It had been a grueling two months and five days since the three ships left Palos de la Frontera in Spain on August 3, 1492. Provisions and fresh water were running short, and the men were restless, their tempers starting to show. The Admiral had staked his life and the lives of his men on an unproven theory, and if there was to be a miracle, it had better come soon. He had kept two logs, identical except for the the distance traveled. In his secret log, he kept the actual distance while in his other available to the crew he had misrepresented the distances to appear that they had not traveled nearly as far as they actually had.
On October 10th, the crew was on the brink of mutiny, Columbus asked for three more days, promising to turn back then if they had not discovered land.
The undiscovered continent drew him ever closer. He wrote in his log:
Wednesday, 10 October. Steered west-southwest and sailed at times ten miles an hour, at others twelve, and at others, seven; day and night made fifty-nine leagues’ progress; reckoned to the crew but forty-four. Here the men lost all patience, and complained of the length of the voyage, but the Admiral encouraged them in the best manner he could, representing the profits they were about to acquire, and adding that it was to no purpose to complain, having come so far, they had nothing to do but continue on to the Indies, till with the help of our Lord, they should arrive there.
Thursday, 11 October. Steered west-southwest; and encountered a heavier sea than they had met with before in the whole voyage. Saw pardelas and a green rush near the vessel. The crew of the Pinta saw a cane and a log; they also picked up a stick which appeared to have been carved with an iron tool, a piece of cane, a plant which grows on land, and a board. The crew of the Nina saw other signs of land, and a stalk loaded with rose berries. These signs encouraged them, and they all grew cheerful. Sailed this day till sunset, twenty-seven leagues. After sunset steered their original course west and sailed twelve miles an hour till two hours after midnight, going ninety miles, which are twenty-two leagues and a half; and as the Pinta was the swiftest sailer [sic], and kept ahead of the Admiral, she discovered land and made the signals which had been ordered. The land was first seen by a sailor called Rodrigo de Triana, although the Admiral at ten o’clock that evening standing on the quarter-deck saw a light, but so small a body that he could not affirm it to be land; calling to Pero Gutierrez, groom of the King’s wardrobe, he told him he saw a light, and bid him look that way, which he did and saw it; he did the same to Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, whom the King and Queen had sent with the squadron as comptroller, but he was unable to see it from his situation. The Admiral again perceived it once or twice, appearing like the light of a wax candle moving up and down, which some thought an indication of land. But the Admiral held it for certain that land was near; for which reason, after they had said the Salve which the seamen are accustomed to repeat and chant after their fashion, the Admiral directed them to keep a strict watch upon the forecastle and look out diligently for land, and to him who should first discover it he promised a silken jacket, besides the reward which the King and Queen had offered, which was an annuity of ten thousand maravedis. At two o’clock in the morning the land was discovered, at two leagues’ distance; they took in sail and remained under the square-sail lying to till day, which was Friday, when they found themselves near a small island, one of the Lucayos, called in the Indian language Guanahani . . .
As someone who has read his journal, I am not a revisionist as far as Cristóbal Colón (Columbus) goes. Columbus professed the Christian faith as seen in many of his statements including the following:
“I read that it was necessary to convert these peoples to our Holy Faith, and such is my purpose to this day, to fulfill His will in the lands that I discover.”
“With the help of our Lord, I shall carry out my plans, and there will be no challenges that I cannot overcome with the scripture as my guide.”
“As though it were the work of God, the wind changed and favored our journey—proof that He is always with us.”
I believe Columbus was a God-fearing man of his times and not directly responsible for whatever Crown-sanctioned evil followed. His vision for the New World was corrupted by Royal policies and the appointed mercenaries and miscreants he was forced to accommodate. True, he was said to have applied barbaric physical punishment to natives and insubordinate crew, but he followed the contemporary practices of an unenlightened society which is barbaric in terms of the worldview we have today.
It is folly to judge people who lived centuries ago according to contemporary standards. To do so would make our Founding Fathers both white supremacists and in some way, misogynists as well. The Bill of Rights Institute agrees and concludes: “The vilification of Columbus is not justified.”
[Watch the trailer for Ridley Scott’s movie 1492 here. It is an excellent movie well worth watching.]
“The Holy Spirit, who rules the hearts of the faithful, has placed this within my mind…to go to these lands and spread the Holy Faith.”
In 1958 artist Salvador Dali unveiled a fourteen-foot-high painting he called “The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus”. Like other paintings by this late artist, Dali presented an interesting surrealistic perspective. In this painting he shows the Santa Maria, the ship Columbus sailed on being pulled ashore by a youth who is Columbus, himself. Note the high step on the youth’s right foot. This has been cited as foreshadowing of the Apollo 11 moon landing and Neil Armstrong’s comment “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” However, it is doubtful that Dali had such grandiose thoughts in mind when he did this painting, though Dali was coy about it. The blood dripping from the crosses on the Santa Maria’s sails represent the lost lives and sacrifices needed for Columbus to even reach the New World in the first place. Then, you have the indigenous deaths which followed.
The woman on the far left in front of the blue flag and with the nimbus behind her head represents Gala, Dali’s wife as the Virgin Mary. Women are used to symbolize or suggest fertility. On the right edge of the painting just over half way up is Dali, himself, assuming the perspective of the Christ of John of the Cross, one of Dali’s earlier works.
Buried in the background and the clouds are symbols, such as the cross which emphasize the messianic mission of the journey to evangelize any non-Christian tribes or civilizations encountered on the voyage. Together, all of the symbols and the “gestalt” of the painting suggest a divine ambition underway. This notion is one of the underpinnings to the political doctrine of American Exceptionalism which is so popular among conservatives today.
