Biography of Christopher Columbus: Imprisonment, Fourth Voyage and Death

With three voyages behind him and age finally catching up with him, Columbus in his 50s, was suffering from arthritis and opthalmia. In 1499, he sent a request to the King of Spain to send him a Royal Commissioner to help govern the territories. The Commissioner, Francisco de Bobadilla arrived in 1500 when Columbus was away. This gave the disgruntled settlers an opportunity to complain about Columbus’ and his brothers’ atrocities. Upon his return, Columbus and his brothers were chained and sent back to Spain as prisoners.

After being in jail for over 6 weeks, King Ferdinand finally had them released and then some time later, the King and the Queen had an audience with Columbus and his brothers. Their freedom and wealth were thereafter restored, and a fourth voyage was planned.

However, this time Columbus did not gain any permission to become Governor of the lands.

In May 1502, Columbus sailed once more with 4 ships. He went to Arzilla and then on to Cabaret on the island of Martinique, and intended to head on towards Hispaniola because a storm was brewing. But he was denied shelter at Santo Domingo and so his ships sheltered at the mouth of the Rio Jaina. Ignoring Columbus’ predictions of a storm, the governor sent the first Spanish treasure fleet which then drowned, taking 500 lives and a cargo of gold.

Thereafter, Columbus sailed to Jamaica, Central America, the Bay Islands, and finally arrived at Honduras in July. There he explored Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica before heading off again to Panama where he arrived in October. After surviving a great storm in December, the crew began to explore Panama. In May 1503, he sighted the Cayman Islands but on their way to Hispaniola, the ships sustained a lot of damage.

The ships and crew were stranded on Jamaica for over a year while some sailors paddled to Hispaniola in a canoe in search for help. The governor refused to help them. Meanwhile, his men were starving. So Columbus used the Ephemeris of the German astronomer Regiomontanus and predicted a lunar eclipse correctly. Finally, help arrived in 1504, and Columbus and his men returned to Sanlucar in Spain in November 1504.

Christopher Columbus died on the 20th of May, 1506. Till the end of his days he kept demanding for his 10% share of profits, which the King and Queen denied him since he had been stripped of Governorship. He also died convinced that his journeys had taken him to the east coast of Asia. His remains are preserved in the Cathedral of Seville in Spain borne by four statues representing the Kingdoms of Navarre, Castille, Aragon and Leon.