Exploring The Reality and Legacy of Christopher Columbus

The award-winning author and historian Matthew Restall unpacks Columbus’ enduring cultural and political presence while weaving a new history of the modern world.During a stay in Galicia, Spain, Restall was startled to encounter a local castle claiming to be Columbus’ true birthplace. Locals insisted that Columbus, an Italian by birth, was born and raised in Galicia under the name of a local lord, Pedro Álvarez de Soutomaior. Thus began an in-depth investigation into the stories swirling around Columbus six centuries after his birth.In the years since Columbus “sailed the ocean blue in 1492,” his journey and its consequences have gained notoriety across the globe. Scrutinizing nine key myths, Columbus’ “nine lives,” Restall tugs apart our misconceptions about the historical figure of Columbus, his exceptionalism, and his culpability for colonial violence in the Americas.Born in Genoa to a local cloth weaver, Columbus had an unextraordinary childhood. He left as a young man to pursue a maritime career – which would eventually lead him to the Spanish court of Queen Isabel and King Fernando where he received the lofty title “Admiral of the Ocean Sea.” In the years after Columbus’ 1506 death, the mythology surrounding his life blossomed. From contentious debates over the location and possession of his remains to the campaign for his beatification in the 19th century, Columbus loomed large.He is the author of "The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus." https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Lives-Christopher-Columbus/dp/1324086939Support the show