A Columbus biographer once wrote that the famous navigator had an “an imperfect understanding of the line between truth and falsity.” The Genoese mariner had a habit of lying, exaggerating, or revising history in service of what he believed were his “higher ends.” The fact that Columbus is such an unreliable narrator makes retracing his voyages particularly challenging. The first voyage across the Atlantic would nearly disintegrate as Columbus lost control of his subordinates and lost his flagship to the sea. But despite these near-disasters, the man styling himself Admiral of the Ocean Sea was intent on spinning the entire voyage as a roaring success. If nothing else he had found lands filled with people, who he felt confident he could conquer. Tune-in and find out how a false log, hawk’s bells, and the world’s most unlucky cabin boy all play a role in the story.
