How Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas because of the Muslims

Summary

The video provides an intriguing narrative about how Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas was indirectly influenced by the Muslim world. Initially, Columbus set sail to find a Mongol Khan to assist in a crusade against Muslims. The historical context, including the power of the Ottoman Empire and the long-standing crusader mentality in Europe, played a significant role in his expeditions. Myths of lucrative lands and the capture of Constantinople fueled his journey. Columbus's encounters with monarchs and his participation in the Reconquista against Muslims further prepared the stage for his historic voyages. Ironically, chasing myths and underestimating the size of the Earth led him to the Caribbean, marking a pivotal moment in history.

Highlights

• Columbus sought a Mongol ally to battle Muslims. 🏴‍☠️
• Ottoman power challenged European supremacy. 🏰
• Myths of Seven Cities of Gold excited explorers. 🌟
• Columbus allegedly found Chinese bodies in Ireland. 🤯
• His journey was funded during the Spanish Reconquista. 🇪🇸

Key Takeaways

• Columbus's journey was influenced by Christian-Muslim conflicts. ⚔️
• The Ottomans played a key role in the European balance of power. 🌍
• Myths of Eastern riches fueled European exploration. 🏝️
• Columbus miscalculated Earth's size, thinking he reached Asia. 🌏
• His voyages were indirectly funded due to wars with Muslims. 💰

Overview

Christopher Columbus's epic voyages were more than a mere quest for new lands; they were deeply entwined with the religious and political strife of his time. His ambition to travel westward wasn't just about exploration. Instead, Columbus hoped to enlist the fabled Mongol Khan's help to overpower the Muslim armies. This historical backdrop of Christian-Muslim conflicts and the dominant position of the Ottoman Empire created an environment ripe for such daring endeavors.

The legends of unimaginable wealth across the seas were irresistible and Naples's tales of Marco Polo ignited visions of distant riches among Europeans. Especially tantalizing was the myth of Seven Cities of Gold, believed to be ripe for conquest and exploitation. Columbus, inspired by these stories, believed faithfully in their existence and embarked on his journeys hoping to locate these fabled lands and enlist allies against the Muslim world.

