Admiral of the Ocean Sea

October 12th, 2016
 

'Tierra! Tierra!' - Rodrigo de Triana, lookout, Pinta, shortly after local 0200, 12 October, 1492

They dropped anchor in the Bahamas (which island isn’t known for certain, San Salvador, Plana Cays and Samana Cay are all possible), coming ashore shortly after first light (some time after 6AM local), and Columbus and his crews prayed / sang the Salve Regina.

It is fashionable these days to opine on Columbus as not very bright, not a man of letters, someone who brought terrible things to the people of the New World. On the other side of that, he also introduced Christianity and Western Civilization to the mostly Neolithic peoples of said New World. 524 years later, I would say everyone benefited from his arrival.

In any case, if you want to read a great book, pick up ‘Admiral of the Ocean Sea’ by Samuel Eliot Morison. Morison, a sailor and an historian, researched Columbus’s four voyages of discovery, then sailed from Spain to the New World himself on the 45-foot ketch ‘Mary Otis’ between August and December of 1939.

Morrison was equipped with a modern sextant, modern maps, modern compasses, several chronometers, radios and the sure knowledge of where he was headed.

Columbus, on the other hand was equipped with: a quadrant, an astrolabe, a map that terminated in the mid Atlantic, some interesting math that said there are more lines of longitude ‘west of the map’ so you can sail to India – but exactly how many was a subject of a great deal of debate – and he had no chronometer, just a half-hour glass and an hour glass.

(When the glass was turned the crew on watch would chant:

“Blessed be the hour of our Savior’s birth

 Blessed be the Virgin Mary who bore him,

And blessed be John who baptized him.”

Columbus reported that none of them could sing well.

He also had anecdotal reporting from fisherman from all over Europe that they knew of other fisherman who had sailed ‘further west’ and found land. He also had detailed reports from these fishermen on the extent of the various trade winds.

Columbus also kept a detailed log, and while the original hasn’t survived, it was copied in the early 1500s and that copy still exists. From that copy Morison was able to reconstruct the tracks of the 4 voyages.

Of note, while we have no detailed specifications of the vessels commanded by Columbus, we have rough estimates of their lengths (on deck, not overall):

Santa Maria: 60 - 65 feet

Nina: 50 feet

Pinta: 55 feet

Morison’s conclusion, after sailing the same waters himself, and noting that Columbus was able to return to the same islands on each voyage – again without anything approaching modern charts, was that Columbus was a sailor and navigator of extraordinary skill and that few if any other sailors of his day or any day could have readily done what Columbus did.

King Ferdinand had declared, before his departure:

"Whereas you, Cristobal Colon, are setting forth by our command to discover and acquire certain islands and mainland in the ocean sea it is just and reasonable that, since you are exposing yourself to this danger in our service, you be rewarded therefor, it is our will and pleasure that you said Cristobal Colon after you have discovered and acquired the said islands and mainland or any of them, shall be our Admiral of the said islands and mainland which you may thus discover and acquire, and shall be our admiral and Viceroy and Governor therein, and shall be empowered henceforward to call and entitle yourself Don Cristobal Colon, and his heirs and successors forever may be so entitled, and enjoy the offices of Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the said islands and mainland."

So a toast to the Admiral of the Ocean Sea!

Have a Great Columbus Day!