In the preface to his Libro de las profecías (Book of Prophecies), an anthology of prophetic texts which he compiled near the end of his life, Columbus relates to Ferdinand and Isabella, how, long before he ever approached them, he had become convinced that the Westward voyage was not merely possible but his own personal vocation:
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During this time, I searched out and studied all kinds of texts: geographies, histories, chronologies, philosophers, and other subjects. With a hand that could be felt, the Lord opened my mind to the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies, and he opened my will to desire to accomplish this project. This was the fire that burned within me when I came to visit your Highnesses
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. (3)
More missionary viewpoints of Columbus
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Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by the Christians are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ. . . .should the contrary happen it shall be null and of no effect. . . .By virtue of our apostolic authority we declare. . . that the said Indians and other peoples should be converted to the faith of Jesus Christ by preaching the word of God and by the example of good and holy living.
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http://www.frinstitute.org/columbus.html
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