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Christopher Columbus in fiction

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Christopher Columbus (/kəˈlʌmbəs/;[1] Ligurian: Cristoffa Corombo; Italian: Cristoforo Colombo; Spanish: Cristóbal Colón; before 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, opening the way for European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions, sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, were the first European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. He has been represented in many fictional and semi-fictional works, including plays, operas, films and TV, as well as literary works.

Pre-20th century

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1900–1950

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1950–1990

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1990s

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2000s

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Unsorted

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Isabella and Columbus by Larkin Mead under dome of California State Capitol[6]

Columbus, an important historical figure, has been depicted in fiction, cinema and television, and in other media and entertainment, such as stage plays, music, cartoons and games.

In games

In literature

  • Columbus before the University of Salamanca., a poem by Lydia Huntley Sigourney published in 1834.
  • In 1889, American author Mark Twain based the time traveler's trick in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court on Columbus' successful prediction of a lunar eclipse during his fourth voyage to the New World.
  • "Columbus", a poem by Florence Earle Coates, was published in Harper's Weekly on 22 October 1892.
  • In 1941 the British author Rafael Sabatini published a novel Columbus, based on a screenplay he had written for a planned film. The story provided the inspiration for the 1949 film about Columbus.
  • In 1958, the Italian playwright Dario Fo wrote a satirical play about Columbus titled Isabella, tre caravelle e un cacciaballe (Isabella, three tall ships and a con man). In 1997 Fo was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The play was translated into English in 1988 by Ed Emery and is downloadable on the internet.[8]
  • In 1991, author Salman Rushdie published a fictional representation of Columbus in The New Yorker, "Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella of Spain Consummate Their Relationship, Santa Fe, January, 1492".[9]
  • In Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus (1996) science fiction novelist Orson Scott Card focuses on Columbus' life and activities, but the novel's action also deals with a group of scientists from the future who travel back to the 15th century with the goal of changing the pattern of European contact with the Americas.
  • British author Stephen Baxter includes Columbus' quest for royal sponsorship as a crucial historical event in his 2007 science fiction novel Navigator (ISBN 978-0-441-01559-7), the third entry in the author's Time's Tapestry Series.
  • American novelist Steve Berry's 2012 book The Columbus Affair revolves around the premise that Columbus' voyages held a secret purpose, with clues to an ancient Jewish treasure.
  • MiBa'ad LaKarka'it HaShkufa, (English title Beyond the Transparent Bottom) an Israeli, Hebrew language novel by Yuval Shimoni, whose main character is a Jewish teenager who sails to the New World with Columbus, published in 2021 by Am Oved.

In music

  • Christopher Columbus is regularly referred to by singers and musical groups in the Rastafari movement as an example of a European oppressor. The detractors include Burning Spear (Christopher Columbus), Culture (Capture Rasta), and Peter Tosh (You Can't Blame The Youth, Here Comes The Judge).
  • Toward the end of "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" (at 6:00 minute mark on "Bringing It All Back Home" album), a parody of US society in the 1960's, there is a comedy sequence "But the funniest thing was when I was leaving the bay; I spied three ships a sailing, they were all heading my way; I asked the captain what his name was and how come he didn't drive a truck; He said his name was Columbus, and I just said, 'Good luck.'"
  • The Church's 1985 album Heyday contains the song "Columbus", where the singer (ostensibly taking the perspective of Queen Isabella) expresses regret at sponsoring the expedition.
  • In June 2024, the Japanese rock band Mrs. Green Apple released a song and music video entitled "Columbus". However, the band's description of dressing up as Columbus, Napoleon and Ludwig van Beethoven and having an ape-like character pull a rickshaw in the music video was heavily criticised as racist and the band were forced to remove the music video from YouTube.[10][11]

On screen

In sculpture

Columbus by Mary Lawrence

In space

References

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  1. ^ "Columbus". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  2. ^ "Christopher Columbus". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Inducks: Christophorus Goofy Columbus". Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  4. ^ Lesser, Milton; Marlowe, Stephen (16 August 2014). The Eighth Golden Age of Science Fiction Megapack: Milton Lesser. Wildside Press LLC. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4794-0344-8.
  5. ^ "1492". Miragelicensing. January 1993. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Columbus Monuments Pages: Sacramento". Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  7. ^ Civilization Revolution: Great People Archived 2011-03-17 at the Wayback Machine "CivFanatics" Retrieved on 4 September 2009
  8. ^ "Dario Fo Archives online". Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  9. ^ The New Yorker, 17 June 1991, p. 32.
  10. ^ "Japanese band pulls music video with ape-like natives". bbc.com. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Japanese band removes 'outrageous' music video featuring ape-like natives in song called 'Columbus'". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  12. ^ Bach, Ira and Mary Lackritz Gray, A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1983 p. 226
  13. ^ Riedy, James L., Chicago Sculpture, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois, 1981 pp. 203–204
  14. ^ McCue, George, Photographs by David Finn and Amy Binder, Sculpture City: St. Louis, Sculpture in the "Gateway to the West" Hudson Hills Press NY and Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, 1988, pp. 43–45
  15. ^ Photographs of the World's Fair: An elaborate Collection of Photographs of the Buildings, Grounds and the Exhibits of the World's Columbian Exposition with a special description of The Famous Midway Exposition, The Werner Company, Chicago, 1894, p. 191
  16. ^ Small, Herbert, The Library of Congress: The Architecture and Decoration, Classical America, WW Norton & Company, New York, 1982, p. 93
  17. ^ "Christopher Columbus Memorial, (sculpture)". Siris-artinventories.si.edu. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  18. ^ Nawrocki, Dennis Alan, Art in Detroit Public Places, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, 1980, p. 26
  19. ^ Riedy, James L., Chicago Sculpture, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois, 1981, pp. 204–205
  20. ^ "Chicago – Christopher Columbus". Vanderkrogt.net. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  21. ^ Harris, Moira A., Monumental Minnesota: A Guide to Outdoor Sculpture, Pogp Press Inc., 1992, p. 17
  22. ^ Bach, Ira and Mary Lackritz Gray, A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1983, pp. 9–10
  23. ^ Evert, Marlyn and Vernon Gay, photographs, Discovering Pittsburgh's Sculpture, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, 1983, pp. 182–183
  24. ^ Beajer and Style, Public Sculpture in Wisconsin: An Atlas of Outdoor Monuments, Memorials and Masterpieces in the Badger State, SOS! Wisconsin, Save Outdoor Sculpture and Fine Arts Conservation Services, Madison Wisconsin, 1999, p. 106
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