Christopher Columbus
Nikki Shah
The smell of the fresh ocean water stung my nose as I first inhaled the new morning air on my first voyage to Asia. Since I was Co-Captain on the Santa Maria, and spoke Italian unlike the other Spaniards on the ship, so Christopher Columbus told me his life story.
“You see, Eduardo, I was sent from Spain to find a trade route to the riches of Asia.” he would say. “I have been dreaming of this since I was 14 years old when I started working on merchant ships. I was attacked by pirates and was shipwrecked at the age of 25. Due to the misinterpreted measure of the Earth’s size, I was almost not able to perform this voyage. The Portuguese stole my idea and failed! This is my life’s work and I shall not give up.”
Since the ships given to us by Queen Isabella, were so small, those living on the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria had to sleep in shifts and Christopher and I had the same shift. He told be about his beliefs of beasts with human bodies and beast heads. It had already been four weeks, past August 3, 1492 when we set sail, and we were getting worried. He said Asia was just around the corner, but I wasn’t the only one to doubt our fearless leader. Other men on the ship had threatened to throw him over board if he didn’t turn back, but Columbus said since he was the only one who knew the way back and that they would continue forward.
“Land!” I heard on October 12, 1492. My heart skipped a few beats. It was one of the best feelings I had had in my life. We soon landed in the wonders of Asia, or at least what we believed was Asia. As we explored we found these animal-like people. They were very different from us, Spaniards. Christopher told me one night that he was expecting people in elegant clothing, although what we found were people in almost no clothing.
These people were very generous. They treated us very well and gave us gold! After we met the Natives, we traveled through what Christopher called Espanola. We left 39 men there to search for gold with the help of the Natives. On the way back Christopher Columbus constantly brought up how famous he was going to be when he got back, while we talked on the ship. I was hoping he meant we would all be famous, but when we got back he took the credit.
He became very famous and was granted a second voyage. He had over hundreds of people wanting to go with him after he exaggerated about the riches of the Natives. He had 17 ships this time and let me go with him again, but when we got back to Espanola, everything had gone wrong. The Indians had killed the man there because of the way they had treated them. Every Indian was then forced to work in the gold mines by Columbus. I felt bad for them and tried to give reason to him but he, like others, believed they had brought this on themselves.
He reputation fell when those that had come realized he exaggerated about the riches of Espanola. Columbus captured slaves to prove that he had found Native people and he made us swear that we had found Asia. They granted him a third voyage, which he asked to perform with me. I was worried to go but my wife, Maria, told me it would be okay to go. As I boarded the ship I held back the tears for the thought I may not be returning home. When we arrived in Asia, we found the beauties of the continent. Christopher called it the Garden of Eden.
Due to the confusions in Asia, Columbus was sent back to Spain in chains. He was put in jail when we arrived back home. Queen Isabella freed him immediately. He was allowed to make a fourth and final voyage. After the third voyage, I was very hesitant to go with him. He begged me to go because I was his only loyal friend. Maria had gotten very sick while I was away and my two daughters, Teresa and Luz Maria, had to take care of her. I decided not to go and thankfully, my wife got better about a week before he returned.
He said that they had hit a hurricane on this adventure. They warned another ship not to leave but they ignored them and the ship was lost at sea. After many years of friendship, Christopher Columbus died at age 55. My healthy wife and children, José, Teresa, Luz Maria, and Roberto and I went to his funeral. The three voyages I had gone on with him changed me. I appreciated the life more because, even though I was only 43, I knew life could slip away from me in a blink of an eye, Christopher Columbus was a great man who will be appreciated by many others in years to come.