Free Republic

“There are but 155 years left … at which time … the world will come to an end,” wrote Christopher Columbus in his book “Libro de Las Profecias,” composed in 1502 between his third and fourth voyages. Columbus continued: “… The sign which convinces me that our Lord is hastening the end of the world is the preaching of the Gospel recently in so many lands.” Though his predictions were off, Columbus’ writings revealed his motivation for setting sail on his first voyage Aug. 3, 1492, with the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria. He sought to find a sea...

The Pinta and the Nina, replicas of Columbus's ships, will visit Lewes Friday, May 29. The ships will be docked at the City Dock on Front Street until their early morning departure Monday, June 1... The Nina was built by hand and without the use of power tools. She was called "the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built," by Archaeology magazine. Craftmanship of construction and the details in the rigging make it a fascinating visit back to the Age of Discovery. The Nina was used in the production of the film, "1492," starring Gerard Depardieu. "It's an educational vessel...

CORPUS CHRISTI — The city is likely to commit $20,000 toward restoring the one ship in the Columbus replica fleet that's still floating, Mayor Henry Garrett said Monday, describing a proposed partnership with the Consulate of Spain in Houston. "I believe spending $20,000 to get the ship in tip-top shape would be worth it," he said. Under the proposed agreement, the city's money would pay for iron and wood to restore the Niña, which is part of a replica fleet of the ships that Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492. In exchange, a group of donors that includes the Mitchell Foundation...

from the January 29, 2003 edition The Pinta, Santa Maria, and a Chinese junk? A new book claims the Chinese discovered America in 1421, but historians refute thesis. By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor To the Norsemen, the Japanese, and the Carthaginians; to the Irish, the Africans, and a long list of others who, it is claimed, crossed the oceans to America long before 1492, add one more: the Chinese. They toured up and down both coasts of the Americas, established colonies, made maps, and left behind chickens. That, at least, is the theory posed...