ABSTRACT
The year 1992 was both hailed and reviled around the world as the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. Columbus was certainly not the first European explorer to journey to the New World. The Iberian explorers encountered numerous civilizations in the Americas that were both amazing and repugnant to their European sensibilities. As early as 1476, Columbus began to contemplate the spice and silk trade that existed between Europe and Asia. His residence in Portugal at that time placed him in a unique position to benefit from some of the most advanced navigational and cartographical knowledge in Europe. While in the Caribbean Islands, Columbus and his men interacted with several different Native American Indian groups. Some of the information from these encounters has survived in the letters and logbooks of Columbus and others. The voyages of Christopher Columbus have been depicted for film, television, and even animation.
