Was Christopher Columbus a explorer sent by rulers of Spain?

Answer 1

The short answer is that he wasn't.

In fact the truth is that Columbus had to petition for many years to get permission to go and explore the ocean. The reason why he needed permission was that he could not raise the necessary funds all by himself, because at that time of his life he was not very wealthy and did not even live in his own house but in a humble apartment above the cartographer's shop where he worked.

So Columbus hoped that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella would lend him enough money to fit out an expedition. In return he promised to give them seven-eighths of everything he found, keeping one eighth for himself (and the King and Queen considered this rather greedy of him, which is one of the factors that contributed to his lengthy wait).

The most significant cause for the delay in obtaining permission was that the King and Queen waged a series of what they regarded as "holy wars", first against the Moors and then the Jews, and this led to that terrible period which came to be known as the Spanish Inquisition where many thousands of people were persecuted, tortured and even killed in the name of religion.

All of this activity placed a considerable strain on the royal coffers, and so the King and Queen were quite reluctant to lend any money to Columbus, especially since many of their most senior advisers and scholars considered Columbus to be a crackpot adventurer (and that was when they were being nice about him!).

After some fourteen long years of being constantly fobbed off by the Spanish royals, Columbus finally got fed up with waiting and decided to try his luck with the King of France.

Then by one of those strange quirks of fate that make history so fascinating, Columbus happened to stop one evening at a certain monastery to beg for food and lodging for himself and his son Diego (at the time about 11 or 12 years old).

They were tired and hungry, so the Prior took pity on them and invited them in to share a meal. During the meal Columbus related some of his tale to the Prior, and the Prior was fascinated by everything he heard.

Unlike so many of his contemporaries, he believed that Columbus was really onto something with his theory of land far across the ocean, and when he heard that this great opportunity for discovery was about to be lost to France he begged Columbus to be patient and wait for him to return. He would, he said, ride to see the Queen and ask her to reconsider Columbus's request.

The odd coincidence is that out of all the places where Columbus could have stopped to seek help, he happened to choose the one monastery in which the Prior just happened to have been the former religious confessor to the Queen.

Because the Prior was a man who the Queen respected and trusted, she was willing to listen to his opinion, and this persuaded her to summon Columbus for one more meeting and a chance to put forward his case once again.

This time he was heard more favorably and after a little haggling on either side over minor details it was finally agreed that Columbus would be provided with money, ships and men to help him carry out his expedition.

So that is the story of how, by the strange coincidence of happening to stop in the right place at the right time and then talk to exactly the right person, Columbus was finally able to achieve his dream.

Answer 2

NO he sailed from Spain to Cuba but he thought cuba was america....

Fania answered this question for all yall people dat noe me.....

Answer 3

In his famous 1492 voyage, Christopher Columbus was employed by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain.

Answer 4

no, by a portuguese ruler