TRINIDAD I THEN AND NOW. 



45 



As I found the principal events concerning the 

 three eminent men who played such an important 

 part in the early history of Trinidad so interesting, I, 

 therefore, determined to give short sketches of the 

 career of each : of Columbus as its discoverer ; of 

 Don Chacon as its last governor at the time of the 

 conquest ; and of General Sir Thomas Picton as its 

 first governor under British rule. 



Of the early life of Columbus little is known. 

 The family name in Italian is Colombo ; but Colum- 

 bus gave it the latinised form of Columbus. He is, 

 however, better known through Spanish history as 

 Cristoval Colon. The date of his birth is uncertain, 

 it was formerly placed about 1436, but a later date is 

 also given. After he had become famous, sixteen 

 towns claimed the honour of being the place of his 

 nativity. This reminds one of a similar incident 

 relating to Homer of whom it is said : 



" Seven wealthy towns contend for Homer dead, 

 Through which the living Homer begged his bread." 



Columbus claimed Genoa as his birthplace and there 

 can be little doubt that this is correct. His father 

 was probably engaged in the occupation of cloth- 

 weaver or wool-comber. His career, before his first 

 voyage, is rendered vague by radical discrepancies 

 in the various records ; that he spent a short time at 

 the school at Pavia is, however, well verified. 



At the age of fourteen he broke off his studies to 

 commence his naval career — not, however, before he 

 made extraordinary progress and imbibed a taste for 



