A Tale of American History

Episode 5: Columbus to India (I)

In our last episode, we talked about how explorers, especially the Portuguese, started the Age of Discovery for Europe. They sailed along the west coast of Africa and discovered a new maritime route to Asia by sailing around the southern tip of Africa.

一

At the same time, some Europeans were exploring another possibility—the vast Atlantic Ocean to the west. They believed that by sailing west across the Atlantic, they would eventually reach Asia so they could buy spices and fulfill their dreams of enjoying peppery meat stew.  

The theoretic basis for their belief was: The Earth is round.

To understand when Europeans—or humankind—first realized that the Earth is round, we need to trace back to Ancient Greece. Around 500 BC, Pythagoras, the mathematician who discovered the Pythagorean theorem, was the first to propose that we might all be living on a huge, spherical globe.  However, he provided no evidence for his theory; perhaps he simply found the round shape aesthetically pleasing. His view was later shared by Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander the Great.

Aristotle, however, had evidence to support his theory. His argument was that when a ship approached from a distance at sea, the mast always appeared first, followed by the sail, and finally the full ship, without exception. This demonstrated that the ship was traveling along a curved surface, indicating that the Earth is a large sphere.

We must admit this was a very powerful argument. If this presumption stands, then regardless sailing east or west, one can reach Asia. This became a common understanding among some Medieval European navigators, including the most renowned Christopher Columbus.

二

Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa which is part of present-day Italy, thus, you could say he was Italian.

But there was an issue with his birthday. He may have been born in the year 1448, 1449, 1450 or 1451, and his birth date could be either October 31 or August 22. This results in eight possible combinations for his birthday. Feel free to choose any of them—no one would argue with you, certainly not Columbus himself.

There is also debate about his birthplace. Some believe he may have been born in the small town of Cogoleto instead.

The uncertainties surrounding his birth have baffled me for quite some time.

He is considered by later generations to have played a key role in shaping the world—a figure who pushed history forward. It is therefore quite odd that we are still unsure of when and where he was born.

After some research, I came to understand why or at least I believe I know. As for the reason itself, let me leave it in suspense for now and will come back to it later.

According to some historical accounts, Columbus was interested in sea voyages from an early age.  Personally, I believe he was not just interested in them; he was fascinated by everything related to them, including marrying a captain’s daughter and becoming a strong supporter of the Spherical Earth theory.

It was from this theory that he drew the conclusion that traveling all the way west from Europe would lead to the spice and gold-rich Orient.

Besides supporting the idea that the earth is spherical, Columbus also had deep admiration and longing for the Orient, because of the book “The travels of Marco Polo”.  A travelogue recounting the journey of the venetian merchant Marco Polo through Asia and the East coast of Africa, this book has very detailed descriptions of the geography, culture, and customs of Mongolia, China, Japan, India and many countries in Middle East and Central Asia.

After returning to his hometown following his journey, Marco Polo took part in a war between Venice and Genoa. Perhaps exhausted from the long journey, he was not very skilled at combating and was captured and thrown into jail by the Genoese.

While in prison, he became good friends with a fellow inmate named Rustichello. As they chatted, Marco Polo told him about his experience in Asia. Rustichello recorded everything in the book “The travels of Marco Polo”.
The 2nd volume of the book had detailed accounts of Yuan Dynasty of China, full of praise and compliments.

At the beginning of the 14th century, this travelogue began gaining popularity in Europe and was translated into many languages. It is fair to say that before the book, few Europeans had heard of China, but afterward, China was viewed as a paradise by many. The book is also very famous in present-day China because it was a strong advocate for the country.。

Many modern scholars doubted Marco Polo ever visited China and regarded much of his description as fabricated stories. However, Columbus believed in him and was convinced that Asia was a place full of wealth, waiting to be discovered. 

三

But as the famous Chinese stand-up comedian Guo Degang once said: “with money;  a man is a real man; without money, he is a nobody”

Although Columbus wanted to explore India and China, without money, his ambition was nothing more than empty talk.  

And Columbus had no money.

But the situation in Europe provided a possibility for him to realize his dream expedition.

What was Europe like at that time?

Simply put, it was quite similar to the Warring States Period in Ancient China. Countries fought one another for power. Alliances were formed and broken all the time; a friend today could be an enemy tomorrow.  Sneak attacks and back-stabbing were common. 

The tricky part was, just like in our Warring States period, everyone was somehow related. Your king was the brother-in-law of my king, and his king was the uncle of your king.

Furthermore, in China’s Warring States period, there was one common spiritual leader—the Emperor from the Zhou court. Similarly in Europe, there was the Roman Pope, whom most countries recognized.

As a result of countries being enemies yet deeply intertwined, talented individuals moved from one country to another frequently. This was the case in China’s Warring States period, and it was also the case in Medieval Europe.

Su Qin and Zhang Yi from China’s Warring States period didn’t do well in their own countries, but after moving to another state, they quickly climbed to high positions in the court.   

What was the technique they used to achieve that? Lobbying. In laymen’s terms: hustle rich and powerful monarchs.

That’s exactly what Columbus did. Filled with great ambition, he packed up and set out to lobby monarchs of various European countries.

His approach was simple: request an audience with a king and pitch his proposal—”Let’s work together. You provide the funding, I do the work. Once I find China and India, we’ll split the profits.”

Besides his own country the Republic of Genoa (or Italy), Columbus approached nearly every powerful nation in Europe, including Portugal, England, France, the Netherlands, and Spain.

The responses to his request from Portugal, England, France, and the Netherlands were direct and unmistakable: “Goodbye. Go back to where you belong, Don’t try to fool us.”

There were two main reasons for that.

First, although Columbus believed strongly in the idea of a spherical Earth, many Europeans at that time did not. They thought that if a ship kept travelling west, it would eventually fall off the edge. Where exactly, they had no idea, they only knew return was impossible.  

They probably didn’t care if Columbus fell or not, but they certainly wouldn’t let their money go down with him.

 The second reason was that Columbus was asking for too much, as seen in the agreement he later reached with Spain.

There was probably a third reason why Portugal rejected him: Prince Henrique.

Prince Henrique was a firm believer in science and had developed a theory through calculations: the shortest route from Europe to Asia was via sailing around Africa. This theory was being explored at the time and was later verified by Da Gama.

Therefore, there was no market for hustler Mr. Columbus there.  

After spending over 10 years lobbying, Columbus was getting nowhere. Just as he was feeling defeated and wondering if he should return home to help his dad run their small tavern, the Goddess of Destiny finally took notice of this ambitious yet unlucky man.

 Queen Isabella of Spain—the very queen rumored to have bathed only twice in her entire life—finally granted Columbus his petition.

It remains unclear why Queen Isabella, after rejecting Columbus three times, changed her mind and became a big supporter of him. Of course, with people all around the world sharing a common love for gossip, all kinds of rumors spread— but in the end, it was all just hearsay without solid proof.

But Queen Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand, didn’t have money either. Even though they lived in grand mansions and wore fancy clothes, it was all just for appearances. Beneath the surface, their pockets were quite empty.

In fact, the royal couple didn’t even have cash equivalent to today’s $10000. It was only with the help of the Pinzón brothers that they managed to secure funding for Columbus’s voyage.  

So, how did Columbus end up discovering the new continent? 

To be continued.