Colombus, dalam upaya mencari jalan dari Eropa ke Timur, tak sengaja menemui benua Amerika yang membuatnya lebih berpengaruh dalam sejarah dunia, di luar dugaannya sendiri. Penemuannya sekaligus merupakan mahkota eksplorasi dan kolonisasi Dunia Baru dan sekaligus pula merupakan tonggak penting dalam sejarah. Colombus bagaikan membuka pintu bagi bangsa Eropa dua benua untuk pemukiman baru, menyebar penduduk dan menyediakan sumber kekayaan mineral dan isi bumi yang pada gilirannya mengubah wajah Eropa. Berbarengan dengan itu, penemuannya juga mengakibatkan hancurnya kebudayaan bangsa Indian. Dalam jangka panjang, penemuan itu melahirkan satu bangsa baru di benua belahan Barat, yang dengan amat cepatnya membedakan diri dengan bangsa Indian selaku penduduk asli. Walhasil, Colombus membawa perubahan besar bagi bangsa-bangsa di Dunia Lama.
Garis besar kisah Colombus bukan masalah baru. Dia dilahirkan di Genoa, Itali, tahun 1451. Tatkala berangkat dewasa, dia menjadi nakhoda kapal dan seorang navigator yang cekatan. Akhirnya Colombus yakin bukan mustahil menemukan jalan lebih praktis ke daerah Asia di timur dengan cara berlayar ke arah barat melintasi Samudra Atlantik dan dia dengan tekun merintis tekadnya. Tentu saja niat besar ini tidak bakal terlaksana tanpa biaya cukup. Karena itulah Colombus membujuk Ratu Isabella I menyediakan anggaran untuk ekspedisi percobaannya.
Kapalnya melepas sauh pelabuhan Spanyol tanggal 3 Agustus 1492. Melabuh pertama di Kepulauan Canary di lepas pantai Afrika. Membongkar sauh di Kepulauan Canary tanggal 6 September dan berlayar laju arah ke barat. Sebuah pelayaran yang bukan main panjang, sehingga tidak aneh jika para awak kapal merasa ngeri dan kepingin balik saja. Colombus? Tidak! Perjalanan mesti diteruskan, sekali layar terkembang pantang digulung. Dan tanggal 2 Oktober 1492 bagaikan seutas sutera hijau daratan tampak di haluan.
Colombus kembali ke Spanyol bulan Maret berikutnya dari penjelajahan yang dahsyat itu disambut orang dengan penuh penghormatan. Sesudah itu dia melakukan serentetan pelayaran melintas Atlantik dengan harapan menjejakkan kaki di Cina dan Jepang. Tetapi sia-sia! Colombus tetap bersiteguh pada pikirannya bahwa dia sudah menemukan jalur perjalanan ke Asia Timur jauh sebelum orang lain sadar.
Ratu Isabella menjanjikan Colombus jadi gubernur di pulau mana pun yang ditemuinya. Tetapi, selaku administrator dia betul-betul tidak becus sehingga dipecat dari jabatannya dan dikirim pulang ke Spanyol dengan tangan terbelenggu. Tetapi, sesampainya di Spanyol dia dibebaskan hanya saja tak pernah diberi jabatan lagi. Kabar angin mengatakan Colombus mati dalam kemiskinan tanpa ada dana apa pun. Tatkala kematiannya di tahun 1506 --kabar lain lagi-- ada jugalah sedikit harta kekayaannya.
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| Ship "Nina," "Pinta" and "Santa Maria" sailed to the New World |
Obviously, the first voyage of Columbus is a revolutionary change in European history, and instead have a greater influence for the European Continent. School children all memorize the year 1492 an important year. However there are still many possible objections to put the name of Columbus in the order list this book.
One objection is that instead of Columbus the first European to discover the New World. Leif Ericson, Viking sailors, centuries before Columbus had set foot in the Americas and so-so believed some other Europeans had also crossed the Atlantic in the days of Leif Ericson and Columbus.
From this point of history, Leif Ericson is not an important figure. Matters concerning his findings have not been widespread, so did not leave any changes both in America and Europe. Conversely, the discovery of America by Columbus news spread like lightning throughout Europe. Just a few years after returning Columbus, and as a direct result of its discovery, many additional expedition arrived in the New World and the conquest and colonization even start.
Like other figures in this book, Columbus susceptible to interference of various comments as if what he did everyone else do if Columbus had never lived in the world. Europe the 15th century AD in a state of worry and berkemelut: growing world trade, the exploration of new areas is inevitable. The Portuguese in actual fact is very actively seeking a new path flows to the East, at times determine before Columbus.
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| The landing of Columbus "by John Vanderlyn |
America is likely to sooner or later discovered by the Europeans; maybe even once even if it there is a delay, it's time not so long. But subsequent developments will be very much different when the Americans found - let's say in 1510 - by the expedition of the French or English rather than in 1492 by Columbus. On the pretext of whatever is in fact Colombuslah people who discovered America.
The third objection is the possibility, even before Columbus' journey many of those 15th-century Europeans who already understand that the real earth is round in shape. This theory has been expressed by the Greek philosophers for centuries before, and an unshakable justification of the hypothesis of Aristotle was enough to convince European intellectuals in the 1400s. Meanwhile, Columbus was not the famous people who show that the earth is round. (At least, he failed to do so). He was famous in the discovery of the New World, the good people of Europe the 15th century or Aristotle knew nothing of the Americas.
Columbus was not entirely admirable character. He is famous miser. Nature is what causes him to face difficulties obtaining funding support from the Queen Isabella for Columbus' greed too revealing when haggling. Also - although not deserve accused according to the size of today's ethics - he treated the Indians with the cruelty that is. Therefore, this book list is not comprised of people who are most sage in history, but the most influential people, and within the framework of this size Columbus ranks near the top.
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