This is a one-page printable reading with recall & comprehension questions.
John II, then king of Portugal, was convinced that these notions of Columbus, as the people were pleased to call them, were not so absurd as they seemed. “The man knows what he is talking about, I believe,” said he. “I will get his plans, pretend to favor them, pretend to be willing to aid him—then we’ll see who will have the honor of the first expedition, Columbus, the Genoese wool-comber’s son, or John II, King of Portugal!”
And so this mean King led Columbus on to tell his reasons for believing the earth to be round. When he had learned all, and had stolen the maps and charts which Columbus had made, he secretly sent out a vessel and ordered the captain to follow closely the route that Columbus had marked out.
This was a mean trick, and no wonder it did not succeed. A great storm arose. The waves rolled high and tumbled and broke above them mountains high. The thunder rumbled and the lightning flashed. Terror-stricken, the sailors turned homeward. A more miserable crew never sailed back to Lisbon than this crew sent out by King John II.
Columbus, disappointed with the King, took his little son, Diego, with him, left the country, and went to Spain. |
