How Was The Early Life of Christopher Columbus?

In this post, we will explain to you the early life of Christopher Columbus.

If you are fascinated to know this explorer’s early life and adventures then this post is going to help you a lot.

So, here is how everything began.

Birth of The Explorer

Still, there are some controversies over the date and the exact place of his birth.

The majority of historians assume that Christopher Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa, in 1451, on 31st October.

Present-day, the Republic of Genoa is in Italy. That was the beginning age of the Renaissance in Europe. 

Who Were His Parents? – Mother And Father

Columbus’s father’s name was Domenico Colombo. His father was an Italian weaver and a wool merchant.

Columbus’s mother’s name was Susanna Fontanarossa. Along with Columbus, they had 5 children in total.

His other four siblings were:

• Giovanni Pellegrino Colombo
• Bartholomew Columbus
• Giacomo Colombo
• And Bianchinetta Colombo (The only sister).

Was Christopher Columbus His Real Name?

We have found many disputable accounts regarding his original name.

According to some historians, Christopher Columbus was not his real name. This name was actually an anglicization form of the original one.

Because he was born in Italy, his original name was Cristoforo Colombo. They believe, probably, this was his birth name.

Some other names assumed associated with him:

• Cristóbal Colón 
• Christofferus de Colombo 
• Christoual
• Xpoual de Colón
• Christovam

Family’s Economic Condition

Earlier, Christopher Columbus’s family background was not that strong. The only wealth that he had was his courage.

This was the reason, why at a very early age (10 years old). he started doing a job at a merchant ship.

Columbus went to school for a concise time but soon he had to leave that out. However, he was a highly self-educated person, he never left studying new books and gathering knowledge consistently.

Dream Of Becoming A Navigator And Explorer

As a little kid, he always felt a fascination with oceans. He started the journey of seas, while he was just a teenager (10 years old kid).

Back then, he got a job on a merchant ship in Portugal. He worked on that ship till 1476.

In the 1476 century, while moving to England, a group of sea-wolf (pirates) attacked them and set the ship on fire.

However, somehow Columbus managed to save his life and reached Lisbon by floating on a scrap of wood.

After this major incident, he decided that he would work on his own.

So, this was how Columbus started planning for his future adventures and gathering knowledge; with this motive, he started studying Navigation, Mathematics, Cartography, and Astronomy. 

To Whom Christopher Columbus Married With?

In 1479, he married a Portuguese woman, named Filipa Moniz Perestrelo.

In late 1479, they birth to their first child Diego Columbus.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Diego also became a navigator and explorer.

Although, Christopher had a relationship with another Spanish woman, named Beatriz Enríquez de Arana.

Columbus had a son with this woman too. His name was Ferdinand Columbus, born on 24th August 1488 in Spain. In later years, Ferdinand became a Bibliographer.

Why And How Did He Begin His First Voyage?

Europe and Asia had a long history of trade through ground routes. The trades had been going on for thousands of years. These routes passed through the Middle-East Asian region.

But in the 15th century, the rise of the Ottoman Empire created some difficulties for trade between these two continents. Especially, when the Ottomans increased taxes.

For this reason, European nations such as Portugal, Spain, and England started facing many troubles.  To solve this issue, they now started focusing on finding an easier sea route to Asia (mainly to India and China).

For this same purpose, Christopher Columbus’s journey also began on August 3rd, 1492. Here, Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile sponsored his expedition.

How Columbus Discovered America By Mistake?

Usually, the sailors who wanted to reach Asia had only one plan and that was via crossing the African continent.

But Columbus had a different plan. He argued that they should travel through the west across the Atlantic, instead of crossing the giant African continent.

He believed, that if his expedition succeeds, it would reduce the distance between these two continents.

Though his argument had weight, his calculations were wrong. As a result, instead of discovering Asia or India; he discovered two completely new continents, the Americas (North & South).