Fuelled by the Reconquista's fervor, Spain under Queen Isabella saw Columbus's expedition as a potential avenue to turn the tides against Muslim strongholds. Though hindered by skepticism and financial constraints, Isabella's eventual backing epitomized the era's mix of religious zeal, geopolitical strategy, and sheer adventurous spirit. Columbus's voyages, fueled by myths and encounters, accidentally unveiled the Americas to Europe, thereby altering world history forever.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Columbus's Voyage The chapter titled 'Introduction to Columbus's Voyage' explores the surprising motivation behind Christopher Columbus's famous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Contrary to popular belief, Columbus's initial intention was to seek assistance from a Mongol Khan to fight against the Muslims. During the mid-1400s, the Ottoman Empire emerged as a dominant force in Europe, known for its technical innovations and military strength. With the largest Christian population among any nation at the time, the Ottomans held significant sway over European powers, who competed with them for influence and authority over Christendom.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Historical Context: Islamic and Christian Empires The chapter discusses the historical context of the Islamic and Christian Empires, focusing on the Ottomans, who were the latest in a series of Islamic Empires rivaling Christian powers around the Mediterranean. It highlights how Muslim Empires incorporated Christians and other religious groups by allowing them their own courts, judges, and legal systems. In contrast, Christian Empires had a different approach towards Muslims and Jews in their lands. The chapter also mentions Pope Urban II launching the first crusade in 1095, which saw Crusaders marching from Europe.
• 01:00 - 01:30: The Crusades and Their Legacy The chapter delves into the Crusades, highlighting the brutal capture of Jerusalem by crusaders who massacred the city's non-Christian inhabitants. This event marked the beginning of crusader influence across Europe, leading to subsequent Crusades. Notably, before the crusaders' arrival, Jerusalem had been under Muslim control for over four centuries, during which Muslims, Jews, and Christians coexisted. The narrative underscores the Crusades' legacy on interfaith relations and Europe's sociopolitical landscape, with the last official Crusade concluding in 1272.
• 01:30 - 02:00: The Crusader Culture's Endurance The Crusader culture persisted beyond the Middle Ages, with orders like the Teutonic Order and the Knights Hospitaller continuing their military engagements against Muslims up until the late 18th century. The Knights Hospitaller were particularly effective, challenging Ottoman trade routes and successfully defending Malta in 1565.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Columbus's Birth and Early Influences The chapter titled "Columbus's Birth and Early Influences" begins by highlighting the often overlooked influence of the city of Genoa on successful figures from history. Columbus, born in 1451 in Genoa, was influenced by the city's status as a naval power within the Christian world. Genoa functioned as a crucial hub for ships and soldiers engaged in conflicts against Muslim forces in North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. Columbus spent the first two decades of his life in this city, likely absorbing naval and military influences that could have shaped his future endeavors.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Columbus's Resentment Towards Muslims The chapter explores Columbus's exposure and influence from the Christian-Muslim conflicts of his era. It highlights how the stories of war with Muslims were prevalent during his time, influencing his perspectives and possibly resentment. Columbus witnessed the treasures of the San Lorenzo Cathedral, acquired during earlier Crusades, and observed Crusaders in his city. Significant events during his life include the Ottoman's capture of Constantinople in 1453, which occurred when Columbus was merely 2 years old, marking a pivotal moment in Muslim conquests over Christian territories.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Myth 1: The Mongol Con The chapter delves into the historical background of European trade dynamics, emphasizing Europe's pivotal role as a trading hub connecting the East with the West. This enabled them to act as intermediaries between European markets and Indian and Chinese goods. It highlights key historical events such as the Ottomans' conquest of significant Christian territories like the city of Trebizond, marking their dominance in the Black Sea region. The narrative also ties in the personal life of Christopher Columbus, noting his strong opposition to Muslims, possibly fueled by these geopolitical changes. This enmity is further reflected in his marital alliance with a member of the Order of St. James, a crusader order infamous for its role in the historical Christian-Muslim conflicts.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Myth 2: The Seven Cities of Gold The chapter titled 'Myth 2: The Seven Cities of Gold' delves into two pivotal myths that fueled the Crusaders' resolve against the Muslims. The first myth emerged with Marco Polo's return from the Far East in the late 1200s. During a conflict between the Genoese and Venetians, Marco Polo found himself imprisoned by the Genoese. While in prison, he recounted his travels to a fellow inmate, who documented these stories, intertwining them with his own tales and anecdotes. These accounts eventually proliferated throughout Europe, contributing to the broader cultural narratives.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Columbus's Interpretation of the Myths The chapter delves into Columbus's interpretation of myths, specifically focusing on the travels of Marco Polo. It discusses how Marco Polo's writings told of a Mongol Khan ruling a vast kingdom east of Muslim territories, who expressed a desire to convert to Christianity and help Christians reclaim Jerusalem. This account contained elements of truth, as some Mongols had indeed converted to Nestorian Christianity, a sect deemed heretical by Catholics. Additionally, there had been delegations involving Mongols that reinforced these narratives.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Columbus's Negotiations with European Kings The chapter discusses the myths and legends during the time of Columbus's negotiations with European kings. It highlights two specific myths: one involving a non-existent Christian king 'Prester John' whom Europeans hoped to ally with against Muslims, and another about seven bishops who allegedly escaped from the Iberian Peninsula when Muslims conquered it in the early 700s. These mythical narratives illustrate the exotic and fantastical elements shaping European perceptions due to limited information and maps of Asia during this era.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Columbus and Queen Isabella The chapter titled 'Columbus and Queen Isabella' discusses myths about Muslims sailing into the Atlantic Ocean, building Seven Cities out of gold on unknown islands. The Crusaders hoped these cities could fund an army to defeat the Muslims. Columbus believed in these myths, driven by a desire for Christian dominance.
• 08:00 - 09:00: The Outcome of Columbus's Voyages The chapter explores Columbus's realization of the potential of sailing west, driven by the legend of the Seven Cities of Gold. This part of the chapter highlights Columbus's adventurous spirit and determination to explore unknown territories.
• 09:00 - 10:00: Misconceptions about the Mongol Empire The chapter explores historical misconceptions about the Mongol Empire, particularly focusing on misinterpretations by Europeans in the past. An example discussed involves a report from Ireland where a man and a woman were found dead on the western shores, believed by locals to be from 'Cath' or China. However, the chapter suggests these were more likely native individuals, illustrating how misinformation and assumptions shaped historical narratives about foreign lands and peoples.

How Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas because of the Muslims Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 did you know that Christopher Columbus originally sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in order to ask a Mongol con to help him fight a war against the Muslims you see in the mid 1400s the Ottoman Empire had quickly become the most important Empire in all of Europe it was the standard for technical Innovation and military power in the region and had the largest Christian population out of any other nation in the world giving them a huge influence over the European powers in the west who are competing with the Ottomans for legitimacy and authority over all of Christendom but
• 00:30 - 01:00 the Ottomans were just the latest in a long line of Islamic Empires which rivaled the christian powers over the land surrounding the Mediterranean and while the Muslims Incorporated the Christians and peoples of other religions into their Empires often allowing them their own courts and judges and legal systems the Christian Empires took a different approach to the Muslims and even the Jews living in their lands you see when Pope Urban II launched the first crusade in 1095 an army of Crusaders marched from Europe to
• 01:00 - 01:30 Palestine eventually arriving at the Gates of Jerusalem and massacring the entire non-Christian population of the city by that time Jerusalem had been under the control of the Muslims for over 400 years and Muslims Jews and Christians all Liv together within the city walls but for the Crusaders only the Christians would be allowed to survive soon a crusader culture began to pervade throughout Europe and many more Crusades soon followed and even though the last official Crusade ended in 1272
• 01:30 - 02:00 the Crusader culture never really ended crusading armies such as the tonic order and the Knights hospitaler both of which are still active to this day contined to wage Wars against the Muslims throughout the lifetime of the Ottoman Empire fighting their last battles towards the end of the 1700s the knights hospitaler was particularly formidable becoming a major threat to the ottoman trade routs from the stronghold and Roads and preventing the ottoman capture of Malta in 1565 but there was one city in
• 02:00 - 02:30 particular where their influence often goes unmentioned and yet the presence in that City may have created the most well-known and consequential crusader of them all in 1451 Christopher Columbus was born in the city of Genoa the city was one of the naval powers of the Christian world and had become a major hub for ships and soldiers sent to fight the Muslims in North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea for the first two decades of his life Columbus lived in no
• 02:30 - 03:00 was surrounded by stories of war with the Muslims during that time he would have seen the treasures held by the San Lorenzo cathedral which had been captured during earlier Crusades and the Crusaders which regularly passed through the city invited by the knights hospitaler who gave them free food and accommodation in his own lifetime Columbus lived through some of the most important Muslim conquests over the Christian rivals in 1453 when he was just 2 years old the Ottomans managed to capture Constantinople sec securing
• 03:00 - 03:30 Europe's main trading Hub with the East and becoming the middleman of European trade with India and China a few years later when Columbus was 10 the Ottomans followed up this Victory by capturing the city of trebizond one of the most important Christian strongholds in the Black Sea throughout his life Columbus felt enormous enmity towards the Muslims and he even married a member of the order of St James a crusader order named after the mythical James Matamoros meaning James the mo Slayer and for the
• 03:30 - 04:00 Crusaders and their cause there were two main myths that kept their fight against the Muslims alive the first myth was born when Marco Polo returned back to Europe from his travels in the Far East and the late 1200s at some point he got caught in the middle of a skirmish between the genoes and the venetians and ended up in a genoise prison and during those few months in captivity he gave a detailed account of his travels to a fellow inmate who wrote it all down and added it to his own tales and anecdotes and soon it spread throughout Europe in
• 04:00 - 04:30 what was later known as the travels of Marco Polo in this manuscript rello wrote of a mongle con ruling a great Kingdom somewhere east of the Muslim lands who wanted to convert the Christianity and help the Christians take Jerusalem back and honestly there was some truth to this a few Mongols had converted to historian Christianity even though it was a sect of Christianity that the Catholics considered heretical and on top of that there had also been delegation of Mongols that had been
