Reel 5B

7 Hour Mini-series; Debut

Nina replica; CONCL. 30 min. of: COLUMBUS: AGE OF DISCOVERY above.

7 Hour Mini-series. Debut: A year before the Columbus quin-centenary, PBS launches a seven-hour chronicle of the explorer and his times that drops anchor in 27 countries. The series begins by reflecting on "Columbus's World" in an era when medieval city-states like Genoa (where he was born in 1451) and Venice were dependent on what one scholar calls 'Muslim middlemen' to acquire silks and spices from the Far East. Inspired in part by the experiences, 200 years earlier, of Marco Polo, and encouraged by advances in cartography and navigation instruments Columbus—single-minded, stubborn and (thinking) big—began an obsessive quest to reach the riches of the East by sailing west! But as An Idea Takes Shape in Part 2, Columbus confronts years of opposition first from the Portuguese crown, then from Spanish officials who disputed his calculations showing a small piece and a wraparound Asia. But, finally King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor his enterprise of the Indies. The second hour also examines how Columbus 'retired' his craft in Portugal as a mapmaker, seaman and merchant, visits all-can gold mines and one-time slave dungeons, and follows the construction of full-scale replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria (2 hrs.); (Concl. 30 min. next tape)

7 Hour Mini-series. Debut: A year before the Columbus quincentenary, PBS launches a seven-hour chronicle of the explorer and his series that drops anchor in 27 countries. The series begins by reflecting on "Columbus's World" in an era when medieval city-states like Genoa (where he was born in 1451) and Venice were dependent on what one scholar calls "Muslim middlemen" to acquire silks and spices from the Far East. Inspired in part by the experiences, 200 years earlier, of Marco Polo, and encouraged by advances in cartography and navigation instruments, Columbus—single-minded, stubborn and [thinking] big—began an obsessive quest to reach the riches of the East by sailing west. But as "An Idea Takes Shape" in Part 2, Columbus confronts years of opposition first from the Portuguese crown, then from Spanish officials who disputed his calculations showing a small globe and a wraparound Asia. But, finally King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor his "enterprise of the Indies." The second hour also examines how Columbus "refined his craft" in Portugal as a mapmaker, seaman and merchant, visits African gold mines and one-time slave dungeons, and follows the construction of full-scale replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria (2 hrs); (Concl. 30 min. next tape)

7 Hour Mini-series. Debut

(Concl. 30 min. next tape)

CONCL. 30 min. of: COLUMBUS: AGE OF DISCOVERY above.