Barcelona harbor - Christopher Columbus of Ambiguous Parentage

Harbor at Barcelona. Voyages come to mind. Parts unknown.  Climb about a galleon. 

Galleon, Barcelona. Pinta-Nina-Santa Maria type. Christopher Columbus. .v

Who was this Christopher Columbus, with the many spellings depending on the language.  Here he points west, from a very high vantage point at the harbor, a Catalan area and Catalans, too, claim him. See http://www.christopher-columbus.eu/who-was-columbus/catalan.htm

Barcelona harbor, Christopher Columbus.

There is disagreement, and many theories, about his parentage.  This lecture supposed him to have been a Greek nobleman. See http://www.prometheas.org/Events_flyers/Christopher_Columbus.pdfv.

Others stay with the traditional Genoa, Italy connection, with parents who were poor.  Others say he is the illegitimate son of a Spanish monarch. 

 

Christopher Columbus: From whom came his education.

Regardless of scholarship, most of us learn by osmosis, by looking at pictures, absorbing impressions, and the monument offers a noble view.  Too saccharine.  As an adult, these kinds of monuments do not hold attention for long. Just long enough to snap and look up later.

Colom, Columbus, Colon.  Original name, to later spellings, Christopher Columbus.

Columbus, life of, Barcelona harbor.

Columbus did no wrong. Barcelona harbor. Vet.

Columbus, seeking financing? Barcelona harbor.

Queen Isabella made Columbus' first dreams come true. Barcelona harbor.

Should his landing in the new world be celebrated, along with the disease and violence that ensued?  The Ayn Rand Institute touts the objectivism of individualism as the ultimate goal, not weighing goals of others so as to restrict one's own choices, and says, yes.  See http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_columbus/.  As a clearly superior culture, suggests the Rand article, those of the west can rest happy in whatever was or was not accomplished.  Next?

Cadiz - 1100. Phoenicians BC, to Rome, to Moors, to Now

Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz is an old port city, on a peninsula, and nearly surrounded by water. It has been settled since 3000 B.C. and is the oldest city in Europe.

The James Bond film, "Die Another Day," was filmed here - looking so much like Havana. See ://cadiz.costasur.com/en/index.html/ The old town has close ties with Cuba.

Phoenicians first settled here, says ://www.andalucia.com/cities/cadiz/history.htm. That would have been in about 1100 BC.

Their range for trade was broad -- amber from the Baltic, British tin, Spanish silver.

Romans kept a navy base here, Moors constructed an extensive town, see ://www.andalucia.com/cities/cadiz.htm, but its commercial success waned. Palm trees, tropical (is this Florida?)

Columbus was brought back here when he fell in disfavor, and used this location to contact Queen Isabella for reinstatement in the good graces, see story at ://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/columbus-day/true-story/chapter11.html/

After walking the streets and squares and mosques, enjoy the beach. There are several, many near the hotels and commercial area, full of tourists, this one just as we left the peninsula.