• 04:30 - 05:00 baptized by the pope when they came to discuss an alliance against the Muslim ml but the location of this mythical Conor remained vague at the time when the Europeans had no detailed maps of Asia and in reality he never actually existed the second myth however proved even more tantalizing when the Muslims conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the early 700s the Christians began to spread stories of seven Bishops who had managed to escape the peninsula with their followers on the boats that the
• 05:00 - 05:30 Muslims had arrived on they then sailed somewhere into the Atlantic Ocean which they called The Sea of Darkness landing on some unknown islands and building Seven Cities out of the gold that they had rescued from Spain the Crusaders believed that if they could find these Seven Cities of Gold they could fund an army they could Wipe Out the Muslims once and for all Columbus in all of his Zeal for Christian dominance over the Muslims truly believed in both of these myths and while it was clear to him that
• 05:30 - 06:00 he would have to sail west to find the Seven Cities of Gold he soon experienced something so bizarre and significant that made him believe that by sailing west he could also find the great con too in 1477 Columbus joined the ship sailing to Iceland on a wellestablished trade route on his way back he stopped in gallway along the west coast of Ireland where he wrote the following message men of cath have come from the
• 06:00 - 06:30 west of this we have seen many signs and especially in gway in Ireland a man and a woman of extraordinary appearance have come to land on two tree trunks this word cath here was used by the Europeans at the time to mean China and so what he was saying was that he saw the dead bodies of a man and a woman from China that were lying on two tree trunks that had washed up on the western shores of Ireland in reality most most likely these were the bodies of two Native
• 06:30 - 07:00 Americans not Chinese that had been brought over from the Americas by the currents of the Atlantic Ocean but Columbus didn't know that there was a whole continent yet to be discovered by the Europeans and so he thought that if these two bodies could make their way from China to Europe then he too could make his way from Europe to Asia Columbus began negotiating with various Kings of Europe during the 1480s looking for someone who could fund his
• 07:00 - 07:30 expedition across the Atlantic Ocean and at that exact same moment the Catholic monarchs of Spain had begun their war against Granada in order to destroy the last Muslim stronghold and remove any Islamic presence from the peninsula seeing Queen Isabella as a perfect fit Columbus followed her from place to place for years until he finally managed to get a meeting with her in 1486 from their Devotion to Christianity to their dedication to slaying Moors it soon became clear that their goals were
• 07:30 - 08:00 aligned and Columbus managed to persuade the queen to take the risk and fund his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean hoping to find these cities of gold and the great con that could destroy the Muslim empires from the other side Queen Isabella was convinced but she was still busy fighting the war against Granada and she didn't have the money to fund his expedition so Columbus decided to join her Army as a soldier and fight those Muslims in the meantime for the next 6 years Columbus fought in many
• 08:00 - 08:30 battles against the Muslims eventually joining in the final Siege of Granada and being present when the Sultan of the city finally surrendered for the Christians it seemed like they had finally redeemed themselves from having lost Constantinople and the pope ordered celebrations for days the whole of the Christian world was in Ecstasy but still at that moment Queen Isabella knew that the Christian Empires were still weak compared to the Ottomans and their other Muslim allies in her mind the only way
• 08:30 - 09:00 to win in the long term would be to try something risky and so despite her advisers telling her that according to their calculations of the size of the Earth Asia was way further west than Columbus had predicted she agreed to fund his journey in order to search for the great con and the Cities of Gold and defeat the Muslims once and for all and so in that same year in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue and when he landed in the Caribbean islands he thought that he had a arrived in Asia and even after
• 09:00 - 09:30 completing four voyages to the West he would die believing that the mythical con had only been a stone's throw away like And subscribe for more Muslim FS this was kublan who was the emperor of the Mongols Columbus went to meet this man uh Marco Polo had served this man as a youngster Marco Polo's father and uncle had served this man who was the most powerful ruler on the face of the earth 200 years before Columbus who
• 09:30 - 10:00 somehow didn't manage to figure out that he might not be there Not only was he long gone but his Empire the the Mongol Empire which included China at that point because the Mongols had conquered China was in disarray