Genetic analysis of the bacterium that causes syphilis , is said to suggest that its closest relative is the originator of tropical skin disease that occurs exclusively in South America.

 The team , which dealt with the analysis of spirochetes , a spiral bacterium causing the disease syphilis , led Kristin Harper . According to her, ” Columbian ” theory of importing disease mariners may apply .

Theory supported by the results of extensive research
The context of the first European epidemic of syphilis with the return of Christopher Columbus’ ships have existed for a long time , but now such a conclusion supported by extensive phylogenetic research. Researchers compared the strains of Treponema bacteria that causes syphilis and other diseases in 26 locations around the world. And they came to the fact that syphilis has the highest affinity with the skin disease , which occurs only in South America.

According to Harper bacteria this skin disease after introduction into Europe, mutate , and so was syphilis , which later in the Old Continent decimated millions of people.

  Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that has previously often ended with the death of the patient. At present it is much less widespread and can be relatively easily treated with antibiotics.

Guanhani today known as San Salvador was the home of the Arawaks/Tainos before the Europeans first landed on this small island. On October 12, 1492 the Arawaks on the Island of Guanhani welcomed the Spaniards to the Caribbean. This would have been the first meeting between the Amerindians and Voyagers from Europe; the Amerindians on the other hand could have had no idea of the changes that would have happened in the islands from the arrival of the Europeans. Since the Amerindians were unable to read or write the meeting was recorded only by the Europeans, Christopher Columbus, who commanded the Spanish expedition, himself bore witness to the ‘good will’ of the Arawaks, that led him to write,

‘They neither carry nor know anything of arms for I showed them swords, and they took them by the blade and cut themselves through ignorance’.

Ten weeks after sailing out of Palos, Columbus’s expedition had reached land. During those weeks his sailors had feared the worst as they faced harsh winds might prevent them from ever seeing Spain again. They had now taken over ownership of Guanhani on behalf of the King and Queen, considering it of little importance and that it was already the home of the Amerindians, that Columbus later gave a European name, San Salvador in honor of the Christian Saviour.

Reasons for the Spaniards Coming to the Caribbean

The purposes of the Spaniards coming to the Caribbean were to gain Gold and Glory and to serve God. They were looking for riches and for heathens that they could convert to the Christian religion.

San Salvador was a small Island with an area of only sixty square miles and seemed to have no riches to offer. The Arawaks inhabitants were few, and so there were few heathens to convert. Still Columbus’s expedition did achieve some sort of glory since the Spaniards had discovered what to Europeans was a New World.

You can find out that there was a possibility that there was some kind of extraterrestrial force that had caused the Black Plague; you can read about Christopher Columbus and his experience of witnessing something in the waters rising to the sky.

This book also covers the caves in France, proof positive that this has been going on for as long as history dates back to this planet. Follow the facts that there are airline pilots that see them out of the side window and they have gone on record.

Follow the sarcasm as the evidence is pointed out that the Universal language is math and physics. Do not be left out get your copy today and see what people are reading.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Columbus Day is Monday, October 12 and on that day we celebrate the memory of Christopher Columbus, the graet explorer. It was Columbus, like many before him, realized the world was round and if one sailed to the west, he would reach India and its rich trade markets. Columbus was not looking for a New World as it was in his way on the journey to India. He convinced King Ferdinand  and Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his great adventure. Columbus would sail across the Atlantic four times. His first landing was on San Salvador Island ( The Bahamas) .  He also explored Cuba and took a few of the Native Americans back to Spain.

On his second voyage he took settlers with him and a number of priests who were to Christianize the Indians. Poor treatment of the Native Americans would forever hurt the reputation of the great explorer. On August 20, he left Hispaniola for Spain. Things got worse for him on the third voyage when he was berated for promising the settlers great riches. Columbus also supported the enslavement of the island natives. He also refused them Christian baptism it was forbidden to enslave Christians. Later generations held this against Columbus and many of the priests who were interested in gaining wealth from the New world. Politics reared its ugly head when Columbus got home and he was actually arrested for gross mismanagement. More trouble on his last voyage he got in trouble with the new governor who was jealous of him. At one point, he and his men were stranded on the Island of Jamaica and no help was offered. He would eventually be rescued and return to Spain in 1504.

Columbus always believed he was was on the east coast of Asia. He died at the age of 54  reconciled to his church but unhappy and weary at his treatment by the crown. They refused him any of the profits from the lands he discovered. His mistreatment of the natives and his quest for wealth have damaged his reputation but he is still honored for his many accomplishments as a great sailor and explorer.

 Incidentally, in 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella in a fit of religious zeal, expelled all the Jews from Spain. Over 50,000 Jewish families were forced to leave.

