Published to coincide with the quincentenary of Columbus' arrival at the island of San Salvador, this biography assesses the life and achievements of Christopher Columbus in the context of the great era of European overseas exploration. A humble Genoese cartographer, Columbus was convinced that the existence of a Western route to Asia would prove that the world was round. This book traces his attempts to persuade the rulers of Spain to fund the expedition, the events of the 1492 voyage, and the reaction to his discovery of the New World. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto also considers his disappointing subsequent career as explorer and colonial administrator, his religious obsessions and his death as a forgotten pauper.