History, as the eyewitnesses wrote it.
Five centuries of legend, politics, and myth have crowded out the men and women who actually saw it happen. We return to the documents of Columbus’s own lifetime — and invite you to read them for yourself.
To preserve and reinvigorate the true legacy of Christopher Columbus and Western Civilization which he represented through education of the historic reality, as recorded in contemporary primary sources. To combat all ideologies, regardless of political persuasion, that seek to twist the facts of history to serve ulterior agendas.
Returning the record to the public square
Few of Columbus’s modern critics — or admirers — have read the sources written during his lifetime. The Foundation works to change that.
Collect, translate, publish
We gather and publish the accounts of Columbus himself, Las Casas, Ferdinand Columbus, Dr. Chanca, Oviedo, Peter Martyr, Bernáldez, and other eyewitnesses and early chroniclers.
Woodcut, Basel printing of Columbus’s 1493 letter
Restore the missing context
From the Ottoman disruption of eastern trade to the politics of Castile and Aragón, we supply the context that modern retellings leave out.
Emanuel Leutze, “Columbus Before the Queen,” 1843
Teach the next generation
Curriculum resources, publications, lectures, and public programs that encourage students and families to engage the evidence directly.
Replicas of the Niña, Pinta & Santa María, 1893
Neither hero worship nor demonization
The Foundation rejects both uncritical celebration and sensationalized condemnation. History must be studied through documentary evidence — primary sources, corroborated testimony, and honest context — not through ideology, political fashion, or cultural mythmaking.
Readers must draw their own conclusions. We believe the sources, read in full, present one of history’s most consequential — and most misunderstood — figures.
Read Our Full Statement →Scenes from the historic record
Landfall in the Americas
After a thirty-three-day ocean crossing, Columbus’s fleet reached the Bahamian island its people called Guanahani — the encounter that joined the Old World and the New.
John Vanderlyn, “Landing of Columbus,” U.S. Capitol Rotunda
Three ships on an unknown sea
The Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María sailed west from Palos in August 1492 — a feat of navigation recorded day by day in Columbus’s own journal.
Michael Zeno Diemer, “The Santa María at Sea”
Departure from Palos
Backed by Ferdinand and Isabella after years of petitions, Columbus set out from a small Andalusian port to find a western route to the Indies.
Emanuel Leutze, “The Departure of Columbus from Palos”
Help keep the record within everyone’s reach
Your gift funds the translation and publication of primary sources, curriculum resources for students and families, and public programs that let the documents speak for themselves.
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