Late Middle Ages · Europe · Exploration
1484
Columbus Petitions Portuguese Court
1484
The Genoese navigator presented his audacious plan for a westward sea route to Asia to King Joao II of Portugal. A royal committee of experienced mathematicians and navigators rejected it, correctly noting that Columbus had drastically underestimated the earth's circumference and that the open ocean between Europe and Asia was far too vast for his small ships to cross. Dismissed by the court that knew the most about oceanic navigation, the stubborn Genoese turned his pitch to Spain.
In context
Also in 1484 (4 other events on record)
- Innocent VIII Issues Witch Bull · Europe · Religion
- Botticelli Paints Mars and Venus · Europe · Culture
- Sixtus IV Dies in Rome · Europe · Religion
- Richard III Holds First Parliament · Europe · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Exploration
Era
Late Middle Ages (1301–1500), one of 874 events from that era on Saeculum.