THE BOY COLUMBUS
After the statue by Giulio Montverde in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Why Columbus learned to like the sea
Every day the boys of Genoa, as they played along the wharves, could see the ships from different countries and could hear the stories of adventure told by the sailors. No wonder Christopher found it hard to work at his father's trade of combing wool; he liked to hear stories of the sea and to make maps and to study geography far better than he liked to comb wool or study arithmetic or grammar. He was eager to go to sea and while but a boy he made his first voyage. He often sailed with a kinsman, who was an old sea captain. These trips were full of danger, not only from storms but from sea robbers, with whom the sailors often had hard fights.
Prince Henry's work
While Columbus was growing to be a man, the wise and noble Prince Henry of Portugal was sending his sailors to brave the unknown dangers of the western coast of Africa to find a new way to India. The Turks, by capturing Constantinople, had destroyed Genoa's overland trade routes.
Columbus goes to Lisbon
The bold deeds of Henry's sailors drew many seamen to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Columbus went, too, where he was made welcome by his brother and other friends. Here he soon earned enough by making maps to send money home to aid his parents, who were very poor.
