What deal did Columbus make with the Queen and King to receive funding to explore?
Christopher Columbus did not have an easy time convincing monarchs to fund his explorations. The King of Portugal turned him away after consulting his advisors and the King and Queen of Spain initially turned him away after consulting their advisors. The advisors were skeptical of Columbus's calculations in the distance to Asia, which is why both Portugal and Spain turned him down initially.
However, unlike Portugal, Spain saw some potential in Columbus's far-fetched proposal. The advisory committee, while still skeptical, saw that the potential payoff to the Crown for discovering new lands was worth more than the risk of Columbus receiving funding only to fail in his expedition. As a result, the committee drew up an agreement between Columbus and the Crown, called the "Capitulations of Santa Fe."
In this deal, in exchange for Columbus claiming all newly discovered lands for Spain, he would receive ten percent of revenues from these lands and the ability to buy company stock in any company that invested in these new lands and receive a corresponding percentage of profit. In addition to monetary gain, Columbus would also receive the title of "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" and be appointed the Viceroy and Governor of the new lands claimed for Spain.
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