Columbus, Christopher

The juxtaposition of Christopher Columbus's name with lying and deception is ambivalent. The focus can be on the lies that have been told about Columbus, or on the lies that Columbus told. Among the many untruths written in history books is that of Columbus as the discoverer of America, and not even Columbus, who turned out to be quite a deceptive figure, even dreamed of playing that role. In fact, the lies that Columbus told are much more interesting and still warrant careful examination.

Initially, there appeared to be a wholesome effort at truthfulness. Christopher Columbus had succeeded at selling his project to the Spanish Crown, finding a more direct route to the Indies, and finding gold. A journal would be kept of this voyage. Thus, it is with the verb “to write” that Columbus refers in the journal to his expedition: “… I thought of writing on this whole voyage, all that I would do and see and experience …”

Admiral Columbus needed to write about this journey, for the journey could not be justified without the writing, and the writing was there to make up for the absence of the sovereigns of Spain who had funded the journey. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand needed to be convinced that their money was well spent. The act of writing in the journal was therefore tied to an effort to gain and share knowledge and understanding of what lay beyond the rim of [Page 177]the horizon, to unveil the ocean's secret, which was an unrecognizable object, the New World. Soon enough, truthfulness and accuracy would become impossibilities.