After Portugal's John II twice shot down Columbus' idea of a western trip to Asia (because all the experts thought Columbus' idea of how long the trip was to be way underestimated), he eventually found favor with Spain's Ferdinand and Isabella. The king and queen didn't want to let Columbus travel under another crown, so they ponied up what little money they had left after kicking out the Jews and finishing off the Moors during the final throes of the Reconquest. So he got his ships and headed west.We all know the story of how he landed in the Caribbean and claimed it for Spain.
This statue of Columbus pointing west is in Barcelona, his last stop after his triumphal return from his first voyage.
Honestly, the Crown didn't think he'd return, so they offered up a lot of goods and made crazy promises of the sharing of wealth.
Thus opened up the western seas to all sorts of travel and business.
Here's a view of the whole statue in Barcelona:
*And for Sarah: this.**Shoutout to my dad in the bottom right corner.
3 comments:
I love Barcelona and miss it so much. I liked this statue a lot but always thought it was funny that it pointed to the land instead of the water. I know he is pointing west, but its funny to see since the statue is positioned near water, but pointing the opposite direction.
Nice!
i've been there too!
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