Christopher Columbus' true motivations
Everyone already knows that Christopher Columbus was a genocidal maniac, so there's no point in going into detail. What many people don't know is that he was under strict orders from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to not "bother or upset" the Native Americans, and certainly not to enslave them and force them to mine gold for Columbus to steal. There was a prohibition at that time against enslaving Christians, and the goal was to convert the Natives to Christianity, so oppressing them would have been counterproductive.
What's lesser known is the real purpose of Columbus' voyage. It was not, as commonly thought, merely to find a faster route to China for the space trade. Following the Ottoman's capture of Constantinople in 1453, the Silk Road was closed to Europeans. On top of that, the Mamluks had controlled Jerusalem since defeating the Mongols in 1260, and would not be ousted by the Ottomans until 1516. Marco Polo had described the Great Khan as amenable to Christianity. There was also an old legend of Prester John, a Christian king in the far east. Columbus' dream was to convert the Great Khan to Christianity, find Prester John, and convince them to join the Europeans on a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. His explorations were primarily motivated by religion, although he did negotiate one-tenth of any proceeds from spice or gold for himself. Columbus was eventually recalled to Spain when reports of his brutality toward the Natives reached the crown.
Although the Italian peninsula was known by that name, Columbus wouldn't have thought of himself as "Italian" as the country of Italy did not exist at that time. He was from Genoa and would have considered himself Genoese. His native language was not Italian, but Ligurian, which had significant influence from French.
What's lesser known is the real purpose of Columbus' voyage. It was not, as commonly thought, merely to find a faster route to China for the space trade. Following the Ottoman's capture of Constantinople in 1453, the Silk Road was closed to Europeans. On top of that, the Mamluks had controlled Jerusalem since defeating the Mongols in 1260, and would not be ousted by the Ottomans until 1516. Marco Polo had described the Great Khan as amenable to Christianity. There was also an old legend of Prester John, a Christian king in the far east. Columbus' dream was to convert the Great Khan to Christianity, find Prester John, and convince them to join the Europeans on a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. His explorations were primarily motivated by religion, although he did negotiate one-tenth of any proceeds from spice or gold for himself. Columbus was eventually recalled to Spain when reports of his brutality toward the Natives reached the crown.
Although the Italian peninsula was known by that name, Columbus wouldn't have thought of himself as "Italian" as the country of Italy did not exist at that time. He was from Genoa and would have considered himself Genoese. His native language was not Italian, but Ligurian, which had significant influence from French.
