How Christopher Columbus Ended Up in Azorean Prison
..and how he got out
Christopher Columbus was born in Genova (today’s Italy) but he worked and explored the world under the Castilian flag (today’s Spain). However, he has dedicated a significant part of his life and work career to another country from the Iberian Peninsula - Portugal.
He was specifically active in their Atlantic waters, which is why it was no surprise that he found refuge there during his return from his maiden voyage to the New World. But instead of applause and celebrations, he was thrown into a cell..
Columbus in the 🇵🇹 Portuguese Atlantic
Christopher Columbus spent almost a decade of his life living in Portugal. He resided in Madeira from around 1478 to 1485. This stint has proven to be important for his future operations in the Portuguese Atlantic maritime system. He initially arrived as a commercial agent for Genoese merchants in the lucrative sugar trade. This industry was slowly making Madeira the world's leading sugar producer at the time.
His permanent settlement in Madeira was secured through, unsurprisingly, marriage.
He married Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, daughter of Porto Santo's (one of the Madeira islands) first governor. That heavily elevated his social status, granted him Portuguese citizenship, and provided access to the Perestrelo family's collection of maritime charts and navigational knowledge from decades of Atlantic exploration.
During this decade, Columbus conducted voyages to the Guinea coast of West Africa, Canary Islands, and other Macaronesian islands. As an outcome of his adventures, he was learning advanced Portuguese navigation techniques, including the volta da Mina - circular Atlantic routing, celestial navigation, and understanding of Atlantic wind patterns and currents that Portuguese navigators had developed over 60 years of exploration.
This maritime “internship” in the Atlantic provided him with the advanced nautical knowledge and confidence necessary to propose and successfully execute his 1492 transatlantic voyage between Europe and the Americas.
Fair to assume that his stay in the Madeiran archipelago proved to be successful far beyond the commercial value.
Navigation Necessity
Columbus's journey to the Azores was dictated by Atlantic navigation patterns and severe weather. On his return from his first voyage from the Caribbean, Columbus followed a fundamentally different route from his outbound journey.
Rather than retracing his westward path, he sailed northeast, following the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic currents—a circular pattern that would become the standard Atlantic crossing route. This northerly route naturally brought him toward the Azores, positioned strategically in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
On February 14, 1493, Columbus encountered a violent storm that separated his two remaining ships—the Niña and the Pinta. Quite a Valentine’s Day. The weather was so severe that Columbus feared for his life and wrote a message in a barrel, throwing it into the sea in hopes that news of his discoveries would reach the Spanish monarchs if he perished. The storm damage and urgent need for shelter forced him to seek the nearest safe harbor, which was Santa Maria in the Azores.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, his knowledge of these Atlantic routes and island stopping points came in handy and proved crucial to surviving in the Atlantic waters.
Cold Welcome at Santa Maria and Detention
Columbus arrived at Santa Maria on February 18, 1493.
He encountered immediate suspicion from the Portuguese governor. King John II of Portugal had already asserted that the Azorean archipelago belonged to Portugal under the 1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas, which also granted Portugal hegemony over the Atlantic south of the Canary Islands.
As far as the governor was concerned, Columbus was sailing under the Castilian flag in what Portugal considered Portuguese waters, and he initially accused him of piracy.
The detention of Columbus had a religious context, too. Christopher led his crew ashore to attend mass at the Ermida de Nossa Senhora dos Anjos (Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels) as an act of thanksgiving for surviving the storm.
This pilgrimage provided the Portuguese authorities with an opportunity to detain the group.
The Portuguese governor arrested Columbus's shore party while they were at prayer, temporarily imprisoning them on charges of operating illegally in Portuguese territory. This created an armed standoff between Columbus, who remained aboard the Niña, and the Portuguese authorities on shore.
The detention was brief but tense. Columbus protested the arrests, asserting his legitimate passage and the protection that should be afforded to ships. The confrontation ended when the Portuguese authorities, likely recognizing the diplomatic implications of detaining representatives of the Spanish Crown, released the imprisoned crew members.
Columbus left Santa Maria on February 23, 1492.
Soon enough, another storm forced him to seek shelter in Lisbon, where he was obligated to meet with King John II of Portugal.
Columbus's Influence on Santa Maria and Azores
While it’s hard to say that Columbus's short stay left an ever-present impact on the island, his statue did find a place on one of the main city squares. And so do the local people always go back to the story of this little moment.
Columbus's stop made Santa Maria the first European territory to receive news of the New World's "discovery."
The Portuguese governor became the first European outside of Columbus's expedition to learn of Spain's new route to what they believed were the Indies.
Why did Columbus Never Attempt To Claim the Azores for Spain?
At that time, the islands were under Portuguese control for over 60 years, with a well-established colonial administration, settlements, and a Portuguese population mentioned in existing international agreements. Portugal's claim predated any Spanish interest and was well-established in European diplomatic circles.
I guess that upsetting a neighboring European nation was seen as a much higher risk than upsetting cultures and nations on the other side of the ocean..
This was just the beginning of Portugal and Spain engaging in intense negotiations over territorial claims far beyond the Atlantic waters, leading to the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.
For the Azores, this brief situation represents a moment when these remote islands found themselves at the center of world-changing events, briefly being the only European nation outside Spain that knew of the New World's existence…
Well done, Milosh. It seems you would appreciate this piece:
https://thomasobrien.substack.com/p/columbus-the-most-misunderstood-man