Ferdinand Columbus
| Ferdinand Columbus | |
|---|---|
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| Born | ca. 1488 Cordoba, Spain |
| Died | ca. 1539 (aged 50–51) Seville, Spain |
| Known for | Son of Christopher Columbus |
| Parent(s) | Christopher Columbus and Beatriz Enríquez de Arana |
Ferdinand Columbus (Spanish: Fernando Colón also Hernando, Portuguese: Fernando Colombo, Italian: Fernando Colombo; 15 August? 1488–1539) was a Spanish bibliographer and cosmographer, the second son of Christopher Columbus. His mother was Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, whom his father never married, but who was Columbus' constant companion in later life.
Fernando was born in Córdoba, Spain, and spent his early years there. After Columbus's triumphant return from his first voyage, Fernando was appointed a page to the Spanish crown prince Don Juan but transferred to the service of Queen Isabella following the young prince's death.
Between the ages of 13 and 15, Fernando was a crew member on Columbus' fourth voyage to the New World. After his father's death, Fernando accompanied his older half-brother Diego to the New World in 1509 upon Diego's appointment as governor of Hispaniola. But Fernando preferred a more settled life and returned to Spain a few months later.
As an adult, Fernando was known as a scholar. He had a generous income from his father's New World demesne and used a sizeable fraction of it to buy books, eventually amassing a personal library of over 15,000 volumes. This library was patronized by educated people in Spain and elsewhere, including the Dutch philosopher Erasmus.
The impressively large library was unique in several ways.
After his father's death, Fernando inherited Columbus' personal library. What remains of these volumes contains much valuable information on Columbus, his interests, and his explorations.
Provisions were made in his will to ensure that the library would be maintained after his death, specifically that the collection would not be sold and that more books would be purchased. Despite this precaution, the ownership of the library was contested for several decades after Fernando's death until it passed into the hands of the Cathedral in Seville, Spain.
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