The 48 Laws Of Power

Colombo

oftheCastleofCuccaroinMontferrat.

Colombo

inturnwassaid

tobedescendedfromthe

legendary

Roman

general

Colonius,

and

two

of

hisfirstcousinswere

supposedly

directdescendantsofan

emperor

ofCon

stantinople.

Anillustrious

background

indeed.Butitwas

nothing

more

thanillustrious

fantasy,

forColumbuswas

actually

thesonofDomenico

Colombo,

ahumbleweaver

whohad

opened

a

wine

shop

whenChrista»

pher

wasa

young

man,

and

who

then

madehis

livingbyselling

cheese.

Columbushimselfhadcreatedthe

myth

ofhisnoble

background,

be-

cause

from

early

on hefeltthat

destiny

had

singled

him outfor

great

things,

and

thathehadakindof

royalty

inhis

blood.

Accordingly

heacted

asifhewereindeeddescendedfromnoblestock.

Afteranuneventfulca-

reerasamerchanton

3

commercial

vessel, Columbus,

Originally

from

Genoa,

settledinLisbon.

Using

thefabricated

story

ofhisnobleback

ground,

hemarriedintoanestablishedLisbon

family

that hadexcellent

connections

with

Portugueseroyalty.

Through

his

in—laws,

Columbus

finagled

a

meeting

withthe

king

of

Portugahjoao

II,

whom

he

petitioned

tofinance

awestward

voyage

aimed

at

discovering

ashorterroutetoAsia.Inreturnfor

announcing

that

any

discoveriesheachievedwouldbemadeinthe

kings

name,

Columbus

Ihwanteda
series
of

rights:

thetitle

Grand

AdmiraloftheOceanic

Sea;

the

officeof

Viceroy

over

any

landshe

found;

and 10

percent

ofthe

future

commercewithsuchlands.Allofthese

rights

weretobe

hereditary

andfor

alltime.Columbusmadethesedemandseven

though

hehad

previously

beenamere

merchant,

heknewalmost

nothing

about

navigation,

hecould

notworka

quadrant,

andhehadneverleda

group

ofmen.Inshorthehad

absolutely

no

qualifications

forthe

journey

he

proposed.

Furthermore,

his

petition

includednodetailsastohowhewould

accomplish

his

plans,just

vague

promises.

“ThenColumbusfinishedhis

pitch,

joao

IIsmiled:He

politely

de-

clinedthe

offer,

butleftthedoor

open

forthefuture.HereColumbus

must

havenoticed

something

hewouldnever

forget:

Evenasthe

king

turned

down the sailor’s

demands,

hetreated themas

legitimate.

Heneither

laughed

atColumbusnor

questioned

his

background

andcredentials.In

factthe

king

was

impressedby

theboldnessofColumbus’s

requests,

and

clearly

feltcomfortableinthe

company

ofamanwhoactedso

confidently.

The

meeting

must

haveconvincedColumbusthathis

instinctswerecor‘

rect:

Byasking

forthe

moon,

hehad

instantly

raised

hisown

status,

forthe

king

assumedthatunlessamanwhosetsucha

highprice

onhimselfwere

mad,

whichColumbusdidnot

appear

to

be,

hemustsomehowbeworthit.

Afew

years

laterColumbusmovedto

Spain.Using

his

Portuguese

connections,

hemovedinelevatedcirclesatthe

Spanish

court,

receiving

subsidiesfromillustrious financiersand

sharing

tableswith dukesand

princes.

To

allthesemenbe

repeated

his

request

for

financing

for

a

voyage

tothewe-st——andalsoforthe

rights

hehaddemandedfrom

joao

II.

Some,

suchasthe

powerful

dukeof

Medina,

wantedto

help,

butcould

not,

since

they

lackedthe

power

to

grant

him

the

titles

and

rights

hewanted,But

Columbuswouldnotbackdown.Hesoonrealized

that

only

one

person

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LAW 34 285