A copy of Christopher Columbus’s letter in the Vatican, 2018. Photo: AFP
The first available edition of Christopher Columbus’ letter to the Catholic Kings Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon from 1493, in which he describes his first arrival in the Americas as the discovery of the New World and believes he reached India will be auctioned by Christie’s in London, United Kingdom, with a starting price of one million dollars.
The winning bid for the historic copy, which remained in a Swiss private library for almost a century, is expected to reach one and a half million dollars.
Columbus’ letter and the events described in it “irrevocably changed the course of world history,” describes the auction house.
The letter, translated into Latin and distributed across Europe, “triggered one of the first media frenzy” and forever changed “people’s perceptions of the size, shape and possibilities of their world,” says Christie’s.
Professor Geoffrey Symcox of the University of California, Los Angeles emphasizes the importance of the letter’s wide circulation thanks to the printing press, reports The Guardian.
The “cutting-edge technology” of the time helped the Spanish crown defend its claim by sending copies to the courts of Europe, explains Symcox.
“The news spread quickly, not only through diplomatic channels but also through commercial channels,” he added.
On the other hand, the impact of the text shows Columbus’s mastery of public relations, emphasizes the Cuban-American medieval historian Professor Teo Ruiz.
“He made sure everyone knew what he had done: that he had reached the Indian Islands by sailing west. Which of course wasn’t true,” says Ruiz.
(Taken from RT in Spanish)
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