"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
It's Columbus Day.

Would it be appropriate to compile a list of Columbus trivia?

I'll start off:

1. Cristobol Colon (Christopher Columbus) was once married to the daughter
of
the governor of the Canary Islands. There are rumors that he converted to
Catholicism from Judaism. He was a pioneer in the art of practical
celestial
navigation.

2. European seamen were well aware of "land to the west" for centuries
before
Colubus "discovered" America. Cod from the waters off Newfoundland was a
common
staple at fish markets in several European ports.

3. The Catholic Church suppressed knowledge of the western lands because
they
were not mentioned in the Bible. There was a fear that people would
question
the absolute authority of the Bible (and thereby the Church) if it became
common knowledge that the earth was not accurately described in the
scriptures.
This explains why the lands to the west were commonly discussed by the
Norse
(Vinland Sagas, etc) who were latecomers to Christianity, but not
officially
acknowledged in areas that had been more directly subjugated by Rome.

4. To get permission to sail to a land that the super authority, the
church,
denied even existed, Cristobol petitioned to make an expedition to China,
(an
officially recognized locale). He pitched a religious as well as a
commercial
angle, but it is
rather evident that he knew full well he would not be landing in China.
First
fact in evidence: Columbus promised to "claim" locales where he landed for
the
Spanish Crown. (The Emporer of China would, of course, have some objection
the
the Spanish potentates laying claim to Formosa). Second fact in evidence:
Columbus negotiated a deal to be named "The Admiral of the Western Sea."
(This would give him a share in any prizes or booty wrested from the
area.)
Spain would not have sought a naval war with China, particulary in the
late
15th cnetury. Additional fact in evidence, Colon promised to convert the
godless savages to Catholicism. There were no "godless savages" in China.

5. In 1492, most people did not believe the world was flat, and Columbus
was
not
obsessed with "proving" it to be round.

There's five to get the ball rolling. Anybody else got a tidbit to
contribute?

6. Dirk Pitt found his body in the New World, preserved by his indian
buddies.