500 years ago, Spain was a nation of fear and superstition.
The Crown and a merciless lnquisition punished all who dared to dream.
A single man defied this power,
crossing the unknown sea in search of honour and gold,
for the Glory of God.
Of all the words my father wrote, and there were many,
l remember these most:
''Nothing in human progress is achieved with unanimous consent.
Those enlightened before others''
must pursue that light in spite of others.
There was a time the New World didn't exist.
The sun set in the west, where no man ventured.
And beyond that...
infinity!
Look.
Now...
half of the hull has gone.
Good.
And now?
Now, l only see the mast.
Close your eyes. And don't cheat.
l'm watching.
Open them when l tell you.
Once l asked my father where he wanted to go.
He replied:
''l want to travel over the seas.
l want to get behind the weather.''
Now.
lt's gone.
What does it tell you?
lt's round,
like this.
Round.
Come on, lad.
Good morning, Father.
Diego!
Kiss your brother, Diego.
l have something for you.
You'll be heard at Salamanca University.
ln a week!
That's what it says.
How did you manage it?
With some difficulty.
l promised them you weren't a total fool.
Marco Polo said he found Earthly Paradise off the coast of China.
Do you believe this?
l believe in Paradise and Hell. And l do believe both can be earthly.
Now... let's go through this again.
Why do you wish to sail west?
To open a new route to Asia.
Asia is the richest Kingdom. The land of spices and gold.
There are two ways of reaching it...
By sea... Sailing around the African continent,
which takes a year,
or by land. But the Turks have closed the route to Christians.
There is a third way...
by sailing west across the sea.
The distance is unknown...
lt's said to be infinite.
Superstition!
l believe the lndies
are no more than 750 leagues west of the Canary lslands.
How can you be so certain?
The calculations of Toscanelli... Marin de Tyr...
Esdras... /Esdras is a Jew.
So was Christ! /2 minutes...
and already you're a bad man.
For telling the truth? /Yes.
They're burning people for less.
The man you're to confront
has no emotions.
Learn to control your passion.
Passion is something one can't control.
You need their blessing.
lf they say no...
you would have to give up.
l will not give up.
ls it ambition?
We've been told lies for so long...
The world is flat like this table...
Monsters guard the edge of the world...
l will not be told what and what not to be afraid of!
l want to find out for myself.
l just hope your passion will be contagious, my son.
Look, father!
Fernando!
Do you repent your sins
in the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit?
Burnings in the square...
They agreed to see me in Salamanca.
lf they accept l could be gone for years.
l know.
l haven't given you a real life.
Uh... that's true, l have a child by a man who won't marry me...
Are you going to argue?
l'd love to argue with you more often, but you're never here.
Unfortunately, that is precisely where our opinions differ.
You're familiar with Aristotle? Eratosthenes? Ptolemeus?
l am, Your Eminence.
So you can't ignore their calculations that the circumference
of the Earth is approximately 22,000 leagues or more...
making the ocean uncrossable.
But you...
may have found new evidence proving these great men mistaken!
You are aware of Marin de Tyr?
We are.
Then you are also aware that his theories contradict Ptolemeus...
De Tyr believes the ocean to be only 750 leagues.
Toscanelli...
and the French Cardinal D'Ailly, both think De Tyr
is accurate in his calculations.
Therefore the ocean can be crossed.
Silence!
Gentlemen, are we here to examine this man's proposal, or not?
Let's suppose the moment...
Marin de Tyr is right. ln your opinion,
how long would it take?
Seven weeks.
Six, during the summer.
De Tyr is wrong.
He's contradicted by the finest...
geographers.
Your voyage, Senor Colombus, would take a year.
Suppose you cross the ocean and reach Asia...
What would Spain do there?
Trade, Your Excellency.
According to Marco Polo, the Kingdom of China is one of the richest lands in the
The meanest buildings are roofed in gold.
lt's your only interest?
Gold?
No.
l'll bring these people to God
and make them subjects of Castille and Aragon.
From a Realm,
Spain will become an Empire!
lf God intended our proximity to Asia
do you believe he'd have waited for you to show it?
He chose a carpenter's son to reveal Himself to the world.
So you consider yourself the Chosen One?
Asia can be found to the west...
and l will prove it!
The Treasurer of Spain honours us.
The State has an interest in his proposition, Your Eminence.
With all due respect, the judgement is ours.
Why not?
And if he were right?
l've always found such independent minds dangerous.
lf he had wings he'd return from the skies
and say heaven was empty.
l'd deplore the loss of such an opportunity for Spain.
Especially over a point of geography.
lt's not geography. lt's about reality.
This man is a mercenary.
States often use mercenaries.
lf it is to the benefit, the stability of Spain... No?
lt should be as much your concern as it is mine.
You would use your influence to assist this heretic?
Well...
You know, your Eminence, the fascinating thing about power...
is that what can be given...
so easily can be taken away.
And therefore nothing could justify Your Majesties' participation
in a venture that relies on feeble assumptions,
and which any man of knowledge
would take to be impractical... if not impossible.
They didn't listen. They don't want to listen.
Don't give in. You must wait. /Wait?
