224. What was the proper name of Columbus?
His Genoese name was Christoforo Colombo, which, according to the custom of the time, he Latinized into Columbus. When he went into Spain he adopted the Spanish form of it, Christobal Colon.
225. Who were the parents of Columbus?
Columbus was the eldest son of Domenico Colombo, a wool comber of Genoa, and Susanna Fontanarossa. They had two other sons, Bartolommeo (Bartholomew) and Giacomo (James, called in Spain Diego), and a daughter who married a butcher.
226. Who was the wife of Columbus?
In the convent of All Saints, Lisbon, where Columbus was accustomed to attend religious service, were certain ladies of rank, either resident as boarders, or in some religious capacity. With one of these, Doña Felipa Moñis de Perestrello, Columbus became acquainted. Her father, Bartolommeo Moñis de Perestrello, an Italian cavalier, lately deceased, had been one of the most distinguished navigators under Prince Henry, and had colonized and governed the island of Porto Santo. Columbus soon fell in love with the lady, and married her. By her he had one son, Diego, born about 1472. A few years afterward his wife died.
227. How many children had Columbus?
He had two sons. The eldest, Diego, was by his wife. His second son, Fernando, born in 1487, was the illegitimate child of Doña Beatriz Enriquez, a noble lady of Cordova, to whom Columbus became attached, while waiting for an opportunity to appear at court. This son became the historian of his father.
228. When did the line of Columbus become extinct?
Diego married Doña Maria de Toledo, daughter of the Duke of Alva. Their eldest son, Luis, exchanged the hereditary dignity of admiral for a pension and the title of Duke of Veragua, Marquis of Jamaica. Luis’s eldest daughter married her cousin Diego, and died without issue, the male line thus becoming extinct. Finally the property and titles became, in 1608, merged by marriage through the female line in a branch of the house of Bragança.