Sick Son and Sympathetic Priest Paved the Way for Epochal Journey
Anyone running a business or non-profit knows how important are one's personal drive and skills if he wants to survive. Christopher Columbus, a man who overcame overwhelming obstacles, is often forgotten by certain commentators, which tend to deny achievements key to Western civilization.
Called by some the greatest navigator of his day, Columbus combined the qualities of long-suffering and smart network connections to achieve the discovery of the Americas (or, as Wikipedia says, "European awareness of the American continents").
He was probably only 19 when he became a mariner, and got his idea of sailing west to reach the Far East when he was only 20 or 23. Some say the idea was suggested by his brother Bartholomeo, who was maker of sea maps. It took Columbus twenty long years to get the financial backing of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in 1492 for his historic voyage.
Rejected at Nearly Every Step
After appealing to royalty and nobility through a network of friends in Portugal, Spain, France and England, he was traveling away from the court in Spain, where his idea had been again rejected. At a poverty level, he stopped at a Dominican friary with his son and asked the porter to allow his son to rest overnight there. The head of the friary, Friar Perez, overheard the conversation and questioned Columbus. The Dominican priest, who was the queen's confessor, liked Columbus' plan and went quickly to the Spanish court.
An important fact here is that the Moors, who had occupied Spain for some eight hundred years, lost their last battle to the Christian forces at Granada, perhaps a few weeks before Columbus's visit to the friary, thus freeing up the attention of King Ferdinand. Friar Perez then persuaded the queen to support the enterprise. Columbus was then called to court (he received some money up front for clothes since he was dressed almost like a beggar), and the rest is history.
Columbus was persevering. He kept trying, even after many rebuffs. It all shows what networking, perseverance and - how important here - good timing will do. Oh, and if we're talking success here, he never reached his goal of finding a trade route to the Indies. He just achieved something entirely unexpected, but certainly good.
Called by some the greatest navigator of his day, Columbus combined the qualities of long-suffering and smart network connections to achieve the discovery of the Americas (or, as Wikipedia says, "European awareness of the American continents").
He was probably only 19 when he became a mariner, and got his idea of sailing west to reach the Far East when he was only 20 or 23. Some say the idea was suggested by his brother Bartholomeo, who was maker of sea maps. It took Columbus twenty long years to get the financial backing of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in 1492 for his historic voyage.
Rejected at Nearly Every Step
After appealing to royalty and nobility through a network of friends in Portugal, Spain, France and England, he was traveling away from the court in Spain, where his idea had been again rejected. At a poverty level, he stopped at a Dominican friary with his son and asked the porter to allow his son to rest overnight there. The head of the friary, Friar Perez, overheard the conversation and questioned Columbus. The Dominican priest, who was the queen's confessor, liked Columbus' plan and went quickly to the Spanish court.
An important fact here is that the Moors, who had occupied Spain for some eight hundred years, lost their last battle to the Christian forces at Granada, perhaps a few weeks before Columbus's visit to the friary, thus freeing up the attention of King Ferdinand. Friar Perez then persuaded the queen to support the enterprise. Columbus was then called to court (he received some money up front for clothes since he was dressed almost like a beggar), and the rest is history.
Columbus was persevering. He kept trying, even after many rebuffs. It all shows what networking, perseverance and - how important here - good timing will do. Oh, and if we're talking success here, he never reached his goal of finding a trade route to the Indies. He just achieved something entirely unexpected, but certainly good.
