Why did Columbus claim that an ancient prophecy led him to discover the Americas?

You probably learned a bit about Christopher Columbus at school, but one documented historical fact that you probably overlooked is that Columbus believed his discovery of the New World was necessary in order to fulfil an ancient prophecy.

What exactly did Christopher Columbus mean when, circa 1500 AD, he wrote about America in one of his famous letters: "God made me the messenger of the new heaven and the new earth of which he spoke in the Apocalypse of St John after having spoken of it through the mouth of Isaiah; and he showed me the spot where to find it."

Christopher Columbus produced a famous book, the "Book of Prophecies"[2], containing over 200 biblical and patristic passages which he compiled, but how many people understand why?

www.theinsider.org...

This is something i was completely unaware of and thought i should share this with my fellow ATSrs. How many of you think this may be true or untrue?

Well I for one found this to be very interesting, and something not many people are aware of...

It is interesting.
But when all is said and done it's just another failed end-time prophesy.

BTW,Wrong forum. Where's the conspiracy?

The conspiracy is that he didnt set out for the new world for the reasons he said he did and that more than one person knew about this. What we learned in school and our understanding of history concerning this matter is false.

Why am i even explaining this? I would think that people here know the definition(s) of conspiracy by now and could easily see it, if one were to look closely at the subject instead of being intent on putting others down (which always hides a lack of understanding BTW).

I've enjoyed your recent threads, but I'm not a great fan of these type of conspiracies. I'm a great fan of human nature though. Trade routes, imperialism and emergent Capitalism seem the more likely motivations for his ambitions.

Human nature being what it is, I expect Colombus exploited Isabella's religious fanaticism to gain her Patronage. By suggesting that it was God's Will and that she could further her ambitions in God's name, he'd be assured of wealth and glory. It seems to have worked.

Originally posted by Kandinsky
I've enjoyed your recent threads, but I'm not a great fan of these type of conspiracies. I'm a great fan of human nature though. Trade routes, imperialism and emergent Capitalism seem the more likely motivations for his ambitions.

Human nature being what it is, I expect Colombus exploited Isabella's religious fanaticism to gain her Patronage. By suggesting that it was God's Will and that she could further her ambitions in God's name, he'd be assured of wealth and glory. It seems to have worked.

Yeah I agree. It seems to me that human nature and greed would win out in the end, no matter what the path to get there.

This is interesting, sinc emany of the Native tribes also had prophecies pointing to the arrival of a "Great White Brother" or something of that sort.