# Christopher Columbus — The Columbiad character guide > Christopher Columbus in The Columbiad by Joel Barlow. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Columbus, great Columbus **First appearance:** 0003-the-columbiad ## Snapshot The Genoese mariner who unfurled an eastern banner over the western world, now chained in a Spanish dungeon while visions of future empires unroll before him. ## Who they are Columbus opens the poem as a prisoner in Valladolid, sweating the chill sod while Ferdinand sleeps untroubled above him, his crown gemmed by the very voyages that earned his admiral a cell. His monologue measures the gulf between what he traced across the chartless main and what avarice made of it — tribes he fostered snatched from his hand and slaughtered for spoil. When Hesper lifts him to the mount of vision, his private ruin becomes the vantage from which the whole American future will be surveyed. ## Relationships ### [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/isabella) _professional_ Columbus serves as Isabella's appointed admiral and explorer, with her royal patronage enabling his voyages. ### [Ferdinand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/ferdinand) _professional_ Columbus is a subject of King Ferdinand, who jointly sponsors his expeditions alongside Isabella. ### [Nicholas de Ovando](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/nicholas_de_ovando) _rivalry_ Ovando, as a colonial administrator, undermines Columbus's authority and competes for control in the New World. ### [Bartholomew de las Casas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/bartholomew_de_las_casas) _friendship_ Las Casas is a sympathetic chronicler and ally of Columbus, defending his legacy while critiquing colonial abuses. ### [Hesper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/hesper) _psychological_ Hesper, a personification of the West, represents Columbus's obsessive quest and visionary drive toward the unknown. ### [Francis de Bovadilla](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/francis_de_bovadilla) _rivalry_ Bovadilla, a royal commissioner, arrests Columbus and strips him of his governorship, acting as a direct antagonist. ### [Manco Capac](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/manco_capac) _social_ Columbus and Manco Capac are juxtaposed as parallel figures representing Old World exploration and New World civilization. ### [Columbia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/columbia) _psychological_ Columbia, a personification of America, embodies Columbus's destined discovery and the idealized New World. ### [Sir William Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/sir_william_johnson) _social_ Columbus and Sir William Johnson are both historical figures associated with European colonization of the Americas. ### [Manco Capac](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/manco_capac) _social_ Columbus and Manco Capac are juxtaposed as parallel figures representing Old World exploration and New World civilization. ## In the story ### [Epigraph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/epigraph) Addressed as the one who will spread sails to a new pole, surpassing the fame of Alcides and Bacchus. ### [The Columbiad](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/the-columbiad) Central figure of the epic, whose voyages and vision drive the narrative. ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-i) Imprisoned and despairing, Columbus laments his treatment and recalls his voyages. ### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-ii) Observes the vision of native tribes and questions Hesper about human diversity and the origins of the American peoples. ### [Book IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-iv) Grieves upon hearing the prophecy of destruction but is comforted by Hesper's vision. ### [Book V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-v) Observes the vision of North America's colonial and revolutionary history, reacting with paternal pride and sorrow. ### [Book VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-vi) Observer of the visions shown by Hesper. ### [Book VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-vii) Observes the siege of Yorktown with silent joy, seeing his favorite sons wield the fates of nations. ### [Book VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-viii) Observes the vision of America's savage state and subsequent progress. ### [Book IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-ix) Inquires about the slow progress of science and fears future cycles of decline; expresses hope for a vision of the future. ### [Book X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/book-x) Columbus observes the vision of all nations and future progress, expressing a desire to see the Apocalypse unfold. ### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/chapters/endnotes) Mourns the death of Queen Isabella, his only powerful friend in Spain, and reflects on his ungrateful treatment by the monarch and nation. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters/christopher_columbus - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_columbiad_se/characters