Skip to main content

Exploring the Life and Legacy of Christopher Columbus

This quiz explores significant events, notable figures, and important facts related to Christopher Columbus and his legacy.

#Christopher Columbus #Exploration #History #Quiz #Education

1 When did Christopher Columbus die?

2 Ferdinand and Isabella had just conquered ________, the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian peninsula, and they received Columbus in Córdoba, in the Alcázar castle.

3 Who is Christopher Columbus's spouse?

4 In 1909, descendants of Columbus undertook to dismantle the Columbus family chapel in Spain and move it to a site near ________, Pennsylvania, where it may now be visited by the public.

5 What role did Francis L. Sullivan play in the movie Christopher Columbus?

6 What did Christopher Columbus do for a living?

7 What role did Nicol Williamson play in the movie Christopher Columbus?

8 Who played Joanna de Torres in the movie Christopher Columbus?

9 The knowledge that the Earth was spherical was widespread, and the means of calculating its diameter using an ________ was known to both scholars and navigators.

10 After Cuba became independent following the ________ in 1898, the remains were moved back to Spain, to the Cathedral of Seville, where they were placed on an elaborate catafalque.

💡 Interesting Facts

  • tempest-tossed aboard the Niña (replica pictured) while returning from his first voyage, Christopher Columbus and his crew vowed to perform several vigils and pilgrimages should they live.
  • one of the Lugares colombinos is the Fontanilla (pictured), from which Christopher Columbus's crew, for his first voyage, are believed to have taken their drinking water.
  • in his print Columbus Breaking the Egg (pictured) William Hogarth attempted to draw parallels between himself and Christopher Columbus.
  • historical hearsay states John of Kolno came to the New World in 1476, 16 years ahead of Christopher Columbus.
  • the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, apart from being the seat of the Spanish Inquisition was also the meeting place between Columbus and Isabella before he made his voyage to the New World in 1492.
  • the Capitulations of Santa Fe granted Christopher Columbus the titles of Admiral of the Ocean Sea, the Viceroy, the Governor-General and honorific Don.
  • the first pilgrimage made by Christopher Columbus upon discovering America was to the Royal monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe, the principal house of the monastic order of the Hieronymites.
  • the Pinzón brothers (statue pictured) played so crucial a role in Christopher Columbus's first expedition that some historians credit them as "co-discoverers" of America.
  • the Duchy of Veragua, granted to the grandson of Christopher Columbus, is a perfect square of land 25 leagues to a side.
  • before captaining the Pinta on Columbus's first voyage, Martín Alonso Pinzón (statue pictured) had already sailed to the Canary Islands and Guinea.
  • an uncle of Christopher Columbus served as a keeper of Genoa's Torre della Lanterna.
  • Italian explorer Rafael Perestrello, a cousin of Christopher Columbus, sailed on behalf of Portugal and established trading relationships for that country with the Ming Dynasty in China in 1516.
  • Christopher Columbus's journal is housed in the Archivo General de Indias, Seville, in a building by Juan de Herrera that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Christopher Columbus's letter recounting his first voyage, the first written description of America, was so popular it went through nine printed editions.
  • Japanese film tycoon Haruki Kadokawa built a full-size replica of Columbus' flagship Santa Maria which sailed from Barcelona to Japan.
  • Antonio Bosio, the first systematic explorer of the Catacombs of Rome was known as the "Columbus of subterranean Rome" .
  • a lunar eclipse enabled Christopher Columbus to trick the indigenous people of Jamaica into resuming supplying food to him and his crew while they were stranded there.
  • Charles Mears was known as the "Christopher Columbus of the West Coast".
  • Beatriz Enriquez de Arana was the mistress of Christopher Columbus (pictured).
  • Christopher Columbus received a royal reward for the 1492 sighting of unknown light.
    • Previous Quiz Next Quiz

    Related Quizzes

    Key Events and Figures of the 13th Century: A Quiz

    #13th century #history #Mongol Empire #Crusades #European culture #Franciscan order #Cambridge #Boyana Church

    Discovering the 14th Century: A Historical Quiz

    #14th Century #History #Renaissance #Ming Dynasty #Hundred Years' War #Petrarch #Military History

    Exploring the 16th Century: Events, Figures, and Discoveries

    #history #16th century #exploration #Renaissance #Conquistadores #art #politics #religion

    Exploring the 17th Century: Key Events and Figures

    #17th century #history #empires #Mughal Empire #Ottoman Empire #Persian Empire #Taiwan #Hudson's Bay Company #Kara Mustafa #French history

    Exploring the 18th Century: A Historical Quiz

    #18th century #history #quiz #education #literature #philosophy #politics

    Significant Events of 1904

    #1904 #history #events #quiz #education

    Significant Events and Figures of 1906

    #1906 #history #chess #astronomy #civil rights #swimming #biochemistry

    Significant Events and Figures of 1911

    #1911 #history #events #figures #Nobel Prize #aviation #fire incidents #education #composers