Christophorus Columbus (Cristóbal Colón)

This page contains links to pages with information about Columbus.
This page is part of the Discoverers Web

The Columbus Navigation Homepage

Contains several articles on Columbus, a description of his four voyages, a page on his first landfall and a links page (which I have thankfully used). Also on that site:

Computerized Information Retrieval System on Columbus and the Age of Discovery.

Tom Tirado has collected a large number of articles on Columbus and several connected subjects. Several of the articles collected by him are linked to below or on other pages on this site, here are a number that are not mentioned elsewhere:

1492: An ongoing voyage - Library of Congress Exhibit

Other general pages:

Who was Columbus?

Although most historians believe Columbus's own claims that he was from Genova, there are others who think that he was hiding his true descent or past. Of those the one that is most prevalent at present is the theory that he was a converted Jew. Hate against Jews was high in those days, in fact they were expelled from Spain in 1492, and converted Jews would be suspect as well.

Before 1492:

Navigation Methods

During his voyages, Columbus probably mostly relied on dead reckoning. Here the course and speed of the ship are estimated or measured, and from this the course is found. See this page on the Columbus navigation homepage for more information. This theory is supported in an article by Douglas Peck. On the other hand, Arne Molander argues that Columbus used the old tradition of latitude sailing, in which one sails straight west (or east) from a point of known latitude. Other articles about Columbus' navigation methods:

First voyage:

First landing:

General articles

The evidence

The proposals

Second voyage:

Third voyage:

Fourth voyage:

Primary Sources:

These are (transcripts of) original documents about Columbus and his voyages:

Other people:

Pictures: