Columbus Sheets
After returning to Spain in March 1493, Columbus went to Barcelona to report to Ferdinand and Isabella. He showed them a few small samples of gold, pearls, gold jewelry from the Indigenous people, flowers, a hammock, and some Taíno he had captured. However, he had not brought back any of the spices he was looking for. Basically, he had to sell the voyage on the promise of gold, and he exaggerated how much of it there was.
In October 1500, the new governor of the Americas, Francisco de Bobadilla, had Columbus and his brother Diego put in chains aboard a ship at Santo Domingo. Complaints about the Columbus brothers had been piling up, including that they had executed Spanish colonists. Columbus stayed in chains for the whole voyage to Spain, and after about six weeks in jail he and his brothers were released. On December 12, 1500, the king and queen received him at the Alhambra palace in Granada, where he wore shortened sleeves so the marks on his skin would show.
The Capitulations of Santa Fe, signed on April 17, 1492, promised Columbus the titles of viceroy and governor of any lands he claimed for Spain. He ruled Hispaniola from the settlement of La Isabela, founded in January 1494, and set up a tribute system in which Indigenous people had to pay gold dust or cotton. As a result, many of them could not meet the quota, since there was not much gold on the island, and the system had mostly collapsed by 1497. Rebellious settlers and complaints at court ended his time as governor, and on September 3, 1501, Nicolás de Ovando was named to replace him.
Note
These souvenir sheets are released the same time as a set of souvenir sheets are released in the U.S. (see Columbus Voyages) and in Spain and Portugal – the countries of origin of Columbus and his crew. They’re identical except for the text is in the local language and face amount is in their respective currency.
The stamps, though, contain reprints of a series of U.S. stamps commemorating Christopher Columbus and his voyages to the Americas. The stamps were issued in 1893 (see the Columbus page) – roughly on the four-hundredth anniversary. These souvenir sheets were issued on the five-hundredth annniversary.
Contains 4 spots: own 4 – 4 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed Sep 5, 2023
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
Columbus’ Expeditions - Quintennial
✓ |
1996 |
50₤ (may 1992) |
|||
✓ |
1999 |
300₤ (may 1992) |
|||
✓ |
2010 |
4000₤ (may 1992) |
|||
✓ |
2011 |
5000₤ (may 1992) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
