Her interest piqued, Isabella ordered her advisers to study Columbus’s plan. At that point, in 1486, given the demanding war effort in the Iberian south, she was unable to devote the resources needed to do anything more than entertain Columbus’s fancies. She did, however, offer to hire him as a soldier. Strapped for cash and without other viable patronage options, he agreed, joining the Spanish fight against the Moors. As a soldier in Isabella’s army, Columbus wagered, he would have opportunities to remind her of his plan.
