Christopher Columbus stole credit for discovering America from two Spanish brothers who actually made the voyage possible, a new book has claimed.
In a book called 'The Forgotten Brothers', author Gary Knight has accused Columbus of stealing the credit from the Pinzon brothers, who not only skippered the sister ships on the expedition, but also saved the entire mission.
"In the United States we learned about Columbus making the first voyage to America. That is total bunk and I wanted to set the record straight," Knight told 'The Telegraph'.
Knight, a former aide in the US Congress, studied scores of accounts of the story of the Columbus voyage, some dating back to the late 19th century.
He said the evidence that Columbus stole the glory is compelling.
The voyage, he said, would never have happened but for Vincente and Martin Pinzon providing ships after Columbus's original fleet was destroyed by the people of Palos in Andalucia.
"He approached the Pinzon brothers cap in hand and asked them to help him out and they cut a deal. Columbus may have been a brilliant navigator and politician but he was not a sea captain," Knight said.
"He had never had skippered a ship in his entire life," he said.
The Pinzon brothers, on the other hand, were veteran mariners who had little difficulty in recruiting crew to take part in what was potentially a dangerous voyage.
Pinzons also helped Columbus get back to Europe, even though he cowered in his cabin for much of the voyage, the book claimed.
Eventually Columbus and the brothers fell out, becoming rivals.
Columbus's version of the voyage persisted because he wrote an account.
"He was the only person to keep a journal and that is why Columbus is remembered," Knight said.
