The Disturbing Truth About Christopher Columbus

The Truth About Christopher Columbus
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Unearthed Facts About Christopher Columbus, America’s Explorer
September 24, 2025 |
Dancy Mason
Unearthed Facts About Christopher Columbus, America’s Explorer
Christopher Columbus Has His Day
Christopher Columbus has a legacy full of the highs and lows of over five hundred years of history. Yet for all his fame and infamy, few people still know the whole story, or just how dark it gets. This explorer didn’t just controversially put America on his map, he also suffered through a myriad of personal tragedies and disturbing vices—and made others suffer in their turn.
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1. He Was Ambitious
Born in 1451 to Genoese wool weaver Domenico Colombo, from what historians can tell Christopher Columbus had a standard upbringing for a merchant’s son in the Republic of Genoa. Nonetheless, he always had his eye on the next rung up the ladder: By the late 1470s, when he was still in his 20s, he was traveling around Europe trading for the wealthiest families in the Republic.
But a bigger leg up was just around the corner.
Sebastiano del Piombo, Wikimedia Commons
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2. He Married Up
In 1479,  Columbus made an extremely advantageous alliance.  He married Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, the well-to-do daughter of a Portuguese Knight of the Order of Santiago. Through her father, Filipa even had connections to Prince John of Portugal and Prince Henry the Navigator.
It was quite the rise for a merchant’s son, and Columbus had made his catch through pure cunning.
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, Wikimedia Commons
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3. He Knew How To Manipulate People
Even people during Columbus’s day were likely surprised that the young man, ambitious or not, had managed to snag Filipa. But though Columbus was very aware of Filipa’s social standing, he was also aware that she was around 25 years old—over the hill for the time—and that her widowed mother didn’t have much money, making her ripe for the picking. To seal the deal, Columbus oh-so-kindly didn’t ask for a dowry, and her family happily handed her over.
Columbus was now an aristocrat at a bargain, and he just kept pushing.
Currier & Ives., Wikimedia Commons
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4. He Was An Absent Father
Although Filipa gave Columbus a son, Diego, soon after their marriage, Columbus wasn’t around to watch the boy grow up. In the 1480s, he left their home and pushed his trading to the west coast of Africa, traveling as far as present day Ghana to sell his wares.
Throughout, he honed his navigation skills and his thirst for adventure. But in the meantime—and this always seemed to happen to Columbus—the people around him suffered.
Benet Mercadé, Wikimedia Commons
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5. He Lost His Wife Young
When Columbus returned from his African adventures,  he received chilling news.  His wife Filipa, who wasn’t yet 30 years old, had perished while he was away from an unknown cause. Never one to let a deal lie on the table, Columbus settled her affairs, got his money, and took his young son under his care. But he’d need more than a boy’s help with his next plans.
none credited, Wikimedia Commons
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6. He Had A Harebrained Idea
Columbus was always looking for new ways to make his name, and in the early 1480s, he had a novel idea. Europeans had long gotten rich using the Silk Road to trade with the East, but Columbus was convinced that going west, and by sea, was the best way to reach Asia. Recent sea expeditions taking an alternative route around Africa to Asia only hardened his resolve to get glory  his  way. Besides, he had other motives.
N. C. Wyeth, Wikimedia Commons
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7. He Had A Sinful Obsession
Columbus, even this early on, was obsessed with gold, and viewed his obsession as a kind of holy mission. As he wrote, he dreamed of getting gold "in such quantity that the sovereigns...will undertake and prepare to go conquer the Holy Sepulchre,” and the explorer frequently talked of converting the entire world to Christianity.
For Columbus, then, a sea-going Silk Road via the west was the best way to get both gold and acolytes. But sometimes, no one’s tried something because it’s not a good idea…
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
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8. He Made A Huge Mistake
To go West, Columbus first had to convince a patron to fund his journey, and  this  meant coming up with a convincing plan for the expedition.  This is where Columbus made his biggest mistake.  He was incredibly off on his calculations about the size of the Earth—an even bigger failure than you might imagine.
Contrary to popular belief, people of Columbus’s time were well aware that the Earth was round, and several relatively accurate calculations of the Earth’s size had been around since antiquity. But Columbus tended toward the wrong theories, leading him to underestimate the Earth’s size by a full third in his proposals. It began giving him immediate problems.
Jose Maria Obregon, Wikimedia Commons
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9. He Failed To Convince People
Columbus’s peers saw right through his calculations, and when he presented the project to King John II of Portugal, the King’s advisors immediately rejected it because his math was so patently off. Even  they  understood that the true voyage to the Far East from the western passage would be far too long for any 15th century ship to take.
Before long, no one wanted anything to do with Columbus’s far-fetched plan. But this is where his cunning and persistence paid off.
Unknown (17??-17??), Wikimedia Commons
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10. He Got A Lucky Break
Around the same time as his rejection from the King of Portugal, Columbus also sought patronage from King Ferdinand of Aragon and  Queen Isabella I of Castile . Unsurprisingly, their committee also dismissed the idea as silly— but one crucial detail was different.  The monarchs still gave Columbus a small allowance, keeping him on a kind of retainer to prevent another kingdom from getting lucky on his wild bet.
At that point, all Columbus could do was wait…but he could never be idle for long.
anonymous, Wikimedia Commons
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11. He Took A Mistress
In 1487, Columbus was in Cordoba, Spain as part of his bid to convince Ferdinand and Isabella of his proposal. Between meetings, however, Columbus still made time for himself. It’s likely that in Cordoba, the mid-30s Columbus met the 20-year-old, orphaned Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, and took her as his mistress.
The power imbalance was palpable, and only going to increase.
Jl FilpoC, Wikimedia Commons
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12. He Flattered His Patron
A short time after their meeting, Beatriz gave birth to Columbus’s illegitimate son, and Columbus somehow managed to turn this into a professional opportunity. After recognizing the child as his own, Columbus named the baby Fernando—a transparent bid to get King Ferdinand on his side.
Then, Columbus continued doing what he did best: Looking out for number one.
Unidentified painter, Wikimedia Commons
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13. He Abandoned His Sons
While it’s unclear if Columbus and Beatriz ever officially married, Columbus did identify her in his writings as his wife. Then again, it was in his best interest to do so: Almost immediately after baby Fernando was born, Columbus put the infant  and  his elder son Diego in Beatriz’s care, and then went off to keep pushing for his voyage.
He was about to get exactly what he wanted.
Fæ, Wikimedia Commons
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14. The Timing Was Right
In January of 1492,  Columbus’s perfect moment finally came.  Ferdinand and Isabella had been fighting an expensive conflict with the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula, and had just conquered Granada, the last Muslim fortress in the area. Columbus, always a sharp reader of people, understood that the monarchs would be both flush with victory and eager to gain an advantage over other European countries for trade with the East—not to mention anxious for funds. He pounced…

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