After the Granada War, and following Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II agreed to sponsor a journey west. He developed a plan to seek a western sea passage to the East Indies, hoping to profit from the lucrative spice trade. Largely self-educated, Columbus was widely read in geography, astronomy, and history. He later took a Castilian mistress, Beatriz EnrГquez de Arana, who bore his son, Fernando (also given as Hernando).

He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore his son Diego, and was based in Lisbon for several years. He went to sea at a young age and travelled widely, as far north as the British Isles and as far south as what is now Ghana. Scholars generally agree that Columbus was born in the Republic of Genoa and spoke a dialect of Ligurian as his first language.

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Christopher Columbus ( / k Й™ Л€ l КЊ m b Й™ s/ born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died ) was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

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