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This series of wars between France and England distracted the two nations for a time as they were left in massive debt afterwards, allowing Spain to get ahead in exploration and allowing them to become a superpower of the 16th century world as their rivals were still recovering.
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Around 1421, Venetian explorer and merchant Nicolo Di Conti, who had been traveling Asia for years, visited Sumatra and spent his time there learning about the valuable spice trade. His findings here would help the Indians in their overland trade of spices with Malacca, and Italy ended up dominating the spice trade through overland methods. This would be an issue for Spain and the other European countries, who wanted a direct method of obtaining the valuable spices and other goods from Asia.
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Christopher Columbus was born sometime between August 26 and October 31, in Genoa, Italy. He was the son of a Genoese wool worker and merchant. Little is known about his early life.
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Around 1451, the Portuguese invented the caravel, a fast, lightweight ship capable of traversing oceans. This was an immensely important discovery, as it opened up new avenues in maritime exploration, and eventually would allow for Columbus to embark on his expedition to find the Indies.
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After the fall of Constantinople, the Ottomans in the region made it hard for Europeans to acquire spices and other goods from Asia through overland trade routes by raising the tax on goods traveling through their lands.
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In 1469, Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabella of Castile, creating an alliance between the two regions that would later come to be known as Spain. This powerful couple ruled Spain equally, and spent their reigns trying to get their country an advantage over their rivals Portugal, France, and England.
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Alfonso V, the king of Portugal, had a claim to the Castilian throne, and chose to go to war over it in 1475. This four year long war saw Castile and Aragon battle the Portuguese and their allies the French, and exacerbated the rivalry between Spain and its neighboring nations, most importantly Portugal.
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In 1478, Ferdinand and Isabella established the Spanish Inquisition to cleanse the peninsula of all who didn't follow Christianity. This would help create a period of religious fervor in the newly unified country.
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After his father Alfonso V died in August 1481, John II became the new King of Portugal. John II wanted in on the lucrative spice trade, and sent Portuguese explorers in search of a sea-based route to Asia. Spain could not allow Portugal to be the first to reap the rewards of a maritime trade route with Asia, as the two countries were bitter rivals at this point in time.
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Columbus asked King John II of Portugal for aid in finding a route to India through the Atlantic to the west, but is denied. This would prove to be a dire mistake by Spain's rival.
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In the Siege of Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, the Moors were defeated and expelled from the Peninsula. Due to the conflicts between Spain and other European nations and the Muslims, the Islamic countries had blocked off most routes to Asia. The Europeans were in need of the spices and other goods Asia offered for medicine, cooking, and other uses, and now that the holy wars against the Moors were over, Spain had more time to focus on exploration.
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On this date, an edict was issued by the Spanish expelling the Jews from Spain. This would contribute to the wave of zealous fervor washing over the Spanish as more and more of the total population was converted to Christianity, forced out, or executed by the Inquisition. This wave of zeal would contribute to Ferdinand and Isabella approving Columbus's first expedition west, and would continue to be a major factor in expeditions to the Americas for the centuries to come.
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The First Voyage of Columbus consisted of three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, and they voyaged for a month and 9 days before finally landing in the Americas.
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After over a month of travel, Columbus's expedition finally sights land. They landed on the island now known as San Salvador, but Columbus believed that he had found a new passage to India.
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Leander de Cosco translated the letter Columbus wrote upon his return to Europe into Latin, allowing it to be spread across Europe and informing all of Spain's rivals of the findings of Columbus's exploration across the Atlantic.
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After proving that there were riches to be had in the "Indies" Columbus had stumbled upon, he was quickly given a second command with 17 ships that set sail out of Cadiz. He was much better equipped because he had shown the Spanish monarchy the riches that would be available to them in the Americas.
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During Columbus's second voyage, new settlements were made on Hispaniola, Columbus went on a brutal campaign against the natives of the island, and friars were included in the expedition, as religion had been openly declared as a purpose for the expedition.
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Vasco Da Gama found the route to India that Columbus couldn't almost 6 years after the first expedition to the Americas, but the Spanish already had found a better source of resources. The exploitation of the Americas would bring the Spaniards untold riches, and cement them as a global powerhouse for decades to come.
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Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid, Castile, at approximately 54 years of age.
