April 30, 1492

This was a busy day in Spain in 1492. First, Christopher Columbus was given the royal commission to equip his ships for a voyage to the East by traveling west. It had been a long time coming for Columbus. 

In 1485, Columbus had presented the proposal for his voyage to King John II of Portugal, a leader in ships and navigation. After several years of deliberation, the king and his advisers rejected the plan, because they said he'd underestimated the distance, which did eventually prove to be true. Columbus returned in 1488 for another audience, but his plans were rejected again. Realizing that Portugal was not going to be interested, Columbus traveled to Spain, hoping to convince the Catholic monarchs to invest in his venture.

He first presented his plans to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on May 1, 1489. They weren't impressed, because their committee advised against it. To his credit, Columbus didn't give up but continued to lobby the court. He finally succeeded on April 30, 1492.

The other major decision to come from Spain that day was to announce that they would expell all Jews. The decree had been issued earlier that year and would now be implemented. It came as part of the Spanish Inquisition, which generally lasted in some part from 1480 - 1530. Both of these events would have lasting effects.

King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella of Spain

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