Christopher Columbus and Vices

Christopher Columbus was probably the biggest vice monger of all time. Yes, a very strange way of looking at Columbus. But think about it. The man was into every vice we cover here. Let’s just take a look.

Gambling and traveling are the first two vices we will attribute to Columbus. What? Gambling and traveling? Well back in Columbus’s day everyone thought the world was flat. This man bet it was round. No one believed him but he persisted and finally got someone to back him. This was a huge gamble, flat world versus round world. So he gambled, not only his life but the lives of all his crew on three ships, and the ships, and all the supplies that would be needed.

And he didn’t even use his own money as a bank roll. He did this with someone else’s money, the Queen of Spain! He wasn’t just traveling around the known world, he was a willing to possibly sail off the edge. And he traveled all over to different countries trying to find someone to back him on this huge gamble. Traveling took a long time back then, you really had to want something real bad. Ok, gambling the world is round and traveling to the new world.

Now Christopher Columbus was not ready to stop traveling after he won the bet. Oh no. That is were we get into the other vices.

Next we will look at drinking. What? Christopher Columbus contributed to drinking? Yes, in 1493 Christopher Columbus picked up sugar cane cuttings from the Canaries while on his second voyage to the Americas and transplanted them to Hispaniola. Sugar cane, when boiled has a by product, molasses, that is used in making Rum. If Christopher Columbus had not moved the sugar cane we would not have things like Rum& Coke, Mia Tias, Bananas Foster, Chocolate Rum Balls and so on. Thank you very much Christopher Columbus.

Next vice we can lay at Christopher Columbus’s feet, Chocolate. Yes it’s a vice and yes Christopher Columbus was involved. It is believed that Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover chocolate. When Columbus returned to Spain in 1502 from his fourth voyage to the New World, he introduced many treasures to the court of King Ferdinand. Among them were cocoa beans, almond-shaped seeds from the cacao trees that are the source of all the chocolate and cocoa products we enjoy today. Again Thank You Chris.

Okay, smoking vice is another vice Christopher helped bring around into being. Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493, writes the first report of native tobacco use to appear in Europe. Christopher Columbus was offered dried tobacco leaves as a gift from the American Indians that he encountered. Soon after, sailors brought tobacco back to Europe, and the plant was being grown all over Europe. Now tobacco is grown all over the world.

Christopher Columbus could probably be considered a shopaholic. Not because he needed the good feeling from buying but because he had to buy so much. He was buying supplies for three ships the first time out. He had to be sure he had enough food and then he had to be sure he had the right things to trade with and for. Yes, Christopher Columbus and the vice of shopping.

So as we happily go about satisfying our own vices we need to say a big “Thank You” to Christopher Columbus, because with out him, we might not have some of our vices to enjoy.

Thanks Chris.