COLUMBUS, CHKISTOI'IIKK. 



1JJ9 



sistent claimant. One Domenic-o Colombo (iden- 

 liciil in name with the father of Columbus) was 

 I. ml c-f Curorro, in Montfcrrat, at the time of the 

 birlli of tin- <liscoverer. A claim in law to the 

 estates of Columbus, put forth by a descendant 

 of the lord, only brought forth proof that the 

 fal her of Columbus was resident in Genoa both 

 before and for many years after the death of the 

 nobleman of the same name. The family of 

 Columbus ulso possessed a small property at a 

 hamlet called Terra Rosa (or Terras Rubra, in 

 Latin), near the towns of Nervi and Quinto, 

 which have therefore claimed him. A tower at 

 Terra Rosa bore recently the name Torre del 

 Colombi ; and Bartholomew, brother of Christo- 

 pher, signed himself "of Terra Rubra," in a 

 Latin inscription on a map that he presented to 

 Henry VII of England a subscription which 

 his nephew says, in the life of his father, his 

 uncle was accustomed to use. Cogoletto claimed 

 Columbus, because two admirals of that name 

 (Colombo), uncle and nephew, were native there. 

 They were probably of distant kindred, for 

 Christopher, in one of his letters, says : " I am 

 not the first admiral of ray family." Savona 

 also claimed him, which was natural enough, 

 as Domenico Colombo, father of Christopher, re- 

 moved to that city, and lived there two or three 

 years. One of her citizens, writing of the claim, 

 says emphatically : " Genoa, most noble city, was 

 the birthplace of Columbus." At the time of 

 Christopher's birth the family were wool 

 carders, which humble business they had fol- 

 lowed for generations. Prom a notary's register, 

 in 1311, it appears that Giacomo Colombo, wool 

 carder, lived outside the gate of St. Andrea. In 

 1489 Domenico Colombo is recorded as possess- 

 ing a house and shop, and a garden with a well, 

 in the street of St. Andrew's gate, anciently with- 

 out the walls, which Irving says was believed to 

 be the same dwelling formerly owned by Gia- 

 como. Signer Staglieno has identified and pic- 

 tured one of these little rickety houses in the 

 wool-carder's quarter of the modern city of 

 Genoa as the home and probable birthplace of 

 the discoverer. Domenico rented another house, 

 from the monks of St. Stephen, his name being 

 found several times between 1456 and 1459, the 

 last recorded payment being in 1489. He is 

 there called a son of Giovanni Colombo, hus- 

 band of Susanna Fontanarossa, father of Chris- 

 topher, Bartholomew, and Diego, a particularity 

 in description that would lead us to conclude 

 that others of the family were on the rent roll 

 of the monks. We know that there were uncles 

 and cousins from whom the fortunes of his life 

 separated the explorer, although his memory re- 

 curred to them when, in his will, he laid injunc- 

 tion upon his son to "appoint two persons of 

 conscience und authority, and most nearly re- 

 lated to the family, who are to examine the rev- 

 enue and cause the said tenth to be paid to the 

 most necessitated members of my family that 

 may be found here or elsewhere." 



Whether the noble Colombos and the nau- 

 tical Colombos and the weaver Colombos were 

 originally one stock, broken asunder by the early 

 feuds of Italy, is of the less consequence, as 

 Columbus in his early struggle certainly never 

 had a helping hand from a rich or powerful 

 relative, never mentions them even when, amid 

 VOL. xxxii. 9 A 



the taunts of the Spanish lords on the obscurity 

 of his birth, to have proclaimed to them his 

 descent from titled men might have saved the 

 long years of agonized appeal at court or quieted 

 a mutiny in perilous conditions of the New 

 World. If there ever was a self-made man on 

 earth, that man was Christopher Columbus. 



The only other members of the family were a 

 brother, who probably died young, and a sister, 

 who married Giacomo Baverello, a cheese mer- 

 chant. It would be very interesting to know 

 something of the two 

 women who especial- 

 ly influenced his early 

 life. Was it an un- 

 happy memory of 

 them, or the long suit 

 he had paid to Queen 

 Isabella, that caused 

 him to say in his will : 

 " This entailed estate 

 shall in no wise be in- 

 herited by a woman, 

 except in case that no 

 male is to be found, 

 either in this or any 

 other quarter of the 

 world, of my real line- 

 age. In such an event 

 (which may God fore- 

 fend), then the female 

 of legitimate birth 

 most nearly related to 

 the preceding pos- 

 sessor of the estate 

 shall succeed to it." 



The weavers of Ge- 

 noa had established 

 schools for them- 

 selves outside the 

 city, and at one 

 of these Columbus 

 learned to read and 

 write, becoming pro- 

 ficient in the latter 

 accomplishment. In 

 arithmetic, drawing, 

 and painting he ac- 

 quired great skill. 

 Somehow the artisan 

 parent managed to 

 send his son for a 

 little while to the 

 then celebrated Uni- 

 versity of Pav ia, where 

 he studied grammar, 

 Latin, geometry, ge- 

 ography, astronomy, and navigation. The writ- 

 ings of Ptolemy had been translated into Latin. 

 while Pliny, Pomponius, Mela, and Strabo hat! 

 been revived, and the great Arabian astrologers 

 were beginning to be eagerly sought for. Colum- 

 bus could have had hardly more than time to ac- 

 quire a love for such studies, for he says that at 

 fourteen years of age he began to navigate. Of 

 his early nautical experiences little is known. 

 The first voyage was that in the armament which 

 Genoa fitted out to help the Duke of Calabria, 

 John of Anjou, in an attack upon Naples to re- 

 cover that Kingdom for his father. Many pri- 

 vate ships or galleys joined the expedition. 



HOUSE IN WHICH COLUMBUS 

 LIVED, AS IT IS AT PRESENT. 



