BenTornato! If you are wondering if that is a misspelled
word or a typo or some other error, let me make it known, that I perfectly mean
what I say! Confused? Well, I will clear this confusion shortly. For now, I
present to you the concluding post in the three part series of my tribute to
legends born in October. But we have entered November already, have we not? Has
it ever occurred to you what the words October and November could mean?
I would like to share with you, my readers some of my recollections from
what my Guru, Shri Shri Ravi Shankarji , the great Indian Spiritual Leader and
Humanitarian, once spoke on this subject. Per Guruji, ‘October’ stands for the
‘Eighth’ (month in this case) and ‘November’ stands for ‘Ninth Sky’ as derived
from Sanskrit. Nav means nine and Ambar means sky in Sanskrit. So together we
have ‘Ninth Sky’. Is this not an interesting bit of information? As we have
just transitioned from October to November and I come from India, I feel it is appropriate to share this piece of information now with my readers worldwide. How
surprising to know that the English months are actually connected with
Sanskrit! There are also websites on the internet which agree with this fact.
It
is time now for me to clear the confusion on ‘BenToranto’. Dear readers,
‘BenToranto’ is Italian for ‘Welcome Back’. Yes and you guessed it right! The legend
in this post is an Italian! It is time for
the first clue. As per the Wikipedia, believed to be born between 31 October 1450 and 30 October 1451
in Genoa, he was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer and citizen of the
Republic of Genoa. Some websites also mention his birth date as 31 October
1451. Are there any Italians reading my blog? If yes, did you figure him out? Not yet? Okay, coming up is the second clue. He
began sailing as a teenager and believed that sailing west would be a faster
way to get to India. Any guesses? The third clue is here. His first voyage in
1476 nearly killed him. Quoting his
words now,
“They say that there is in that land an infinite amount of
gold, and that the people wear corals on their heads and very large bracelets
of coral on their feet and arms; and that with coral they adorn and inlay
chairs and chests and tables.”
Okay, if you have not figured him out, here he is! The
Famous Italian Explorer, Christopher Columbus!
His idea of sailing west to India was rejected in Portugal.
He then went to Spain where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were intrigued by
his idea. They eventually sponsored the voyage. In August 1492, Columbus set
sail with the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Niña.
After two months, Columbus and his crew arrived at the present day Bahamas
convinced , this was India. They were greeted by the native population who were
wearing gold. Columbus had to prove that there was wealth there and come back with gold
and spices. After setting up an establishment in what is today
Haiti and Dominican Republic then called Hispaniola, Columbus set sail for
Spain. He was a hero at Spain. To exploit this great possibility that had come their way, the Spanish King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sent him on a second voyage for colonization. On
arriving back at the Carribean, Columbus found the settlement destroyed. He
enslaved the indigenous people forcing them to mine for gold and rebuilt the
settlement. But the ‘New World’ was not the golden paradise Columbus had promised. Conditions were poor and deteriorated further when Columbus
left the settlement to explore the other Carribean islands. On the third
voyage, Columbus would have finally reached the mainland in Venezuela But
due to the mismanagement of Hispaniola, King Ferdinand had him arrested and returned to Spain. Though he was never
convicted, Columbus had lost his titles and most of his wealth.
After a final unsuccessful voyage,
he returned to Spain in 1504 and spent the last 2 years of his life, bitter and
disillusioned. He probably went to his grave in 1506 still believing that what
he had discovered was Asia.
This brings me to the end of my three part series on a
tribute to legends born in October.
Hope, you found the posts informative and innovative in
their approach.
Keep visiting my blog for more interesting posts on varied topics!
If you ‘Like’ my posts, ‘Share’ them with your friends.
Thank you for
reading.
References:
PS: Since this series has been dedicated to Legends born in October and the draft for this post was actually being worked on the date: 31-October-2015, therefore the choice of the Legendary Explorer, Christopher Columbus. This post seeks to provide a short biographical account of the life and deeds of Christopher Columbus as per the references mentioned and is not an attempt to glorify the life and deeds of Christopher Columbus.Any errors or misrepresentations in this post are sincerely regretted.
Extremely informative !! Loved it :)
ReplyDeleteExtremely informative !! Loved it :)
ReplyDeleteThank You, Ruchita. Glad to know that you found it informative! Keep visiting for more such posts!
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