Columbus Leaves Spain

Introduction:   We are interviewing Queen Isabella of Spain. 

Question:  Why did you finance Columbus’ voyage?

Answer:  Ferdinand and I had expelled all Jewish peasants in Spain because we wanted to strengthen Catholicism.  However, with the expulsion of these influential members of the community, we lost some of our most prosperous persons.  We hoped that this voyage would bring us wealth and stature. 

Question:  How did Columbus present his proposition?

Answer:  Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator from Genoa.  He came to us with a proposition.  He wanted to reach the East Indies, or a group of islands in Southeast Asia.  He knew that the world was sphere, so he was well educated.  Unfortunately he underestimated the Earth size. 

Question:  Tell me more about the voyage.

Answer:  We gave him three small ships; the Nina, the Pinta, and Santa Maria.  They set sail on August 3, 1492.  They saw land on October 12.  They halted immediately and docked the ships.  The world was larger than he’d expected, so the voyage had been going on long enough for them to be low on rations.   He was under the impression he had landed in the Indies.  The natives there were called “Indians”.  He returned back to Spain in 1493 as a hero.  He didn’t know he had discovered a new continent.  Later Europeans explorers found out the route led to what is now known as America. 

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