Voyages of Christopher Columbus

In this episode, we explore the voyages of Christopher Columbus and their far-reaching impact on world history, from his pursuit of a westward route to Asia to the dramatic failures of his final expedition. The focus centers on Columbus’s fourth voyage from 1502 to 1504, when he sailed along the coasts of Central America in search of a passage to the Indian Ocean, encountering storms, shipwrecks, mutiny, and a year-long stranding in Jamaica. We also look at how his expeditions fit into the wider Age of Discovery, including the Treaty of Tordesillas, Spanish colonization, early European contact with the Maya, and the global biological and economic exchanges that reshaped the modern world.