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1992-02-04
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Columbus was obsessed with an idea radical in his time:
sailing West to Asia.He wished to go to China where he
hoped to grow rich as an exporter and trader. He was
inspired by Marco Polo and by the merchant's community in
Venice.The Muslim empire blocked his way to the East so
the West was to be his route. Asia and Africa were still
guess work on the maps of his time, although the Med-
-iterranean was well mapped.
Columbus had the right resume for this assignment.
He was a native of Genoa, Italy, a city state built upon
maritime trade. Especially worth their weight in gold were
spices such as cloves. Spices were needed to make the
European diet palatable because there was no refrigeration
for meat.Genoa was a city where humble people with a risk-
taking entrepreneurial spirit could become influential
through trade. A humble background in Genoa was not an
obstacle to one with big ideas. Columbus looked to the sea
for work and was a merchant's representative on trading
missions as a teenager.
In Portugal, Columbus acquired knowledge of winds and
currents and navigation and he speculated that the same wind
power taking him westward could also bring him back. He
went into the business of making and selling maritime charts.
He journeyed to Africa and saw that gold and slaves were
incentives to launch voyages of discovery.
China was almost self-sufficient in everything she
needed, so she had no need to come to Europe for trade.
The Muslims had gotten to the East and they dominated trade.
They controlled the Indian Ocean and would not let Europeans
through. There was no practical way to get around the Muslim
world. Europeans had to buy Eastern goods in bazaars in
places such as Cairo. This was a seller's market with markups
of 5000 percent. Columbus witnessed the beginning of Genoa's
decline due to the capture of Genoese trading posts by
Muslims.
And then there was the religious motivation of the trip:
to convert more infidels for Christ. Columbus recorded in
his log book:
"Your Highnesses decided to send me, Christopher Columbus,
to the princes and people of India to consider the best
means for their conversion. For Your Highnesses have
always been enemies of the sect of Mahomet and of all
idolatries and heresies."