CANCELED: Nicolas Wey-Gomez - What Columbus Discovered

This lecture has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. We hope to reschedule the event next season.

Series: Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series

For five centuries, the voyages of Christopher Columbus have inspired heated debate over the true nature of his Indies enterprise. Did he believe he had reached Asia or a continent unknown to his European contemporaries? And what did he intend to accomplish once he had crossed the Atlantic?

Professor Wey-Gomez explores some of the facts and fiction surrounding Columbus's geographical surveys of the Bahamas and Caribbean Basin. He shows how Columbus's discoveries revolutionized old ideas about the globe, and how science, faith, and politics shaped the momentous encounter between Europe and the Americas.

Nicolas Wey-Gomez is a professor of history at Caltech.

This is a free event; no tickets or reservations are required.

Presented by: Caltech Committee on Institute Programs