Several hundred sailors were aboard the three caravels on the initial voyage in 1492. The ships were relatively large forthe anticipated long journey on an unpredictable sea. Only 90 men made the first voyage of discovery. Only the Nina and the Pinta returned to Spain, as the Santa Maria was shipwrecked on Christmas Day, 1492. There is no doubt that Columbus was of Italian descent.
Much controversy surrounds the origins of Columbus.
Others say he was born on Corsica, and there is even a theory that traces him to Viking ancestors. The prevailing theory is that he was a Genoese, born and raised in that seaport city in what is now Italy. Columbus suffered from syphilis and probably died from it. His eyesight was also declining. Columbus brought back to Spain or by the sailors who had contact with them in the new world, Columbus was not infected by it.