On 12 October 1492, after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia.
At the time, Europeans knew no direct sea route to southern Asia, and the route via Egypt and the Red Sea was closed to Europeans by the Ottoman Empire, as were many land routes. Contrary to popular legend, educated Europeans of Columbus’ day did believe that the world was round, as argued by St. Isidore in the seventh century. However, Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world’s size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed).
Since his death, Christopher Columbus's bones have traveled almost as much as he did when he was alive. He died and was buried in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506, then was moved to Seville sometime after that. In 1542, his bones were sent to the Dominican Republic; then to Havana in 1795; then back to Seville. Yet folks in the Dominican Republic contend that at least some of his remains never left the island. Thus, there are tombs for his bones in Seville and in the Dominican Republic. It's possible both sites contain a bit of him.
At the time, Europeans knew no direct sea route to southern Asia, and the route via Egypt and the Red Sea was closed to Europeans by the Ottoman Empire, as were many land routes. Contrary to popular legend, educated Europeans of Columbus’ day did believe that the world was round, as argued by St. Isidore in the seventh century. However, Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world’s size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed).
Since his death, Christopher Columbus's bones have traveled almost as much as he did when he was alive. He died and was buried in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506, then was moved to Seville sometime after that. In 1542, his bones were sent to the Dominican Republic; then to Havana in 1795; then back to Seville. Yet folks in the Dominican Republic contend that at least some of his remains never left the island. Thus, there are tombs for his bones in Seville and in the Dominican Republic. It's possible both sites contain a bit of him.
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