tion>Mildred Stapley Byne
Christopher Columbus
Published by Good Press, 2019
EAN 4064066214159
Table of Contents
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
CHAPTER I COLUMBUS BEFRIENDED BY ROYALTY
CHAPTER II THE YOUTH OF COLUMBUS
CHAPTER III "LANDS IN THE WEST"
CHAPTER IV THE SOJOURN IN MADEIRA
CHAPTER V A SEASON OF WAITING
CHAPTER VI A RAY OF HOPE
CHAPTER VII ISABELLA DECIDES
CHAPTER VIII OFF AT LAST!
CHAPTER IX "LAND! LAND!"
CHAPTER X NATIVES OF THE NEW LAND
CHAPTER XI THE RETURN IN THE NINA
CHAPTER XII DAYS OF TRIUMPH
CHAPTER XIII PREPARING FOR A SECOND VOYAGE
CHAPTER XIV FINDING NEW ISLANDS
CHAPTER XV ON A SEA OF TROUBLES
CHAPTER XVI THE THIRD VOYAGE
CHAPTER XVII A RETURN IN DISGRACE
CHAPTER XVIII PUBLIC SYMPATHY
CHAPTER XIX THE LAST VOYAGE
CHAPTER XX THE COURAGE OF DIEGO MENDEZ
CHAPTER XXI "INTO PORT"
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
CHAPTER I
COLUMBUS BEFRIENDED BY ROYALTY
Spain, as every one knows, was the country behind the discovery of America. Few people know, however, what an important part the beautiful city of Granada played in that famous event. It was in October, 1492, that Columbus first set foot on the New World and claimed it for Spain. In January of that same year another territory had been added to that same crown; for the brave soldier-sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, had conquered the Moorish kingdom of Granada in the south and made it part of their own country.
Nearly eight hundred years before, the dark-skinned Moors had come over from Africa and invaded the European peninsula which lies closest to the Straits of Gibraltar, and the people of that peninsula had been battling fiercely ever since to drive them back to where they came from. True, the Moor had brought Arabian art and learning with him, but he had brought also the Mohammedan religion, and that was intolerable not only to the Spaniards but to all Europeans. No Christian country could brook the thought of this Asiatic creed flourishing on her soil, so Spain soon set to work to get rid of it.
This war between the two religions began in the north near the Bay of Biscay whither the Christians were finally pushed by the invaders. Each century saw the Moors driven a little farther south toward the Mediterranean, until Granada, where the lovely Sierra Nevadas rise, was the last stronghold left them. Small wonder, then, that when Granada was finally taken the Spanish nation was supremely happy. Small wonder that they held a magnificent fete in their newly-won city in the "Snowy Mountains." The vanquished Moorish king rode down from his mountain citadel and handed its keys to Ferdinand and Isabella. Bells pealed, banners waved, and the people cheered wildly
