The Box Christopher Columbus was originally slated to have Stewart Granger in the title role, then James Mason before Frederic March was decided upon in late 1947. There were other Columbus films announced at the time to compete, but these never came to fruition. In 1946, as part of the British Rank Organisation’s plan to break into the American market, Sydney Box announced he would be making a technicolour film of Rafael Sabatin’s 1941 novel, Columbus to spearhead the showing of British films in America. The very first attempts were silent movies – a French version from 1904 and a 1923 German production. Just as Columbus’ journeys themselves were part of a wider European power struggle between Spain and Portugal, not to mention England, France and the Dutch, so too the first attempts to put Columbus on film actually reflected something of a filmic power struggle. Four of the movies about him were released in 1992 to mark the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ first landfall in the ‘New World’ and so most films concentrate on the lead up to the first journey and discovery and less on Columbus’ challenges after 1492 or the other journeys. At the same time, the figure of Columbus and his legacy make numerous appearances. It comes as something of a surprise therefore to learn that Columbus’ exploits have been filmed relatively infrequently (there have been nine films, if we are generous), and none of those attempts has been entirely satisfying. America already had complex civilisations of its own but their technologies on the whole were no match for the steel, gunpowder and illnesses of the Spanish conquistadors and other Europeans who came in quest of wealth, power, territory to conquer, and land to settle. His four journeys revealed the Caribbean to the Spanish Empire and opened up the Americas for exploration and exploitation by European powers which began immediately and continued for centuries. It is difficult to underestimate the impact on world history that Columbus’ discoveries and their aftermath made. One aspect of Columbus’ journey which has been focussed on in movies, was the spread of Roman Catholicism to the new territories and the (forcible) conversion of its populations. What followed has shaped our world for better or worse but there is everything you could wish for in a film – adventure, romance, drama, tragedy, heroism, villany. Soon the Europeans would come into contact with the four major civilisations of the central and southern Americas – the Inca, Maya, Aztec and Muisca. These, and many other aspects of his life have been ignored or glossed over in the movies of his adventures.Įxactly which island of the Bahamas Columbus arrived at is still debated but the Taíno natives were friendly and Columbus explored further, reaching Hispaniola (modern day Haiti/Dominican Republic) and northeastern Cuba. Columbus made four journeys to the New world before dying in 1506 at the age of only 54 and he proved an unpopular and harsh ruler of his new dominons. Columbus set off on his first journey in August 1492 in 3 ships, the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria, stopping at the Canary Islands before continuing on towards America on a six-week journey (arriving in the Bahamas on October 12th, 1492). If successful, Columbus would be named Admiral of the Ocean Sea and would be appointed as Viceroy and Governor of all the new lands he would claim for Spain. He was provided with enough funds to mount a small expedition of three ships. The route to the spice islands was the Cold War and Space Race of its day all rolled into one.Ĭolumbus’ proposals finally produced fruit with the Spanish monarchs in January 1492. Columbus would maintain until his death that he had found the eastern-most coast of the Asian continent by sailing westwards, crossing the Atlantic, the ‘Ocean Sea’ (despite much evidence to prove he was mistaken). The great nautical question of Columbus’ age was finding a route to the spice islands of the East Indies, India and the Orient, and thus avoiding the expensive land route over Asia.
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