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Christopher Columbus
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Man and Myth
After five centuries, Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure who has been
variously described as one of the greatest mariners in history, a visionary genius, a
mystic, nationa hero, a failed administrator, a naive
entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist.
Columbus's enterprise to find a westward route to Asia grew out of the practical
experience of a
long and varied maritime career, as well as out of his considerable reading in
geographical and
theological literature. He settled for a time in Portugal, where he tried unsuccessfully
to enlist
support for his project, before moving to Spain. After many difficulties, through a
combination of
good luck and persuasiveness, he gained the support of the Catholic monarchs, Isabel and
Fernando.
The widely published report of his voyage of 1492 made Columbus famous throughout Europe
and secured for him the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and further royal patronage.
Columbus, who never abandoned the belief that he had reached Asia, led three more
expeditions to the Caribbean. But intrigue and his own administrative failings
brought disappointment and political obscurity to his final years.
In Search and Defense of Privileges
Queen Isabel and King Fernando had agreed to Columbus's lavish demands if he succeeded
on his first voyage: he would be knighted, appointed Admiral of the Ocean Sea, made the
viceroy of any new lands, and awarded ten percent of any new wealth. By 1502, however,
Columbus had every reason to fear for the security of his position. He had been charged
with maladministration in the Indies.
The Library's vellum copy of the Book of Privileges is one of four that Columbus
commissioned to record his agreements with the Spanish crown. It is unique in preserving
an unofficial transcription of a Papal Bull of September 26, 1493 in which Pope Alexander
VI extended Spain's rights to the
New World.
Much concerned with social status, Columbus was granted a coat of arms in 1493. By 1502,
he had added several new elements, such as an emerging continent next to islands and five
golden anchors to represent the office of the Admiral of the Sea.
Columbus' Coat of Arms
As a reward for his successful voyage of discovery, the Spanish sovereigns granted
Columbus the right to bear arms. According to the blazon specified in letters patent dated
May 20, 1493, Columbus was to bear in the first and the second quarters the royal charges
of Castile and Leon -- the castle and the lion -- but with different tinctures or colors.
In the third quarter would be islands in a wavy sea, and in the fourth, the customary arms
of his family.
The earlist graphic representation of Columbus's arms is found in his Book of Privileges
and shows the significant modifications Columbus ordered by his own authority. In addition
to the royal charges that were authorized in the top quarters, Columbus adopted the royal
colors as well, added a continent among the islands in the third quarter, and for the
fourth quarter borrowed five anchors in fess from the blazon of the Admiral of Castille.
Columbus's bold usurpation of the royal arms, as well as his choice of additional symbols,
help to define his personality and his sense of the significance of his service to the
Spanish monarchs.
