The First Wise Traveler to the West - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 16

Figure 2.2. Columbus
(Ridolfo Ghirlandaio painting)
HOW DID HIS DREAM BECOME REALITY?
Probably through his wife's aristocratic connections, Columbus twice put his proposal to
the Portuguese court. Both times it was rejected. Court advisors may have seen through
Columbus's misleading geography. Whether by accident, ignorance, or design, he had
shaved off 25 percent from the circumference of the earth. Or court advisors may have con-
cluded (even if his calculations of distances were correct) that he and his ships would run
out of food and water long before reaching the intended shores.
Columbus then traveled north to Spain to try to convince the Spanish court. By coin-
cidence, luck, or perhaps because he was an engaging and persuasive speaker, Columbus
was passed along from one influential Spaniard to another until he was able to offer his
dream and his services to the court of Aragon and Castile. Ferdinand and Isabella took ad-
vice from the University of Salamanca, Europe's foremost center of geography and naviga-
tion. Its professors were not convinced. The royal court did not dismiss Columbus outright;
it gave him a small stipend for living expenses. So Columbus lived on his dreams and the
royal pittance for five years. Time to move on, he then set out for the French court. And
just as he was about to cross the border into France, there came a wonderfully dramatic
moment. A Spanish courier rode up and commanded him to return to court.