Columbus

by Dr. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1992

  $4.20

  Published to coincide with the quincentenary of Columbus' arrival at the island of San Salvador, this biography assesses the life and achievements of Christopher Columbus in the context of the great era of European overseas exploration. A humble Genoese cartographer, Columbus was convinced that the existence of a Western route to Asia would prove that the world was round. This book traces his attempts to persuade the rulers of Spain to fund the expedition, the events of the 1492 voyage, and the reaction to his discovery of the New World. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto also considers his disappointing subsequent career as explorer and colonial administrator, his religious obsessions and his death as a forgotten pauper.

• Used

  Paperback
  1996

  $3.40

  Christopher Columbus has generated a legend which exceeds even the achievements of his own lifetime. This text aims to build up a believable portrait of Columbus, set in the context of the world in which he lived. It examines the explorer's quest for patronage and the development of his geographical ideas, as well as describing his famous voyages and subsequent explorations, and his disastrous career as a colonial administrator. It tells of the personal tragedy of this man, who was born a weaver's son, and died in bitterness. Throughout the book, Columbus's character is examined - his social ambition, his conflicting motivation, his divergent perceptions of his discoveries, and his uneasy relationships with patrons and friends. Instead of portraying him as the unchanging victim of his own certainty, the book reveals a human Columbus, with attitudes and ideas that changed over time.