https://sputnikglobe.com/20231001/original-letter-that-made-columbus-an-historic-figure-goes-on-sale-1113833489.html
Original Letter That Made Columbus a Historic Figure Goes on Sale
Original Letter That Made Columbus a Historic Figure Goes on Sale
Sputnik International
The year 1492 marked Christopher Columbus’s fateful voyage across the Atlantic – an event that would forever change the world. Now, a letter boasting about his discovery is set to command up to $1.5 million at auction.
2023-10-01T04:08+0000
2023-10-01T04:08+0000
2023-10-01T05:37+0000
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The year 1492 marked Christopher Columbus’s fateful voyage across the Atlantic – an event that would forever change the world. Now, a letter boasting about his discovery is set to command up to $1.5 million at auction.The letter, printed in Latin on an early printing press, is almost child-like in the excitement expressed within. Columbus gushes about the natural beauty of Caribbean islands, writing of “large, flowing rivers…mountains and peaks…full of trees of endless varieties, so high that they seem to touch the sky.”The letter, addressed to Spanish royal treasurer Luis de Santángel upon Columbus’s return to Europe, was spread throughout the continent to publicize Spain’s claim to the land. It was exchanged through diplomatic and mercantile channels, and helped make the self-taught explorer a household name.It’s in large part because of Columbus’s own skill at self-promotion that he became so well-known, then and now.Columbus also writes about the commodities he discovered that would jump start centuries of trade across the Atlantic – spices, cotton, cinnamon, and, of course, gold. A slightly darker tone emerges as Columbus relates his account of the inhabitants of the isles, describing them as simple and naive; “extraordinarily timid… like fools,” Columbus writes.“I can give them [Spanish royalty]... as many slaves as they choose to send for, all heathens.”Later evidence has shown a less flattering side of Columbus, who’s been accused of being a tyrant and exploiter, and his legacy sparks intense debate. Nevertheless, his importance as an historic figure cannot be denied.
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sale, christopher columbus, letter sale, antique sale, antique auction, history, us history, americas, christie's
sale, christopher columbus, letter sale, antique sale, antique auction, history, us history, americas, christie's
Original Letter That Made Columbus a Historic Figure Goes on Sale
04:08 GMT 01.10.2023 (Updated: 05:37 GMT 01.10.2023) A 500-year-old copy of Christopher Columbus’s letter announcing the discovery of America is set to be auctioned at Christie’s. The missive made him a star throughout Europe.
The year 1492 marked Christopher Columbus’s fateful voyage across the Atlantic – an event that would forever change the world. Now, a letter boasting about his discovery is set to command up to $1.5 million at auction.
The
letter, printed in Latin on an early printing press, is almost child-like in the excitement expressed within. Columbus gushes about the natural beauty of Caribbean islands, writing of “large, flowing rivers…mountains and peaks…full of trees of endless varieties, so high that they seem to touch the sky.”
“The nightingale and other small birds of a thousand kinds were singing in the month of November when I was there…Hispaniola is a marvel,” Columbus writes, using the name he devised for the island that’s home to modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic (assumed by Columbus, of course, to be somewhere off the coast of Japan).
The letter, addressed to Spanish royal treasurer Luis de Santángel upon Columbus’s return to Europe, was spread throughout the continent to publicize Spain’s claim to the land. It was exchanged through diplomatic and mercantile channels, and helped make the self-taught explorer a household name.
It’s in large part because of Columbus’s own skill at self-promotion that he became so well-known, then and now.
Columbus also writes about the commodities he discovered that would jump start centuries of trade across the Atlantic – spices, cotton, cinnamon, and, of course, gold. A slightly darker tone emerges as Columbus relates his account of the inhabitants of the isles, describing them as simple and naive; “extraordinarily timid… like fools,” Columbus writes.
“I… gave a thousand good and pretty things that I had to win their love, and to induce them to become Christians, and to love and serve their Highnesses and the whole Castilian nation… They firmly believed that I, with my ships and men, came from heaven, and with this idea I have been received everywhere, since they lost fear of me.”
“I can give them [Spanish royalty]... as many slaves as they choose to send for, all heathens.”
Later evidence has shown a less flattering side of Columbus, who’s been accused of being a
tyrant and exploiter, and his legacy sparks intense debate. Nevertheless, his importance as an historic figure cannot be denied.
