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?