No One Should Fear To Undertake

Christopher Columbus compiled his Book of Prophecies (Libro de las Profecías) between 1501 and 1502 with the assistance of the Carthusian monk Gaspar Gorricio, assembling biblical passages and writings of Church fathers that he believed foretold his voyages as part of a divine plan. The text reveals Columbus's deeply apocalyptic worldview: he believed the end of the world was near and that the wealth from the Indies would fund a final crusade to recapture Jerusalem. This passage reflects the fusion of religious mission and material ambition that drove his voyages.