They Weren't the Indies

About the Book

What was it that Columbus pursued without rest during the seven years he spent in Spain before he sailed for the New World? Why, just what any man of creative intellect always does when he proposes a risky and daring project; he pursued the means to fulfill his dream. This apparently trivial activity inspired the author to create for us, through the magic of the novel, the fortunes of this Italian of obscure past who was witness to the events, great and small, of one of the most stirring periods of history. Thus we follow with Columbus the Catholic King’s crusade of reconquest of Spain and the palace intrigues of Moors and Christians. We, with him, associate with bankers, merchants, and shipowners, and with various Jews threatened seriously by the Inquisition. We witness scientific debates from which Columbus never emerges clearly a winner. We learn about the daily life in Spanish cities at the end of the middle ages. And at the end we are witness to Columbus' embarkation onto the Frightful Ocean at the start of his journey to the other shore, which we well know was not the Indies.

Cover Illustration
The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
(1958-59) Oil on canvas
161 ½ x 122 1/8 inches
Collection of The Salvador Dali Museum
St. Petersburg, Florida
Copyright 2001 Salvador Dali Museum

About the Author