The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1919-06-06
HAD HIGH PURPOSE
Columbus Shown to Have Been
Moved by Religious Zeal.
Voyage Which Resulted In the Dis
covery of America Undertaken to
Procure Wealth to Save
Jerusalem.

History reveals that the discovery
of America was the working out OF
an effort to recover Jerusalem 1t Is
surprising that the one great ambi-
tion of the life of Christopher Column
bus, and one Of the reasons for the
trip which ended in the discovery OF
this continent, Is almost unknown.
This was his scheme for the liberation
of Jerusalem from the yoke of the in
fidel Turk with the aid of the wealth
that he hoped to acquire through his
voyage.
In his writings, his journals, his will
and his pleadings to the Spanish SOW
ereigns there has been recorded ample
evidence of this great passion of an
adventurous and stormy life. He
quoted the holy scriptures and prophe-
cies therein to prove that he had been
selected to accomplish this and that
the holy sepulcher was to be returned
to the Christians through him as
divine instrument.
Before sailing from Palos on his
first voyage to America he exacted
what he believed to be a promise from
the king and queen that whatever
profits might accrue as result OF the
adventure should be employed for the
crusade. In his journal, under the
date of December 26, 1892, we read the
hope that his men find "tuns" of gold
and spices sin such quantity that be-
fore three years the sovereigns Will
undertake to prepare to go and con-
auer the holy scpulcher," that all the
profits of this, my undertaking, should
be spent in the conquest of Jerusa-
lem."
This pious ambition is ascribed to an
incident which occurred while the
Spanish sovereigns were at war
against Granada, during the siege of
Baza, at which Columbus was present.
While before the city two friars ar
rived with message from the grand
soldan of Egypt in which the Moslem
threatened to put to death all the
Christians in his dominions and de-
stroy the holy sepulcher at Jerusalem
If the war against the Moslems Of Gra-
NADIA was not terminated.
The indignation of Columbus was so
intense at this menace that he formed
resolutions that were never forgotten.
That he should aspire to the recovery
of the holy place was not unusual, for
every Christian prince and man of
/ power nourished this one great dream
! of every pious person of the Middle
Ages.
On his return from the first voyage
to America he made n vow, hoping to
use his portion of the possible treas
ure acquired from the trip, 10 furnish
within seven years an army of 1000
horse and $4,000 foot soldiers for
crusade and similar force within the
five following years. This was not
forgotten. Before starting on his
fourth voyage he wrote to Pope Alex
ander VII mentioning his vow and in
forming him of his sorrow at not being
able to fulfill 1t, due to his arrest and
removal from power.
When his outlook was brightest
many royal favors were granted Co
lumbus. Some of the royal promises
never matured. In very imposing In
strument known as the majorat, dated
February %, 149S, he provided for his
family and disposed of the wealth that
he expected would surely flow into his
Golfers. He made provision that the
one supreme ambition of his whole
life be carried to its desired end.
In one of the articles of the docu-
ment appeared the words, Because at
the time I started to go and discover
the Indies it was with the intention of
supplicating the king and queen, our
sovereigns, that the revenue which
their highnesses might have in the In
dies they should determine to spend
in the conquest of Jerusalem" His
will provided for a crusade directed
by his descendants.
During the period of his disfavor
while jealous enemies We're intriguing
against him, he recalled that his vow
remained unfulflled. He considered
| it his duty to arouse his sovereigns to
the enterprise, to remind them that
| it was originally proposed as the
great object to which the profits OF
his discoveries should be directed. In
the library of the cathedral of Seville
there still exists the manuscript vol
ume that he prepared with the aid OF
a friar, quoting all those passages of
the Bible and in the writings of the
Fathers which he conceived to contain
prophecies of the discovery of the new
world and the recovery of the holy
sepulcher, events which he attempted
to show would succeed one another
and be accomplished through him as
divine agent.