* {{lang-pt|Cristóvão Colombo}}

* {{lang-ca|Cristòfor (or Cristòfol) Colom}}

 

[[Origin theories of Christopher Columbus|Columbus's early life]] is somewhat obscure, but scholars generally agree that he was born in the [[Republic of Genoa]] and spoke a dialect of [[Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]] as his first language. He went to sea at a young age and travelled widely, as far north as the British Isles (and possibly Iceland) and as far south as what is now [[Ghana]]. He married Portuguese noblewoman [[Filipa Moniz Perestrelo]] and was based in [[Lisbon]] for several years, but later took a Castilian mistress; he had one son with each woman. Though largely self-educated, Columbus was widely read in geography, astronomy, and history. He formulated a plan to seek a western sea passage to the [[East Indies]], hoping to profit from the lucrative [[spice trade]]. Following persistent lobbying, [[Isabella I of Castile|Queen Isabella I]] and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|King Ferdinand II]] [[Capitulations of Santa Fe|agreed]] to sponsor a journey west, in the name of the [[Crown of Castile]]. Columbus left Castile in August 1492 with three ships, and after a stopover in the [[Canary Islands]] made landfall in the Americas on 12 October (later celebrated as [[Columbus Day]]). His landing place was an island in the [[Bahamas]], known by its native inhabitants as [[Guanahani]]; its exact location is uncertain. Columbus subsequently visited the islands now known as [[Cuba]] and [[Hispaniola]], establishing [[La Navidad|a colony]] in what is now [[Haiti]]—the first European settlement in the Americas since the [[Norse colonization of North America|Norse colonies]] nearly 500 years earlier. He arrived back in Castile in early 1493, bringing a number of captive natives with him. [[Columbus's letter on the first voyage|Word of his voyages]] soon spread throughout Europe.