Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus (born before 31 October 1451 – died 20 May 1506) was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer, born in the Republic of Genoa, in what is today northwestern Italy.

Under the sponsorship of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents.

On 30 May 1498, Columbus left with six ships from Sanlúcar, Spain, for his third trip to the New World. Columbus led his fleet to the Portuguese island of Porto Santo where he met Filipa, the daughter of the Governor of that island.

Christopher Columbus lived, married and even had a child named Diogo Columbo on the ‘golden island’.

In keeping with the typical activities of his Genoese heritage - trade, plied back and forth between the Madeiran Archipelago and Lisbon selling sugar and sugar cane, little time did he have for his family. It was only after the untimely death of his wife that eventually led him to leave the island and venture into the schemes and plans to discover the New World, or the new route to India.