Columbus and His First Voyage: A History in Documents

Description

What happened on Columbus’s first voyage across the Atlantic? Who was responsible for the success of that voyage? How do we know? These questions were debated in the courts of Spain for decades after 1492. Some of those who sailed with Columbus left very different accounts, as recorded in those trial records. Their competing voices have long been silenced by the deafening crescendo of Columbus’s own narrative-a narrative riddled with contradictions and inconsistencies that beg to be explained. This documentary history allows the reader to encounter the founding documents of the Columbus story as well as the voices that dared to challenge it-even in his own day. What these documents reveal forces us to re-imagine Columbus and his voyage in surprising ways. Columbus and His First Voyage brings together for the first time the two contemporary versions of what happened on the first voyage - the Columbian narrative and the Pinzón narrative - and embeds them in a thorough introduction to Columbus, his first voyage, and the myths that surround this pivotal event in the history of the modern world. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Introduction for Instructors Contextual Timeline Timeline of Columbus and His First Voyage Chapter 1 Columbus: The Man of Myth, the Man of History Columbus and the First Voyage Chapter 2 The Capitulations of Santa Fe and Granada, 1492 Santa Fe Capitulations4Santa Fe, 17 April 1492ConfirmationBarcelona, 28 March 1493 Granada Capitulations promising to confer on Columbus the offices of admiral, viceroy, and governor of the islands and mainland he might discover and the title of sir, Granada, 30 April 1492 Chapter 3 Journal of the First Voyage of Christopher Columbus Journal of the First Voyage of Christopher Columbus Chapter 4 The Letters of Christopher Columbus Announcing His Discoveries The Letter of Christopher Columbus to Luis de Santángel, Announcing His Discovery, 1493.11 Letter to the Sovereigns of 4 March 1493 Announcing the Discovery12 Chapter 5 Testimonies from the Columbian Lawsuits Evidence of the Crown Attorney[List of Questions] Seville, 11 August 1515 Evidence of the Crown Attorney Lepe, 19 September 1515 Evidence of the Crown Attorney Huelva, 25 September 1515 Evidence of the Crown Attorney Santa María de la Antigua, 30 October 1515 . . . Evidence of the Crown Attorney [List of Questions] Madrid, 28 August 1535 Evidence Begun by Juan Carrillo, Crown Attorney Santo Domingo, 26 January 1536 Glossary Notes Selected Bibliography and Further Reading Index