The Lost Diary of Christopher Columbus’s Lookout. Clive Dickinson
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Название: The Lost Diary of Christopher Columbus’s Lookout
Автор: Clive Dickinson
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Книги для детей: прочее
isbn: 9780007502585
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We’ve been waving goodbye to the Muslims recently. For hundreds of years, Muslim rulers had their own kingdom down in the south of the country. Then, three months ago, on 2 January this Year of Our Lord 1492, the great city of Granada itself surrendered to our King and Queen. That’s a date for the history books. For the first time in centuries, Spain is one country again – a Christian country.
The last of the Muslims have left. Now all the Jews are going. What will be next? They say things happen in threes and if there isn’t a third amazing event in the wind this year, my name isn’t Luc Landahoya.
2 April 1492 – Toledo, central Spain
Master Isaac called me into his study yesterday to break the news that I’ll be out of a job. He’s been so good to me, I was close to tears. He’s taught me to read. I can write. I know a bit of Latin. And I must know more about the world outside Spain than any other servant in the kingdom. When I think about the hours I’ve spent in that study, surrounded by his books, listening to him talking about the great thinkers of ancient times, hearing about the amazing places people have travelled to, I can’t believe that’s all coming to an end – and so suddenly.
Master Isaac told me that he’s going to take the family to the land of the Moors in North Africa. Apparently he’s got relatives there.
After what’s happened down in Granada, I don’t think a Christian like me would be too welcome in the land of the Moors. But I don’t want to stay in Toledo. Life wouldn’t be the same. I fancy a change. Perhaps I’ll try my luck in another country.
13 May 1492 – Palos, south-west Spain
I got here a couple of days ago. Palos wasn’t top of my list of Spain’s seaside towns. I was going to travel to a big exciting port like Seville or Cadiz. Then I found out that all the big ports were crammed full of people like my old master and his family, looking for ships to take them overseas. I could see that I’d be stuck for months, waiting at the back of the queue for all the Jews to leave, before I found a place on a ship. Master Isaac suggested that I should try somewhere smaller. Palos isn’t as popular as Seville or Cadiz. You don’t get many rich people coming down to this little town beside the Tinto River. But the weather’s warm and sunny and there are ships here. It’s close to Portugal. And it’s a good place from which to sail to Mediterranean lands or northwards to countries like France, or Holland, or even England. I’ve found somewhere to stay in the monastery of La Rabida and I reckon I’ll find what I’m looking for before too long.
Today there was another command from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. This was a special letter from Their Majesties to the people of Palos! The town clerk read it aloud in the Church of St George, where all the important people of the town had gathered. I didn’t think it would be of much interest to me, since I’m only passing through. But I went along to find out what was going on, and hombre, am I glad I did!
It seems that some fellow from the state of Genoa, across the sea in the land of Italy, has persuaded the King and Queen to put up the money for a special voyage. The King and Queen have given this Genoese sailor the rank of Captain General and they say he’s going to sail in three ships to certain parts of the Ocean Sea1. Call me Luc Landlubba, but that makes no sense! How can one man sail three ships at once?
It sounds sort of secret (not to mention magical), so it should be exciting. I pricked up my ears, though nobody else was that thrilled. You see, the proclamation also says that because the people of Palos have been breaking the law by trading along the North African coast and upsetting the King of Portugal, they’ve got to provide this Cristobál Colón2 (I think that’s the Captain General’s name) with two ships and all the food and equipment needed for a voyage lasting a year.
They’ve got to have the ships and everything else ready in ten days’ time. No wonder the locals are fed up about it.
The proclamation doesn’t make it clear where this Colón fellow is going. All it says is that he must not go southwards to the African lands, which the King of Portugal claims are his. That only leaves two directions to sail across the Ocean Sea – north and west. Either way, this could be the chance I’ve been waiting for!
Two days ago I was really excited about the news in the Royal Proclamation.
Now I’m not so sure.
All over Palos, people are talking about it. From what I’ve heard, Captain General Cristobál Colón has been banging on about this voyage for ages. It seems that he’s come up with a brand new way of reaching the Indies – the place where all our spices come from, not to mention expensive goods like silk and precious stones. Some say that he was here in Palos several years ago. By then he’d already tried to get the King of Portugal to pay for his expedition, but Portuguese experts told the King to save his money.
Of course he isn’t the only one to have these big ideas. For a long time sailors from over the border in Portugal have been exploring down the coast of Africa. Until four years ago, all they did was keep sailing southwards. They reckon that if they keep going, they’ll find a new route to the Indies. But it wasn’t much use, because to get to the Indies you have to go eastwards. That was one of the first things I learned from Master Isaac. So I guess the Portuguese are going to be sailing forever.
But four years ago, in 1488, Bartolomeu3 Dias sailed back to Portugal with earth-shattering news. He’d discovered the bottom end of Africa, the southern tip, where the land stops and our Ocean Sea carries on round into another stretch of water, which must lead to the Indies.
If he’s right, the Portuguese have discovered how to sail to the distant lands of Asia – the Indies. But having to sail right round Africa to get there will make it an awfully long trip – СКАЧАТЬ