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
Illl'I*m:I,1~,Im..-AT
?4l(I\’().\
In
rimmun
gwwrminn
rhe
/izmi/y
lwecnrne
mm]:more
ftlmom
/Ium
beforeIlzmugh
I/zr?
distinctimr
conferred
upnn
u
by
Clam-rlrenm
[henzusler
of.\‘ic_wn.
(.'lt'ix1/runes
.. .hada
zlnugltmgAgarzstu,
whomhewishedto
marry
tolite‘bestman
inall(fruece. 30
during
1/2/z
0l'_wrpi4*gxlnmy,
in
whirl:hehadhim.
.r’_,s"
mmtheChariot
race,
he
hada
pm‘)lir;
amumnczh
men!
murlc,
to
the
e/Ierl
that
any
Greekwho
mcmghr
himselfgood
enough
tobecunze
(,‘lr:i.v1hcnc.v'.s'rm—in-law
should
presrntIrirzzwlf
iw‘.rherI-becuu.\‘e
he
:‘mm(lc‘d,willxirithe
ymr/ollowirzg
the
ulrtirilh
day,
Inhr,-Imlh
his
(1(llIg}l(t’I‘
InJzw
/inure
husbrmd
Cl1*is!}rzvu'.v
liar!hada
racetrackand.1
u'r(’xIIing~rir1Ki‘p(!<'iullv
fllflt/(’
for
Iris
purpose,
and
pmwntly
thenu"!-
am‘
begun
tonr/ive——
every
num
of
(Irerrk
nationalily
whohad
mrrmtlairzg
11)be
/mmd
nf
rairlmrin/1ix
country
orin
fiirmx»/fl
..
.
Cl('i.s'1h(.'n£‘.$'
began
I?)-
rzvkilig
mclz
[«.z_['rhc
/mnmmur
.s'uimrs/
in
turn
tonmnchis(mm-
rry
um!
parvn/:1ge;IIx(-n
he
kepz
r/rem
in
}Is'.\‘
Iinzme
for
a
year.
In
get
toknowman:well.
entering
mma2nversa—
mmwith(hemS()IIl€A
timer
singly.
.s'()me‘Iime5
all
mg:-Jlwr,
and
rmling
each.
of
them
for
lzir
LAW 34 285