The Navigation of Christopher Columbus and the Age of Discovery Essay

Before beginning the research for this work, I had intend on producing a paper and presentation which detailed the history of hand sea glide and the difficulties and dangers which would retain faced sailors and sea hands during the Age of Discovery. My premise was that we, nutriment in the twentifirst century, had missed touch with the reality of just how hazardous a voyage such as that undertaken by capital of Ohio was. I had hoped to be able to produce for the listener and reader a sense of respect at the forward willingness to risk life and limb that was demonstrated by the explorers of this era as they left the safety of the waters and oceans that they knew, to ch eitherenge the unknown. I had wanted to become that feeling of stomach-dropping fear that I believed these brave men must turn out experienced as the headlands they were leaving slipped out of wad below the horizon, maybe never to be seen again. Had I been successful in writing such a pape r, I would have succeeded not in exploring history, but kinda in producing fiction.Although Columbus certainly deserves recognition as being the cardinal to truly open the way to the New land for Renaissance Europe, and all that was to follow, he was not the high-stakes risk taker that some historians would have us believe. However, incomplete was he the bumbling quixotic figure presented by those who, for their own reasons, try on to present him as some sort of kookie idiot, or, at best, an passing lucky savant. What is true about Christopher Columbus is that, for the generation in which he lived, he was a well read and knowing geographer. Columbus was a student of navigation and sailing, and as such, his understanding of the serviceman in which he lived was based on works previously com... ...tis An archaeological Odyssey (New York Random House. 1991)Sale, Kirkpatrick. The triumph of Paradise Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy (New York Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1990)Seeds, Michael A. Horizons Exploring the worldly concern (Belmont Wadsworth Publishing Company. 1998)Tagliattini, Maurizio. (1991 & 1998) Chapter 10. Christopher Pellegrino or Christopher Columbus A Critical Study on the Origin of Christopher Columbus The Discovery of North America A record chronicle Online open http//www.millersv.edu/columbus/search/tagliattini.htmlTaylor, E. G. R. The Haven-Finding Art A History of Navigation from Odysseus to headman Cook (New York American Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc. 1971)Williams, J. E. D. From Sails to Satellites The Origin and tuition of Navigational wisdom (Oxford Oxford University Press. 1992) The Navigation of Christopher Columbus and the Age of Discovery attempt Before beginning the research for this work, I had planned on producing a paper and presentation which detailed the history of open sea navigation and the difficulties and dangers which would have faced sailors and seamen during the Age of Discovery. My premise was that we, living in the twentifirst century, had lost touch with the reality of just how hazardous a voyage such as that undertaken by Columbus was. I had hoped to be able to capture for the listener and reader a sense of wonder at the bold willingness to risk life and limb that was demonstrated by the explorers of this era as they left the safety of the waters and oceans that they knew, to challenge the unknown. I had wanted to capture that feeling of stomach-dropping fear that I believed these brave men must have experienced as the headlands they were leaving slipped out of sight below the horizon, possibly never to be seen again. Had I been successful in writing such a paper, I would have succeeded not in exploring history, but rather in producing fiction.Although Columbus certainly deserves recognition as being the one to truly open the way to the New World for Renaissance Europe, and all that was to follow, he was not the high-stakes risk tak er that some historians would have us believe. However, neither was he the bumbling quixotic figure presented by those who, for their own reasons, attempt to present him as some sort of insane idiot, or, at best, an extremely lucky savant. What is true about Christopher Columbus is that, for the times in which he lived, he was a well read and learned geographer. Columbus was a student of navigation and sailing, and as such, his understanding of the world in which he lived was based on works previously com... ...tis An Archaeological Odyssey (New York Random House. 1991)Sale, Kirkpatrick. The Conquest of Paradise Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy (New York Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1990)Seeds, Michael A. Horizons Exploring the Universe (Belmont Wadsworth Publishing Company. 1998)Tagliattini, Maurizio. (1991 & 1998) Chapter 10. Christopher Pellegrino or Christopher Columbus A Critical Study on the Origin of Christopher Columbus The Discovery of North America A Documented H istory Online Available http//www.millersv.edu/columbus/search/tagliattini.htmlTaylor, E. G. R. The Haven-Finding Art A History of Navigation from Odysseus to Captain Cook (New York American Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc. 1971)Williams, J. E. D. From Sails to Satellites The Origin and Development of Navigational Science (Oxford Oxford University Press. 1992)