After seven years, how much longer can l wait?
lf God intends you to...
Damn God! /Christopher!
Damn all of you! You sit concocting theories based on what?
You never leave your gardens. Go out!
Well then, tell me something l can accept.
These are full of assumptions!
Just lies!
All of it lies!
Father?
Don't disturb a man
doing penance.
What can you do?
Nothing. That's the point, Fernando.
Fernando!
Senor Colombus?
l've looked all over Sevilla for you.
Never expected to find you in a monastery.
l'm Pinzon.
Martin Alonzo Pinzon. l'm a ship owner from Palos.
ls he a spy?
What is it? Are you a Trappist?
Vow of silence?
Penance?
Just my luck.
l'll do the talking for us.
Just nod, agreed?
As with my wife.
l know the commission turned you down, right?
What do you expect? You're a foreigner.
And l want to help you.
Why do l believe in you? l'm a seaman, too.
We don't like to be told where to go or not to go.
l don't look much, but l have friends,
important friends.
A banker, for example.
He finances me. He's name is Santangel.
Heard of him?
He'll get you in to see the Queen.
You know why?
She owes him money. That's for it.
You, me, the Queen, the world... Everybody owes something.
What do you say?
Where can l meet him? /Here.
Right there.
May l ask a question?
Yes.
Why do you want to help me?
Faith.
Hope.
Charity.
But greater than all these...
is banking.
Wait, Senores!
The Moors built Granada centuries ago.
We've taken it back.
A tragic victory. We're losing a great culture.
But l suppose there's a price for every victory.
lsn't there Senor Colombus?
Don Luis de Santangel
to see Don Gabriel Sanchez.
Luis!
Senor Columbus, Senor Pinzon.
Rise... Come forward.
l should not be listening to you since my Council said not to.
But Santangel says you're a man of honour...
And Sanchez says you're not completely mad.
No more than she who said she would take Granada from the Moors.
They believe the ocean is... uncrossable,
Senor Colombus.
What did they say about Granada?
That it was impregnable.
l can't ignore my Council's verdict.
Surely you can do what you want.
How little you know.
Why should l believe in you, Senor Colombus?
May l speak freely?
You are not inclined to speak otherwise.
l know what l see.
l see someone who doesn't accept the world as it is.
Who's not afraid.
l see a woman who thinks... /A woman?
Forgive me...
but you're the only Queen l know.
That makes us equal, you're the only navigator l know.
How old are you, Senor Colombus?
Thirty-nine, Your Majesty.
And you?
l'm forty...
You will be informed of our decision.
l thought you were younger than l.
The cost would be ruinous.
No more than the cost of two state banquets.
Two banquets, for new lands and spices...
and gold.
What are you saying, Sanchez?
That if he's right we have everything to gain.
And if he's wrong...
we've so little to lose.
Tell me what he says.
He demands to be made a Knight,
with the right to wear the Golden Spurs.
And that he will receive the title Don Christopher Colombus,
which will be extended to his descendants.
What else?
He'll be named Admiral of the Ocean Seas.
Viceroy of the West lndies...
Governor of all islands or lands discovered,
or as will be discovered by him.
The highest titles of nobility, Your Excellency.
To an immigrant sheltered by monks!
Furthermore...
he'll receive one tenth
of wealth or monies,
precious gems,
pearls, metals, spices and other lucrative sources
acquired under his jurisdiction.
You worry too much, Francisco.
He'll have to lower his demands.
Believe me...
He will.
l won't!
We have considered your proposal carefully. lt is excessive.
The responsibility is excessive.
Consider the contract... /No.
No? /No.
And l thought he was an idealist.
ldealism and ambition are not incompatible.
l've fought too hard. Now you expect me to take all the risks
while you take the profit. /No...
l'm not a servant... /Senor Colombus,
you are in no position...
to bargain with me.
l'm not bargaining.
Then you are too ambitious.
And where you never ambitious?
ls ambition a virtue among nobles but a fault for the rest of us?
lf you won't accept we can simply find someone who will.
lf you can do that, Excellency...
l'll become a monk!
Your Majesty.
He'll become a monk...
lt would be a pity, wouldn't it?
Call him back.
She said yes.
lf l ever come back, l swear...
l don't want you to swear anything.
l don't want you to wait for me.
That's something you can't decide for me.
Forgive me Father, l have sinned.
l am listening, my son.
Father... l have betrayed my family.
l betrayed my men,
and l betrayed you.
l lied.
The journey is longer than l said.
How long?
l'm not sure...
How could anyone know. lt could be twice the distance.
You must tell them.
You must tell your men. /They wouldn't follow me.
You know l'm right. You must trust me.
You must speak to them. lf you don't, l will.
You made an oath.
May God forgive you.
l believed in you.
Give me absolution.
Absolution, Father.
Ego te absolvo a pecatis tuis.
Enter.
Mendez...
Sit down.
Wine?
What is it, Mendez? Speak!
They wonder how you know our position with no sight of land?
What do you think, Mendez?
l know you navigate by the stars like the Moors...
but l don't know how?
Take this quadrant.
Find the North Star.
Steady yourself!
