Last fall, I was taking a leisurely bike ride around my neighborhood. I happened across a cute, front yard mini-library. I stopped to check it out. My eye caught a big hard-covered book (with lots of nice photos) called “Columbus: For Gold, God and Glory”. Liking history, I thumbed through it and finally decided to take it. I managed to get home balancing the book on my handlebars without crashing.
Columbus’ name is full of spiritual meaning. His first name (Christopher) comes from Greek and means “bearer or carrier of Christ”. His last name (Columbus) comes from the Latin word for “dove” (a symbol of the Holy Spirit). How appropriate that a man with this name should wing his way into an unknown New World carrying the message of Christ. But what struck me as I read this book was the incredible courage this Italian navigator possessed.
Danger from Nature
The common belief of the day was that the earth was flat (after all, it looked pretty flat). If this was true then there must be an end somewhere where things just fall off. Superstitious legends grew up around the immense Atlantic Ocean that it probably contained sea monsters that humans had not yet encountered. So, it would have taken intellectual courage to believe these ideas were not true and to risk one’s life that you would not be eaten or fall into oblivion.
A second source of fear came from the uncertain weather which could quickly turn into a ferocious storm. Wooden vessels could easily be swamped with the giant waves or capsized.
Either way, the crew would end up as fish food. Columbus was an experienced mariner who knew how violent nature could be. He had already weathered a few storms on voyages down the African coastline and as far north as Britain and Iceland.
A third danger was the opposite of storms – no wind at all. These were called the “doldrums”.
Big vessels in Columbus’ day depended on the wind (rowing was for smaller craft). So, the thought of getting far out into an unknown ocean and suddenly having no wind (and no land in sight) was scary. Food and fresh water supplies would end and you die of hunger or thirst. But these three natural dangers were not Columbus’ only concerns.
Danger from Humans
This was the part I didn’t appreciate. Columbus was Italian but he was commissioned by Spain (King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella). Spain and Portugal were maritime rivals so the Pope had divided the Atlantic into two halves. Spain could explore the north, Portugal the south, and the line was not to be crossed. As Columbus was preparing to head southwest to catch better winds, he was informed that a Portuguese warship was waiting to intercept his small fleet of three caravels. If caught, he would most likely be hung from a public gallows to deter other trespassers. Columbus managed to dodge the enemy and proceeded southwest anyhow.
At first, things went well and good progress was made. However, they didn’t find land as soon as expected (or promised by Columbus). The crew grew nervous thinking they were on a suicide mission and their best chance of survival would be to return home before their food and water ran out. They threatened mutiny. Columbus needed all the skills of persuasion he could muster to keep his Spanish crew from throwing their Italian captain overboard.
As you know, land was sighted in time and European humans met West Indian humans for the first time. Columbus assumed the land was somehow close to India and called them “Indians” (the name stuck). Some were friendly but the Carib natives (hence the name “Caribbean”) were not. If Columbus had landed on the wrong island and met the wrong natives (who far outnumbered them), they would be in trouble.
These six sources of danger (three natural and three human) underscore the immense courage of Columbus. He proved to be a very skilled explorer but later events would show that he was not a very able governor. His treatment of the native peoples also showed that his understanding of the Christian faith and Christ’s “Great Commission” was seriously flawed. As the sub-title of the book suggests, the motives of gold, God and glory got mixed up.
In spite of this, however, we can still be inspired by the courage of the man whose name points us to Christ and his Spirit.
Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor who once visited Columbus’ home in Genoa, Italy.
