He did not consult the best experts and he relied on geographical estimates that were determine before the Birth Of Christ By The Ancient Greeks These estimates made the Earth seem much smaller than it actually is. He believed The Far Eastern Part Of Asia is where Southern North America actually wound up being.
People wanted another way to get to the Wealth and Sophistication of India and China, no one knew about The Cape of Good Hope at that time- many believed that Africa could not be sailed around. There was a race among the nations of Western Europe to see who would resolve this problem.
Columbus and many others saw themselves first as subjects of Christendom and then the city or region of their birth and then, lastly, their nation. People readily bought into the idea that Christ either ruled over the World or was known of throughout the world. The world for most people of Western Europe of that time was Europe, Asia and Far Northern Africa. Anything else was either unknown or not seen as significant enough to be worth knowing.
Columbus was not able , for nearly 8 years, to convince anyone to finance his plan. However, In 1491, Ferdinand y Isabela, The King and Queen of The United Kingdom of Castile and Aragon finally drove out the last Islamic Army. For The First Time in over 700 years, Spain was totally ruled by Spaniards. The Monarchs felt that they needed to do something great for God, who they believe finally allowed their nation to be free. So, As A " Thank You" To God, They financed the Man from Genoa!
People of Columbus' time thought that they had accounted for all the types and varieties of peoples on the Earth. Columbus also was convinced that he was going to encounter people of great wealth and learning who lived in large, cosmopolitan and opulent cities. When Columbus neared Cuba, He thought he was off the coast of JAPAN!
On October 12TH, 1492, Columbus saw things that he did not at all expect to see and he had not one useful clue as to what to make of it. Nothing that he saw made any sense to him. So, He labeled these islands and the people he found there based on where he thought he had to be! He also wondered- to his shame- if these people where indeed people. They resembled no KNOWN people and they lived as NO ONE expected them to live!
A lot of ghastly errors were committed on the day and in times soon after it! Many heinous circumstances would come about due to the errors made in that Fall of 1492!
However, if you were Columbus and thought what he thought and knew what he knew on The Morning of The 12Th of October, 1492?
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