Christopher Columbus Facts

Everyone knows the saying, “In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue”. We all learned at the very beginning of our elementary years how Christopher Columbus made a brave journey to the new world. Everyone already knows all about that though. But here are some interesting facts that your history teacher might not have mentioned.

• When Columbus and his men landed, the “Indians” thought that the ships and the men had sailed down from the sky. So they brought the sailors presents, food, and parrots.
• Christopher Columbus had two sons by different mothers. His heir was Diego Columbus (1480 - 1526). His second and favorite son was Ferdinand, better known as Fernando ( 1488 - 1539)
• Both the sons of Christopher Columbus served as pages to Prince Juan, the son of the King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
• Christopher Columbus died still thinking that he had found the Indies.
• Christopher Columbus was born in the Italian port of Genoa, the son of a wool merchant called Domenico Colombo
• His mother was Susanna Fontanarossa, the daughter of a woollens merchant.
• Christopher Columbus had three younger brothers, Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo, and a sister, Bianchinetta Columbus
• Christopher Columbus travelled the seas as a pirate, or Privateer, attacking ships belonging to the Moors
• Columbus introduced horses to the Americas. They weren't there before he got there.
• Columbus brought tobacco to Europe 1st
• Columbus never wanted to prove the Earth was round! -- because everyone already knew it!  His goal was to find an overseas trade route to India and China