Columbus Quotes

“There was one other distraction on the island of Gomera: Doña Beatriz de Bobadilla. Or, as she was known in the Canaries, “Bobadilla the huntress, a woman of rare distinction.”
― Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504

“his principal concern remained himself, his travails, and his sense of heroism. Whenever Columbus stood outside the momentous events of explorations and calmly retold his account, the unfolding of God’s will became an important theme; when he was in the service of the Lord, there were no accidents, only degrees of devotion. In the service of the Lord, he saw himself as a priest of exploration.”
― Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504

“What should have been a peaceful commercial encounter had turned bloody and vicious, but the unexpected turn of events reassured rather than dismayed the Admiral. He confided to his journal that he was sorry about the ill will engendered by the conflict; at the same time, he was not sorry at all: The Indians would have to learn “fear of the Christians.” Although he appeared indifferent to the reputation of the Caribs, he came around to the opinion that they had just drawn the blood not of the Taínos but of the Caribs themselves, “bad actors” who “ate men.”
― Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504

“God and gold: what better reasons to found an empire across an ocean?”
― Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504

“him, it was the fulfillment of a divine prophecy. To his Sovereigns and their ministers, it was intended as a landgrab and a way to plunder gold. Instead, it became, through forces Columbus inadvertently set in motion and only dimly understood, the most important voyage of its kind ever made.”
― Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504

“found many islands filled with people without number, and of them all have I taken possession for Their Highnesses, by proclamation and with the royal standard displayed, and nobody objected.”
― Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504

“We send Cristóbal Colón with three caravels through the Ocean Sea to the Indies on some business that concerns the service of God and the expansion of the Catholic faith and our benefit and utility.”
― Laurence Bergreen, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504