Unraveling the mystery of Columbus’s birth date through hard evidence.
This study surveys competing dates, weighing how reliable each claim is when set against original documents and known facts.
Two concise sections lay out the problem, the sources, and the methods used to test each proposed date. The author compiles the texts in full, then compares them to a framework of historical reasoning to guide readers toward a reasoned conclusion.
- Examines Columbus’s own statements and what they can (and cannot) reveal about his age.
- Considers testimony from contemporaries and the historians who wrote about him.
- Reviews deeds and notarial records in Genoa and Savona that mention Columbus or his family.
- Provides a clear, step-by-step weighing of different dates and the arguments behind them.
Ideal for readers of early modern history, biography, and scholars seeking a careful, source-driven look at a long-standing question about a famous explorer.