Skip to main content

Secondary sourceBook

The Life of Columbus

Arthur Helps

A nineteenth-century biography of Columbus based on documents from his voyages, including a glossary of names and terms from his world.

A documentary-based biography that places Columbus among his family and the peoples he encountered in the Caribbean.

Ask Christopher Columbus about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (public-domain edition)

About this source

What it is

This is a biography of Christopher Columbus written by Arthur Helps in the nineteenth century, drawing on documentary sources about his voyages.

Why it matters

The book connects Columbus to people around him, including his brother Bartholomew Columbus and the Caribbean chief Caonabo, who destroyed one of Columbus's garrisons. It shows how later historians pieced together Columbus's story from original records and the voices of those he encountered.

Look closer

  • Why would a biography need a glossary of terms like 'Cacique' and 'Arroba'?
  • What does the mention of Caonabo suggest about resistance to Columbus's settlements?
  • How might using original documents change the way this biography tells Columbus's story compared to others?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Christopher Columbus on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Christopher Columbus sources

Meet the AI Christopher Columbus →
Handwritten Spanish manuscript page in brown-black ink on aged paper, showing dated diary entries from August 1492 (Friday 3, Saturday 4, Sunday, Monday 6, Tuesday 7 de agosto), written in 16th-century script. This is a copy of the abstract by Bartolomé de las Casas, not the original journal.Diary entry

Primary source

Christopher Columbus' Journal

Christopher Columbus · 3 August 1492 – 15 March 1493

Page from a bound book showing two engravings. Top: allegorical title plate 'Americae Retectio' with two medallion portraits, figures Flora and Janus, and a globe between draped cloth. Bottom: Columbus standing on a ship's deck with a banner, surrounded by sea figures.Painting

Secondary source

Americae Retectio Title Page with Columbus on His Ship

Black-and-white scan of an early printed page in Gothic-style black letter type, with a large decorated initial at the top left. The page is the first page of a printed Spanish text of Columbus's letter, dense with columns of text.Letter

Primary source

Columbus Letter on the First Voyage

Christopher Columbus · 15 February 1493

Colored print of a ship's deck scene. A bearded man in a blue cloak over an orange tunic stands center, one arm raised and pointing. Around him sailors crowd in, some drawing swords and grappling, and a kneeling man in a tan robe is held by others on the right.Painting

Secondary source

Columbus Admonishes His Men

Cassé

Open bound register showing two manuscript pages of handwritten Spanish legal text in brown ink on aged parchment, with a signature and date line near the top right of the right page. Dark background surrounds the book.Document

Primary source

Capitulations of Santa Fe

Catholic Monarchs · 17 April 1492

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Christopher Columbus now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions