Columbus & the Quest for Jerusalem (Hardback)

The prevailing opinion of Christopher Columbus is that he was responsible for almost everything that went wrong in the New World, caused by his political and financial ambition. But Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem challenges the received belief - showing that Columbus was driven to find a western route to the Orient not only by the promise of vast wealth for the Spanish crown but by a personal mission to fund a new crusade, to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims. And rather than portraying Columbus simply as a glory hunter, Carol Delaney puts him back into the context of his times and shows him to be a man of deep religious conviction and astonishing determination. Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem also details the remarkable and chaotic events that struck Europe in the years leading to Columbus' birth and brings the challenges of ocean navigation dramatically to life. Carol Delaney has created a thought-provoking and timely reappraisal of a misunderstood man and his legacy.