Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504Penguin, 25 set 2012 - 496 pagine He knew nothing of celestial navigation or of the existence of the Pacific Ocean. He was a self-promoting and ambitious entrepreneur. His maps were a hybrid of fantasy and delusion. When he did make land, he enslaved the populace he found, encouraged genocide, and polluted relations between peoples. He ended his career in near lunacy. But Columbus had one asset that made all the difference, an inborn sense of the sea, of wind and weather, and of selecting the optimal course to get from A to B. Laurence Bergreen's energetic and bracing book gives the whole Columbus and most importantly, the whole of his career, not just the highlight of 1492. Columbus undertook three more voyages between 1494 and 1504, each designed to demonstrate that he could sail to China within a matter of weeks and convert those he found there to Christianity. By their conclusion, Columbus was broken in body and spirit, a hero undone by the tragic flaw of pride. If the first voyage illustrates the rewards of exploration, this book shows how the subsequent voyages illustrate the costs - political, moral, and economic. |
Altre edizioni - Visualizza tutto
Parole e frasi comuni
aboard Adelantado Admiral Admiral’s Alonso de Ojeda anchor appeared arrived ashore Bartholomew beach became believed boat Bobadilla brother cacique canoe Caonabó Cape captain caravel Caribbean Caribs Casas cassava Castile Chanca Christians Christopher Columbus claimed coast Colum Columbian Exchange Columbus's crew Cuba Diego discovered discovery empire Europeans exploration fear Ferdinand and Isabella fleet gave Genoa Genoese gold Grand Khan Guacanagarí harbor Hispaniola hundred Indians Indies inhabitants island Jamaica João João II Juan king La Isabela land later leagues lumbus mainland Marco Martín Alonso Méndez miles mutineers Navidad navigation Nicolás de Ovando night Niña Ocean Sea Ojeda ordered Ovando Peter Martyr Pinzón Porras Portugal Portuguese Puerto Quibián reached rebels reef remained river Roldán royal sail sailors Sánchez Santa María Santo Domingo seemed sent Seville ships shore sight slaves Spain Spaniards Spanish storm survived Taínos took trade trees voyage weather wind women wrote Xaraguá