Christopher Columbus's journal (Diario) is a
diary
A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...
and
logbook
A logbook (or log book) is a record used to record states, events, or conditions applicable to complex machines or the personnel who operate them. Logbooks are commonly associated with the operation of aircraft, nuclear plants, particle accelera ...
written by
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
about
his first voyage. The journal covers events from 3 August 1492, when Columbus departed from
Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the southwestern Spain, Spanish province of Huelva (province), Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capi ...
, to 15 March 1493 and includes a prologue addressing the
sovereigns.
Several contemporary references confirm Columbus kept a journal of his voyage as a daily record of events and as evidence for the
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
.
Upon his return to Spain in the spring of 1493, Columbus presented the journal to
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...
.
She had it copied, retained the original, and gave the copy to Columbus before his second voyage.
The whereabouts of the original have been unknown since 1504. The copy descended to Columbus's grandson, Luis, who is thought to have sold it in order to fund his dissipated lifestyle. It too is now lost.
The only surviving version of the journal is an
abstract written by
Bartolomé de las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...
in preparation for his work ''Historia de las Indias''.
Since the discovery of the las Casas copy in the late 18th century, scholars have questioned the accuracy of the copy and its fidelity to the original.
Background
The story of Christopher Columbus's origins and young life preceding his sea-faring voyages is still largely unknown.
[Berkin, Carol, Susan Imbarrato, and Inc Manly. "Columbus, Christopher." ''Encyclopedia of American Literature.'' New York, NY, USA: Facts On File, 2013. Print.] Columbus survived the sinking of a Portuguese ship, worked for a merchant, and began mapping with his brother Bartholomew before his marriage to Dona
Filipa Moniz Perestrelo in 1478.
Columbus was interested in studying geography, philosophy, theology, and history.
Columbus lived the life of a wandering traveler through his ocean-oriented profession until 1480.
Through inaccurate calculations and estimates, Columbus believed that he could successfully travel west to east in order to open up a new trade route to the
East Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
.
Initially, Columbus presented his potential trade passage to
John II of Portugal
John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigo ...
,
who rejected his request for financial accommodations to support his eastward expedition.
Afterwards, Columbus experienced a number of dismissals from presenting his proposal to
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Genoa,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and King
Henry VII of England
Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henr ...
, before reaching Queen
Isabella I and King
Ferdinand II of Spain in January 1492.
Columbus's first presentation of his expedition to the Spanish royalty resulted in denial.
Yet after a reexamination pushed by Columbus's persistent attitude and unique character, Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to finance his first voyage.
Columbus and 90 men commenced their journey from
Palos on 3 August 1492 in three ships, the ''
Santa María'', the ''
Niña'', and the ''
Pinta''.
Contents
In the prologue, Columbus mentions his orders to sail to India were received in January 1492, following the
expulsion of Jews from Spain.
Conflicting reports exist over the actual date of the expulsion, with Columbus citing January while other sources, including the
Alhambra Decree
The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdi ...
, cite March.
After the prologue, the diary begins with Columbus's departure from Spain towards the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
"half an hour before sunrise" on 3 August 1492. On 16 September Columbus reported he had entered the
Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it is the only one without land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Oc ...
. The journal mentions several animals encountered during the westward voyage, such as
dolphins
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
and
frigatebird
Frigatebirds are a Family (biology), family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, l ...
s.
Columbus also describes
magnetic declination
Magnetic declination (also called magnetic variation) is the angle between magnetic north and true north at a particular location on the Earth's surface. The angle can change over time due to polar wandering.
Magnetic north is the direction th ...
. Because European sailors had only previously traveled with eastern magnetic declination, Columbus is credited with discovering western magnetic declination for Europeans. The journal also briefly mentions the crew's mood during the voyage. Columbus writes that the covered distance regularly announced to the crew was usually smaller than the real one. On the eve of arrival to the New World, the journal reported an
unknown light sighting. Columbus named the first landfall of his voyage
San Salvador
San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
on 12 October, and described the people residing on the island as naive and naked, but welcoming to the European explorers. Even though the journal shows Columbus's imperfect knowledge of the Spanish language, he makes comparisons of the
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
landscape to that of Spain, such as spring-like in
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, rivers like those in
Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, and hills like those behind
Córdoba.
Publication history
All existing copies of the journal are based on Bartolomé de las Casas' abstract – a manuscript of 76
folio
The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...
s discovered in the library of the
Duke of the Infantado by
Martín Fernández de Navarrete
Martín Fernández de Navarrete y Ximénez de Tejada (November 9, 1765 – October 8, 1844), was a Spanish nobleman, naval officer, and historian. Today he is principally remembered for his historical research concerning the expeditions and sci ...
in 1790.
The manuscript was kept in the
Biblioteca Nacional de España
The (National Library of Spain) is the national library of Spain. It is the largest public library in the country, and one of the largest in the world. Founded in 1711, it is an autonomous agency attached to the Ministry of Culture since 1 ...
until 1925 when it was reported missing.
Navarrete reported the discovery of the journal's abstract to his friend,
Juan Batista Muñoz, who used it in his ''Historia del Nuevo Mundo'' published in 1793.
In 1825, Navarrete published the abstract with expanded abbreviations, spelled out numerals, corrected punctuation and modernized spelling.
