Columbus’s Ultimate Goal: Jerusalem (2006) [pdf]

Ms. Delaney has also written a full-length book, &quot;Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem&quot;, which I haven&#x27;t read all the way through but which appears to be a more thorough treatment of the material covered in this article.<p>(Disclaimer: personally acquainted with the author.)

For some reason, in the English wikipedia article for Christopher Columbus [1] you can read: &quot;<i>Christopher Columbus... was an Italian master navigator who...</i>&quot;.<p>On the other hand, the article about the theories of Christopher Columbus&#x27; origin [2] says: &quot;<i>The exact ethnic or national origin of Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) has been a source of speculation since the 19th century</i>&quot;.<p>Considering this, and the fact that Italy became the nation we know around the 19th century, I wonder why the (semi-protected) article reads like that. I think it should be updated.<p>[1] - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Christopher_Columbus" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Christopher_Columbus</a> [2] - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Origin_theories_of_Christopher_Columbus" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Origin_theories_of_Christopher...</a>

Very tangential: wondering what Montaigne had to say about the New World led me to his <i>OF CANNIBALS</i> (somewhat in the genre of Tacitus&#x27; <i>Germania</i>), in which I learned that Seneca had foreshadowed Monty Python&#x27;s Black Knight.<p>&quot;sed etiam si cecidit de genu pugnat&quot;: And when he falls he fights on his knees. (<i>On Providence</i> II.VI)<p>compare <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=kRwCPUEND1U" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=kRwCPUEND1U</a>

It&#x27;s interesting that the author seems to think that focusing on the religiousness of Columbus somehow mitigates the horror of what he did, as if any religious person of the time would have behaved the same way, but there were other religious people with him who objected strenuously to his treatment of native americans and slavery.

Well, it&#x27;s not surprising giving the time period and the Chivalric ideas that went with it. (Late Medieval period) The Reconquista had just finished up in Spain, and the Ottomans were now bursting on the scene in the Eastern Mediterranean. Columbus was a bit of a Zealot and believed that god spoke to him personally.