An acrimonious controversy has existed in Italy, concerning his birthplace and parentage. For it is remarkable that Ferdinand, the son of the Admiral, who wrote a very full account of his father's life, and who was sixteen years old when the latter died, seems to have been wholly uncertain as to the place, either of his father's nativity, or of his extraction. The number of states or cities, which claim the honor of giving him birth, and the patriotic zeal displayed in the defence of their conflicting pretensions, call to mind the similar disputes in regard to the origin of Homer, commemorated in the well-known Latin verses,—

Septem urbes certant de stirpe insignis Homeri,

Smyrna, Rhodos, Colophon, Salamis, Chios, Argos, Athenæ.

It is the old and generally credited opinion that Columbus was a native of Genoa, or its immediate neighborhood; and, independently of other evidence on the subject, this opinion now rests upon the most conclusive testimony, namely, the declarations of the Admiral himself on several occasions. In the archives of San Giorgio at Genoa are preserved some extracts from a will, made by the Admiral in 1497, in which, assigning for reason that he was born in Genoa, (siendo yo nacido in Genova,} he bequeaths a legacy to the Republic; and in another part of the same testament occur the words, because I came from there, (Genoa) and there I was born.'

In the same archives of Genoa,

is a letter written by the Admiral to the magistracy of San Giorgio, in 1502, informing them he had enjoined it upon his son to pay to the Republic a tenth part of his revenue, to reduce the tax on provisions; and that he had sent them, by Nicolò Oderigo, a copy of his charters for the use of their citizens. Here, also, he impliedly calls Genoa his birthplace, saying, 'that although he had been a long time far away from his country, yet by no means had his heart been alienated therefrom.' The Corsini library, at Rome, contains a Breviary, once the property of the Admiral, to whom it was presented by Pope Alexander the Sixth. On a blank leaf of this book is written a codicil, made according to military usage, dated at Valladolid, May 4th, 1506, in which he bequeaths the book to his 'most loving country the Genoese Republic,' orders the erection of a hospital for the benefit of the poor, and, in default of his male heirs, appoints the Republic to succeed to his public offices.

These expressions are perfectly conclusive, if Columbus actually wrote them; and although the authenticity of the instrument has hitherto been disputed, no doubt on the subject can exist any longer. Among the public documents preserved in the archives of Simancas, there is an original royal charter, granted in 1501, confirming the Admiral's testament, and as usual in such cases, setting forth the whole of it, word for word. This removes every shadow of suspicion in respect to the

genuineness of the testament, and of course establishes incontestably the birthplace of Columbus.

The citations, which I have given, are an answer to another question, which has been a little debated, namely, whether Columbus was born in the city of Genoa. Several villages near Genoa have each had the credit of being his birthplace: His grandfather was of Quinto; his family possessed a small house at Terra Rossa, between Quinto and Nervi; his father lived a short time at Mulcento; and he had relations residing at Cogoleto in consequence of which those places have divided the public sentiment. But the weight of testimony is in favor of Genoa.

Domenico Colombo, the father of Christopher Columbus, was a manufacturer of woollen stuffs in Genoa, and rather low in his circumstances. He married Susauna Fontanarossa, and by her had three sons, named, in the order of birth, Cristoforo, Bartolommeo and Giacomo; and a daughter, afterwards married to Giacomo Bavarello, a cheesemonger. There is no reason to believe any of his immediate ancestors were men of honorable condition. Certain it is, they were poor; and nothing more is known of their occupation, except the simple fact of their being chiefly employed in maritime trade. The name itself was quite common in the north of Italy; and although several noble families bore it, yet so also did many others of plebeian rank. When the Admiral came to reside in Spain,

he changed the name of Colombo to Colon, in Latin Colonus. This he did, partly in order to render it more conformable to the Spanish idiom, and partly, perhaps, influenced by the desire, which he manifested on some other occasions, of being regarded by posterity as the head and founder of a distinct lineage. Ferdinand Columbus gives into many superstitious follies about his father's name. Among other things, he pleases himself with the idea, that his family is derived from Junius Colonus, procurator of Pontus under the Emperor Claudius. But in truth this person's name was Junius Cilo, not Colonus.*

Christopher was born in 1447. He passed a part of his early youth in the employment of wool carding, but was permitted to spend some time, how much is unknown, at the university of Pavia, where he learnt Latin, and attended to the studies connected with the art of navigation, especially drawing, astronomy, and geography. The vicissitudes and variety of a nautical life, and the fame and wealth which successful captains acquired under the flag of the flourishing Italian republics, appear to have attracted him, at a very early age, to the occupation of his ancestors. At the age fourteen, he betook himself to the sea, and ever after followed it, with very short intermissions. During the long period previous to his settlement in Spain, his voyages, although occasionally to # Tacitus, Annal. 1. xii., c. 21. 23

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different parts of the Atlantic, were mostly in the Mediterranean; sometimes merely commercial, but more frequently expeditions of war.

The Mediterranean Sea, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, was rendered a theatre of maritime warfare by various causes, growing out of the vicinity of the Turks and Barbary powers, the dissensions of the Italian states, and their impolitic connexions with transalpine princes. Among other things, the conflicting pretensions of the houses of Anjou and Aragon to the throne of Naples, frequently convulsed all Italy. Genoa had become involved in this disastrous dispute, and had taken part so zealously with the Angevins, that she was compelled to seek protection against the Neapolitans, by throwing herself into the arms of France. About the time when Columbus first went to sea, René of Anjou, Count of Provence, was making another desperate attempt to regain the crown; and his son succeeded in assembling a large squadron at Genoa, by commissioning individuals to arm privateers in his service. Of this number was a celebrated corsair, called Columbus the younger, to distinguish him from an equally celebrated captain of that name, who had preceded him in the same career, and had become famous by his cruises in the Levant, in the Adriatic, and on the coast of Barbary. The future discoverer of America was connected with this person by some ties of relationship, and, as there is reason to believe,