanche. I assume St. Dominic's name is originally an adjectival form from Dominus.
28 posted on 10/13/2014 8:33:26 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: OleShep
Jews who had converted to Christianity were not required to leave Spain, but sometimes they were suspected of having only pretended to convert and so were often targets of the Inquisition.

The Spanish-speaking Jews kept speaking Spanish where they moved to--many of them to the Ottoman Empire.

I once heard someone tell about a Turkish consul stationed in Chicago whose wife did not speak English. She had no trouble there because she was of Sephardic Jewish background and could go to the Hispanic neighborhoods in Chicago and get along fine in the stores using her Spanish.

29 posted on 10/13/2014 8:40:45 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Verginius Rufus

Sounds reasonable. I just know the Spanish.


30 posted on 10/13/2014 8:49:56 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Wisconsinlady

And they are not taught about how powerful the Ottoman Turks were. Not only did they control the trade in the Eastern Med; they actually menaced the freedom of Europe. In the 1520s, they conquered Hungary and threatened to capture Vienna.


31 posted on 10/14/2014 12:26:42 AM PDT by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: Dqban22

And it was Spain that kept the Turks from Invading Italy and dominating the whole med. Not many people know about the Battle of Lepanto.


32 posted on 10/14/2014 12:30:05 AM PDT by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: Verginius Rufus

St. Teresa of Avila came from a Jewish Christian family.


33 posted on 10/14/2014 12:34:57 AM PDT by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: Kenny Bunk

There is a theory that the Vikings had navigated the Arctic Sea,in the 12th century which was relatively Ice free at the time and drawn maps of a northwest passage to the Bering straits. That Columbus had seen such a map and based his math on a great circle distance to that point, with no knowledge of the length of the ocean routes at the latitude of Spain. The Portuguese, had decades before reached the Azores and perhaps Labrador, which is why they might have dismissed his project.


34 posted on 10/14/2014 12:47:14 AM PDT by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: RobbyS
There was quite a bit of transatlantic traffic prior to Christopher's excitng adventure: Basque whalers, Breton Cod Fisherman, the odd Viking settlement, wandering Irish monks, even Roman traders who got blown to Brazil where they left artifacts, etc.

But it was Columbus, Vespucci, Cabot, Verazzano, Hudson etc. who had at least a semi-methodical approach, the backing of nation-states and big business who finally got the New World show on the road. They also had the printing press by then, the 16th C answer to the Internet.

What always amazes me is that the strongest rigging on their ships which carried them thousands of miles, wasn't as tough as the rigging on my Thistle sailboat! To top it off, they had no real idea of where TF they were in those days, no charts and with no reliable way to fix longitude. Remember too, that we have forgotten all the explorers and colonists who never made it over ... or back.

But forget all that. Join me in celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day, won't you? After all, their cultures of incessant intertribal warfare, followed by human sacrifices, enslavement of the conquered, cannibalism, etc should make us all celebrate them in a politically correct way, because it would cause them great loss of self-esteem to point out that they were bloody frickin' heathens. And they did give us the potato.

35 posted on 10/14/2014 7:11:11 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Program. Plan. Leader?)
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To: Kenny Bunk

The Portuguese probably knew what Columbus did not, that there was an uncivilized land not Asia, a relatively short distance across the Atlantic. Certain they did not waste much time after Columbus came back, sending an expedition to claim Brazil, before heading east around the Cape. By that time they had already got the Pope—a Spanish popes, BTW— to split the territorial rights with Spain. When Cortez finally struck gold, literally, there must have been some unhappy people in Lisbon.


36 posted on 10/14/2014 10:44:57 PM PDT by RobbyS (quotes)
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To: Salvation

It’s just a shame they are going to have to change
their name to Knights of Indigenous.


37 posted on 10/14/2014 10:53:43 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Kenny Bunk

“and that major Spanish cities in the New World were already over 100 years old when the Pilgrims arrived. “

Pilgrims? Who cares about those late coming self promoters?

Jamestown had been in operation for more than a decade when that Pilgrim crew made their beer run on the Massachusetts coast.


38 posted on 10/15/2014 10:26:24 AM PDT by Pelham ("This is how they do it in Mexico"- California State Motto)
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To: Pelham
Breaking Jamestown Research

www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question61584.htm

39 posted on 10/15/2014 2:25:14 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Program. Plan. Leader? Because not being Obama is not enough to save the Republic.)
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To: 2ndMostConservativeBrdMember; afraidfortherepublic; Alas; al_c; american colleen; annalex; ...

Save Columbus Day!!

About the Knights of Columbus                   History of the Knights of Columbus

Knights of Columbus: Celebrating 125 Years of Faith In Action
 
 
    

 

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be
added to or taken off  the Knights of Columbus ping list

40 posted on 10/15/2014 6:41:18 PM PDT by Coleus
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