Evening Sky 10-12-26

Columbus Day honors the determination of a Genoese mariner whose Atlantic voyage changed the course of world history. Cristoforo Colombo (known to Americans as “Christopher Columbus”) was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. Though his father was not a mariner before him (Domenico Colombo was a wool weaver and tavern keeper), Columbus began working on a merchant ship when he was in his teens.

The road for him to get from working on someone else’s ship as a boy, to leading an expedition of three vessels and almost 100 men from Europe to the “New World” was not an easy one.

The idea that western Europeans could get to the East Indies for trade by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean instead of sailing south around the tip of Africa, was not an idea that Columbus imagined on his own. Nor was Columbus the first person to sail west instead of south, as Leif Erikson, a Viking explorer, had previously sailed to Greenland and Newfoundland in the 11th century.

However, it was Columbus’ courage, determination and perseverance that lead to the discovery of what would come to be known as the Americas. In so doing, he ushered in a new reality of exploration and settlement of new lands, much of which would eventually become the United States of America. [ATTORNEY BOBBIE ANNE COX]

Good Night, Patriots!