“In 1492 Columbus sailed Ocean Blue”. This little rhyme many American children learn to remember the date when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. Was Christopher Columbus really the first person to discover the continent and return home to tell about it?

Probably not, but he was the first to return to Europe and tell all about what he believed to be a new route to Asia.

Most people in Columbus’ days thought that the earth was flat, and they did not believe that a route to the India across the Atlantic would be shorter and safer than a route around Africa. He did not have the money to buy ships and hire sailors. At first Columbus asked the king of Portugal to pay for his voyage. The king asked his advisers, and after their report he denied to help Columbus.

Then Columbus travelled to Spain to ask Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand for help. Six years later Isabella gave Columbus three caravels: the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta. Columbus’s crew last saw land on the eastern horizon on the 9th of September, 1492. On the 12th of October, 1492, when everybody was very tired and anxious, the lookout on the Pinta saw something like a white cliff shining in the moonlight. Columbus named the land he had reached San Salvador. He thought they landed in Asia.

On the 15th of March, 1493, Columbus was back to Spain with two of his ships. He brought parrots, an alligator, a few pieces of gold jewelry, some unusual plants, and six American Indians.

In very early times they weren’t described as having the torso and tail of a fish. Yet, this description is the most popular version.

Image via Wikipedia

Even Christopher Columbus made reportings of seeing these aquatic beings on his 1493 voyage to the Americas.

They were known to use lust to lure lonely sailors and drag them underwater to their kingdoms.

It is not sure whether they drown their victims on purpose or accidentally. However, horrible sea storms were attributed to them, especially the ones that caused shipwrecks and death of many sailors.

So if you were going to predetermine your unborn child’s hair color, would you make your little one a brown-haired beauty like Jen Aniston, a blonde bombshell like Pam Anderson, a black-haired vixen like Kim Kardashian, or a red-haired siren like Julia Roberts?

Apparently, for most, the answer isn’t red hair. In fact, vote here and you can see what color hair is leading the Fox poll: If You Could Choose Your Child’s Hair Color, What Would You Pick?

According to Cryos International, one of the largest sperm banks in the world, clients do not want their children to have red hair. The sperm bank is now turning away sperm donors with red hair because the demand for clients that want children with red hair simply isn’t there.

Cryos’s director says that most clients don’t opt for a redhead unless one of hopeful parents is redheaded.  However, the director did take exception to this, saying that “redheaded sperm” is in high demand in Ireland.

Of the nearly 14,000 donations, or 70 liters of semen, stored at Cryos, that from donors with brown eyes and hairs is in the highest demand.

I would just remind our lovely sperm donor recipients to keep in mind that some redheaded folks like William Shakespeare, Christopher Columbus, Lucille Ball, and Ron Howard have been very instrumental in our society and history. 

   Now, it is not possible to say that Vespucci came from humble beginnings. He came from a dignified and wealthy family in the city of Florence in Italy. His father was a well-respected and an aficionado in business, which was seen to be bestowed upon his son. Amerigo Vespucci was born March 9, 1454 and at this time, the guild system was present and at its height. Vespucci’s worked in the money changer’s guild of Florence as a notary. Very little is known about Vespucci’s parents and three other siblings. The same is to be said about Vespucci’s early life. Before his voyages, Vespucci worked at an agency in the city of Seville, Spain. It was owned and operated by Lorenzo di Pierfransesco de’ Medici and his brother Giovanni di Pierfransesco de’ Medici. They were both Italian, despite working in Spain, and they were indeed kin to the much renowned and powerful Medici family. The Medici family was essentially the rulers and operators of the city-state Vespucci worked at, due to their high class and superiority. Much of the Medici was in the financial and political areas of the Italian and Spanish economies, each respectively. Vespucci was a merchant and cartographer at this time, but his interest in cartography inspired him to become an explorer. Vespucci was now out to explore the new world Christopher Columbus had found.

   Much of Vespucci’s history regarding his voyages is disputed, amongst other aspects. I will present each of the facts to you in a manner which will not display any bias in any cause. It is up to you, the reader, to come up with your own interpretation, decision, and belief.

   Vespucci, before his first voyage, was a manager for a company that supplied and manufactured ships. Their specialty, however, was ships that were made to sail for long voyages. These were very expensive at this time, for it took many men many hours to tediously make the huge ship and all of its parts, including the sail. Therefore, for an explorer to venture on a voyage, they needed the funding of royalty or other wealthy families. Shipbuilding and its craft was very well established in the Spain and Italy, especially Spain. Spanish shipbuilders were regarded as one of the best, and their work sailed many explorers near and far. In Europe, the overall quality of ships, sailboats, and other sea-faring craft was very poor. Ships usually leaked, flipped over, were unbalanced, and prone to rough seas and harsh weather. However, Spain had managed to master shipbuilding and this lay another foundation to Vespucci’s emergence as an explorer.