Bartolomé de las Casas did not have the original journal either and was relying on a copy when he made his abstract.
The author of this copy made several errors, frequently confusing the Columbian
league with the
Roman mile
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
.
The authenticity of las Casas's abstract was challenged by
Henri Vignaud and
Rómulo D. Carbia, both of whom believed it to be largely or entirely a fabrication.
In 1939, las Casas's abstract was proven to be authentic by
Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...
, and this view was endorsed in later studies.
Columbus's journal has been translated into English, Italian, French, German, Russian and other languages.
The first English translation was made by
Samuel Kettell and published in 1827. In 1991, an English translation based on the Sanz facsimile of the las Casas copy was published by the
University of Oklahoma Press
The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...
.
John Cummins wrote ''The Voyage of Christopher Columbus:'' ''Columbus' Own Journal of Discovery'' in 1992, mixing translated parts of las Casas's copy of the journal with excerpts from
Diego Columbus's biography, to provide a comprehensive first-hand account of Columbus's first voyage.
Reception and analysis
Multiple scholarly interpretations and descriptions of Columbus and his actions are based on the de las Casas transcription rather than the original copy of Columbus's Diario which has disappeared.
John E. Kizca, a professor and history department chair at
Washington State University
Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
, argues that since the only remaining primary source of Columbus's journal was transcribed by Bartolome de las Casas, las Casas's transcription cannot be relied upon. Kizca asserts that de las Casas's translation is biased due to his own personal opinions of Columbus and the magnitude of his actions in the Americas. Kizca explains that de las Casas hides Columbus's true motives through his transcription because he observes Columbus as the representative figure of manipulating the Native Americans and "as the embodiment of Spanish policy towards overseas expansion.".
In ''The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy'',
Kirkpatrick Sale
Kirkpatrick Sale (born June 27, 1937) is an American author who has written prolifically about political decentralism, environmentalism, luddism and technology. He has been described as having a "philosophy unified by decentralism" and as bei ...
displays Columbus through passages of his journal as the chaotic result of a corrupted European society.
[Carey, Richard T. "The Conquest of Paradise." ''News from Indian Country,'' 1992, p. 28. ''Ethnic NewsWatch.'' Web. ] Sale concludes that Columbus was overwhelmed by the pressures of Spain to discover something significant, which led to his materialistic-minded and polarizing perspective of the
Native Americans and their home.
Charles Alperin of the ''Jewish Federation of Omaha'' and many other Jewish scholars have pointed to the prologue of Columbus's journal as evidence for his Jewish heritage.
["Was Christopher Columbus Jewish?" ''The Jewish Press (1977-1989),'' 1979, p. 11. ''Ethnic NewsWatch.'' Web. ] Conspiracists cite the prologue's unexpected delay in Columbus's departure and the vague mentions of Jewish people as the primary evidence in Columbus's first-hand journal.
Jose Rabasa, professor of Romance languages and Literatures at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, describes Columbus's journal as an accurate account of his journey, despite Columbus not actually reaching the East Indies.
Rabasa characterizes Columbus's narrative of his discovery as picturesque and glorified, citing examples from las Casas's transcription like "pretty water," "stones with gold-covered spots," and "a good river."
Rabasa indicates that Columbus composes his journal with a conqueror approach to exploration in order to convince Queen Isabella of the industrial potential of the new lands.
Elvira Vilches, author and professor of Romance studies at
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
, approaches Columbus's intentions for his journal in a purely religious light.
Vilches considers the Diario as Columbus's proof that he successfully spread Christianity to the Americas and as Columbus's evidence that he should acquire more resources to conduct more voyages to the New World.
Vilches contends that Columbus's successful presentation of the contents of his journal and accompanied slaves from his first voyage commenced a chain of events.
Vilches traces Columbus's mass murder and elimination of Native Americans back to his promise to the Spanish royalty of finding enough gold to fund a Christian crusade in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.
Vilches argues that the journal's documented New World potential directly led to the promise of gold which resulted in the massacre of innocent
Taíno
The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
.
Dona de Sanctis, the editor in chief of the ''Italian American'' magazine, defends Columbus's interactions with the Tainos through his Diario.
She specifies that Columbus compliments the Native Americans' appearance and acumen upon first meeting them; she explains that Columbus's crew only retaliated with violence after the men Columbus left behind were killed off by the Tainos, and that Columbus's journal should serve as an important historical artifact emphasizing the significance of Columbus's accomplishments.
However, according to the journals, Columbus, unable to prove the Taino actually perpetrated the massacre, took no action whatsoever against the Taino.
The University of Oklahoma's translation, ''The Diario of Christopher Columbus' First Voyage to America 1492–1493'', won the "Spain and America in the Quincentennial of the Discovery" award gifted by the Spanish government in 1991 in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of the Americas.
[Staff and Wire Reports, Tribune Staff. "Spain honors OU book." ''Tulsa World'', FINAL HOME ed., sec. BOOKS, 27 Feb. 1991, p. 5B]
''NewsBank: Access World News''
Robert Fuson, professor of geography at the University of South Florida, was awarded both the "Book of the Year" by the Library Journal and the "Elliott Montroll Special Award" by the New York Academy of Sciences for his work ''The Log of Christopher Columbus''.
References
External links
{{Authority control
Journal
Italian travel books
1492 books
1493 books
Columbus, Christopher