After five centuries, Christopher Columbus remains one of the most questionable and mystifying figures throughout history. Columbus has had notable declaratory labels such as one of the greatest mariners in history, a visionary genius, and a national hero. As well as these names, he has the negative description of a failed administrator, a naïve entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist. But no matter your personal opinion of Columbus, he will remain a controversial figure who was determined even if he was not the greatest at judging distance, he underestimates the circumference of the Earth by 4,000 miles. Columbus faced several problems while trying to find the New World. The trust of others to fund his audacious idea, new lands to be discovered seemed unlikely, travel distance, and perils of being board the actual ship were all problems Columbus dealt with in trying to find the New World.
Columbus did however encounter many problems in attempting to find an all water trade route to the Orient, especially with the funding of his adventure. In 1485 Columbus traveled to Portugal and made his proposal to King John II. He proposed that the king equip three sturdy ships and grant him one years time to sail around the Atlantic, search for the route, and return. Savants of King John II advised against Columbus’s proposal because they conceded that Columbus’s estimation of travel distance was indeed too short. After appealing again and again to the court another problem arose. Bartholomew Dias had returned back to Portugal with a route rounding the tip of southern Asia. From there Columbus traveled to Genoa and Venice to propose his idea, but received no encouragement. Columbus soon sought out the audience of the monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Finally by 1486 Queen Isabella was ready to listen to the proposal of Columbus. However, Isabella was not ready to act upon the proposal due to the expensive and the audacity of it. After...