July 15，1492

As I prepare for my expedition to the Indies，I wanted to write about my life so far so that when I return triumphantly[1]，everyone shall remember my greatness！

My name is Cristoforo Colombo，but most people know me as Christopher Columbus.I was born in Genoa，Italy in 1451，the oldest of five children.I was an obedient son.

I had little schooling，so I did not learn to read or write as a young boy.But I always loved the sea.I vowed[2]as a young boy that as soon as I was old enough，I would go to sea.

I traveled to Greece and Portugal，and I became a sailor in my early teens.In 1476，I was a crewman on a ship that was attacked by French pirates[3].I was lucky and found a piece of what was left of the ship.Fortunately，I was able to swim the six miles to shore.I traveled to Lisbon，Portugal where my brother，Bartholomew，owned a book and map store.I read many of the books and studied the maps until I had taught myself all I could learn about navigation and mapmaking.

I was fascinated[4]by Marco Polo’s accounts of his journey to Asia in 1271.I believe that the quickest and most direct route to this fascinating place is to cross the unknown waters that we call theSea of Darkness.［Editor’s note：Europeans did not know that the North and South American continents and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans all lay between the Indies and Spain.］

Starting in 1484，I tried to convince[5]King John of Portugal to pay for supplies，ships，and a crew to make the voyage to Marco Polo’s amazing gold mine.He refused to pay for my voyage saying that I would fail.At least he knew the world isn’t flat like so many others.He just thought the world is much larger than I do.［Editor’s note：King John was correct，Columbus thought the world was much smaller than it really was.］I decided to ask King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to pay for my voyage instead.It took me a couple of tries，but they agreed to supply me with the things I needed.Let the Portuguese sail all the way around Africa and across the Indian Ocean.That is the long way to go！The Portuguese king will regret not paying for my voyage！