   However, Spain’s great quality of ships did not only spur Vespucci’s voyages. Many years before Vespucci’s birth, Spain was ruled by the Moors, a North African and Arab people who remained in Spain for 800 years. They followed the Islamic religion and influenced much of Spain and Europe which during their rule, Europe was ongoing the Dark Ages while the Muslim world was reaching its height. Now, keep in mind that the Moors did not take over the entire Iberian Peninsula, so there were still an independent Spanish people. Of these Spaniards there were two citizens of royal blood, Isabella and Ferdinand, who ruled separate provinces in Spain. Unlike the Moors, they followed Catholicism and resented the Moors’ Arab and Islamic influence in Spain. They each struck a rebellion, and eventually took back the rest of Spain. Isabella and Ferdinand married each other and became the rulers of Spain. They wanted to make their own influence on Spain through the spread of the Catholic religion. The banished all Muslims living in Spain, and wanted to spread the Catholic faith with other people. This made the basis for their motivation for exploration. However, in through a large circumstance of events and in retaliation to the ousting of the Moors from Spain, the Ottoman and Turkish empires closed the trade routes leading to Asia. This spurred the need to explore other ways to get to India and other Asian countries.

   Now, you may think I might have gone off of topic here, observant reader, but all of these events helped provide Vespucci with the environment and needs to do his exploration. Let us continue.

   When Vespucci needed to find the funds and support for his expeditions, he could not turn to Italy. Italy’s emperor was not too interested in finding a new route to Asia. However, Spain was hesitant to support Vespucci’s travels until he had made a name for himself. Instead of exploring, Vespucci settled on being an observer in many voyages to the east coast of South America for King Manuel I of Portugal from 1499 to 1502. Vespucci’s main objective was to see if the new land of Brazil was an island or part of the continent. King Manuel soon planned another expedition to South America and saw Vespucci as the most qualified person to be an observer because of his experience and knowledge of Brazil and South America. Vespucci was not the leader of this expedition, but he later took charge. However, Vespucci had very little knowledge on how to pilot a ship. But, throughout all of his expeditions with Spain, he realized that South America was much larger than he had thought and extended even further south. Vespucci went on one more expedition for Portugal, in which he had discovered nothing, and decided to conduct his own expeditions with Spain’s funding.

   Vespucci’s first expedition for Spain did not place him as a fleet commander and he sailed around the South America exploring the Spanish territories. This is estimated to have happened between 1499 and 1500.

   Vespucci’s second voyage in Spain did not put him in charge as well, but he made significant discoveries. Vespucci mapped the Alpha, Beta Centauri, and Crux (Southern Cross) constellations. These constellations were not known by the Europeans because they had never seen them over Europe. In a letter to the Medici family, Vespucci claimed that Marco Polo and Ptolemy’s predictions were correct and that there was a fourth and fifth continent, instead of a “new world.”

    Some say Vespucci had embarked on his third and last voyage between 1503 and 1504, but there is very little known about this voyage or proof it ever happened.

  There are many historians that believe Vespucci had over exaggerated his discoveries and tried to steal Columbus’s glory. However, in 1505, Columbus wrote to his son Diego about Vespucci, “It has always been his wish to please me; he is a man of good will; fortune has been unkind to him as to others; his labors have not brought him the rewards he in justice should have.”

  There have been many forged letters found regarding more of Vespucci’s finds, but they are impractical and are dismissed by many modern scholars.

  In honor of Vespucci, Martin Waldseemüller named the new world America, a Latin and feminine version of Amerigo Vespucci; in Latin it is Americus Vespucius. He published the name on his new map of the world in 1507.

   Vespucci achieved much fame and distinction. King Ferdinand made Vespucci the chief navigator of Spain, a prodigious postion. Ferdinand allowed Vespucci to build a school of navigation for Spanish sailors and explorers. Throughout this, Vespucci devised a simple and accurate way of determining longitude.

   Vespucci, who was older and much tired than before, settled down in Seville and married Maria de Cerezo. Vespucci did not have any children, and he died February 22, 1512 of an unknown cause.

  Vespucci’s legacy still lives today as the name of two continents, North and South America, and as the name of the United States of America. Vespucci never really commanded a voyage, yet he made more discoveries than any of commanders. Thus, my reader, we have reached the end of Amerigo Vespucci’s life. But, his name will live on.