44 CONCEPTIONS OF COLUMBUS 



the King and Queen correctly in 1497 in regard to 

 the probable day of arrival of the long-delayed Flan- 

 ders fleet. This was specifically on account of his 

 knowledge of the winds in the English Channel and 

 in the Bay of Biscay. In his journal of his first voy- 

 age Columbus proposes "to construct a new chart for 

 navigating on which I shall delineate all the sea and 

 lands of the Ocean in their proper positions under 

 their bearings. "^^ But it is needless to argue this 

 point. Columbus was one of the foremost sailors of 

 the world in an age of sails. 



Therefore, it is sufficient to notice these things to 

 make it apparent that every sea captain who sailed 

 the Atlantic between the Canaries, the Azores, and 

 the Spanish peninsula knew all the winds of that 

 section of the Atlantic. As for Columbus' ability as 

 a navigator. Las Casas says: 'Thus we believe that 

 Christopher Columbus in the art of navigation ex- 

 ceeded without any doubt all others who lived in his 

 day."i« 



Analysis of the Westward Voyage 



To make it still more apparent that Columbus 

 knew the facts set forth above in regard to the At- 

 lantic south of the Azores, the voyage outwards will 



15 Markham, Journal, p. i8. In the original, now in the Biblioteca 

 Nacional in Madrid (Raccolta, Part I, V^ol. i, p. 3), the passage reads: 

 "tengo proposito de hazer carta nueva de navegar, en la qual situare toda 

 la mar & tierras del mar Ocgeano en sus proprios lugares, debaxo su viento." 



16 Las Casas, op. cit.. Book i, Ch. 3 (Vol. i, p. 49): "Ansi creemos 

 que Cristobal Colon en el arte de navegar excedio sin alguna duda a todos 

 cuantos en su tiempo en el mundo habia." 



