Early Life

Columbus was born in Genoa, the son of a weaver. Little is known of his early life. According to his own account, he became a sailor at 14. After a number of voyages, he settled in Lisbon, Portugal, where his brother Bartholomew had a shop selling charts and nautical instruments. Columbus married Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, the daughter of a wealthy Portuguese navigator, whose charts and maps he inherited. His wife died shortly after the birth of their son, Diego, in 1479 or 1480.