Keep the plumbline vertical.
And don't move.
A mistake of one degree and we'll be off 600 leagues.
What do you read?
28. /That's it!
28th parallel. And we'll follow it until we reach land.
How do you know that we'll find land of 28th parallel?
l don't.
Mark 26, Sir.
Mark 27, Sir.
Mark 28!
Mark 29!
629!
629, Sir.
l heard.
Captain, l don't understand.
l think l do.
We should've seen land.
We've been at sea nine weeks, Alonzo. Can't be that far.
Can't be that near.
l don't like the smell of this sea around here.
Smells like a whore!
'Course it does.
That's why sailors go to sea.
And why is that one at sea?
Nobody knows.
He never says a word.
Captain Pinzon requests permission to board.
You mislead me. You lied to me.
We are way past 750 leagues.
Six days ago, yes. /You must be mad!
Keep your voice down!
There'll be a mutiny! /You think l don't know?
We're lost!
Land is there. l know it.
You don't know anything.
Listen, these are my ships and we are turning back.
And then what? Half of the water has gone, the rest is putrid!
l shouldn't have listened to you... You...
Listen, Pinzon! Pinzon.
All we can do...
is go forward.
The land is there... The land is close.
You tell them that. You must tell them.
God doesn't want us to cross this ocean. This voyage is cursed.
We set sail for greed. God has abandoned us.
The voyage is cursed. There are signs.
Juanito has the voice of an angel.
His mouth is blessed, but what comes out of yours is cursed.
Listen...
We're all afraid at first.
But those who overcome fear will rightly earn their reward.
l don't know if it's God's will that we should cross this ocean.
But l am certain it is you who puts fear into our hearts.
We can't be lost if we keep faith in God and in ourselves.
ln time...
they will talk of the courage of the first men to cross this ocean, and return.
And then you will be able to say to them,
l was on the Pinta...
l was on the Nina...
and the Santa Maria...
This jacket to he who sights land.
And 10,000 maravedis a year for life!
l wanna get a man aloft day and night!
Alonzo...
don't let the wind escape us.
You lucky bastard!
Mendez...
Mendez!
Land...
25 fathoms!
24 fathoms!
There...
Land ho!
Drop anchor!
Don Christopher...
Excellencia...
By the...
By the Grace of God...
ln the name of their Gracious Majesties
of Castilla and Aragon...
By all the powers vested in me...
l claim this island and name it...
San Salvador.
Don Christopher...
Muskets! /No!
October 21 st, 1492.
l think We have returned to Eden.
Surely this is how the world was in the beginning of time.
lf the natives are to be converted to our ways
then it will be by persuasion and not by force.
l believe no man will ever see this land again as we do...
for the first time.
We come in peace and with honour.
They are not savages, neither will we be.
Treat them as you would your own wives and children.
Respect their beliefs.
Pillage will be punished by the whip. Rape, by the sword.
You?
Utapan.
Utapan?
Columbus.
Co... Colum... /Columbus.
Co... lombus.
Where did you find this?
Cuba!
Thanks... l've got a river of gold to piss.
Here!
ls it gold?
No, no.
No good, no.
Utapan!
Alonzo! Alonzo!
Help him!
Do something!
Pray for him.
With Alonzo's death, l realise how vulnerable we are in these islands.
How much we have to learn.
On every island...
the natives welcome us with great generosity and trust.
Because of our appearance we have been mistaken for gods
and are treated accordingly.
Despite the lndians' compliance we have not found gold in quantity,
except for the few artefacts they gave us as a sign of submission.
You will speak first.
Tell him we thank him for his hospitality.
He knows.
Tell him some of my men are staying here
to build a fort.
l want them to be well treated.
Tell him...
we'll come back. Many of us.
He said, how many?
As many as the leaves on that tree.
And many more will follow.
Why?
To bring the word of God.
He says he has a God.
And also to bring medicine.
He says...
...he has medicine.
Tell him...
we admire his people.
He knows you like his women and gold.
Pinzon is ill...
eaten up by a fever that refuses to leave his body.
We must return to Spain.
39 men have volunteered to stay behind to build a fort.
l name it... La Navidad.
After 7 months, l haven't seen a civilisation
that compares with Marco Polo's descriptions.
No cities, no bridges. No temples roofed with gold.
The mainland still escapes me.
But l know it's there.
My ships are not filled with the spices and gold l was hoping for.
But this land intoxicates my senses and my soul.
And all l can think of is to return to this untamed land.
This unexplored Eden.
This is a chance for a new beginning.
Majestates conjuncta Hispania.
Reges Ferdinandus et lsabella
executores voluntas Dei sunt
et cum vobis Regnum Domini
per terras novas ultra mares crescatur
et in eas Crux Cristi
maneat semper.
lt won't be easy to get rid of him now.
On the contrary...
lt seems he is preparing his own cross.
Let the palate enjoy the flavour of the tobacco.
Try it.
You say this is an lndian vice?
l don't see the pleasure that would make it a sin.
The lndians have no such word, Moxica.
Have they such thoughts?
They come and go naked as God created them.
God? Which God?
Nature is their God.
lt's as if God and Nature were one.