With a wealth of information on the life of Christopher Columbus, including hundreds of photographs and illustrations, this is a definitive and thorough biography of the venerated and occasionally controversial explorer. The book focuses on every stage of Columbus's life: his childhood in Genoa; the years he spent in Lisbon; his quest to find a benefactor and the subsequent four voyages to the New World; the allegations of corruption during his governorship of the island of Hispaniola and his ignominious arrest; and his final years and death. At each stage, his accomplishments and actions are placed within the larger sociopolitical and cultural context of the time period in which he lived; considerable attention is paid to the Catholic Kings and other rulers of the time, as well as on voyages undertaken by other explorers, including Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvares Cabral, and John Cabot. A final section examines Columbus's legacy, with a specific emphasis on what his voyages implied for the denizens of the New World.
"Con una abundancia de informacion sobre la vida de Cristobal Colon, incluyendo cientos de fotografias e ilustraciones, esta es una biografia definitiva y minuciosa del venerado y ocasionalmente polemico explorador. El libro se enfoca en todas las etapas de la vida de Colon: su ninez en Genova; los anos que paso en Lisboa; su busqueda de un patrocinador y los subsiguientes cuatro viajes al Nuevo Mundo; las alegaciones de corrupcion durante su gobernacion de La Espanola y su ignominiosa detencion; y sus ultimos anos y muerte. En cada etapa, sus logros y acciones se consideran dentro del contexto sociopolitico y cultural en el que se desarrollo; se le presta bastante atencion al reino de los Reyes Catolicos y otros gobernantes de la epoca, asi como a los viajes emprendidos por otros exploradores, incluyendo Vasco da Gama, Pedro Alvarez Cabral y Juan Caboto. Un ultimo apartado examina el legado de Colon, con un enfasis particular en lo que sus viajes suponian para los residentes del Nuevo Mundo."