Christopher Columbus in fiction


Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four [Voyages of Christopher (The Sopranos)|Christopher Columbus|voyages across the Atlantic Ocean], opening the way for European exploration and [European European colonization of the Americas|colonization of the Americas|colonization] of the Americas. His expeditions, sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, were the first European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. He has been represented in many fictional and semi-fictional works, including plays, operas, films and TV, as well as literary works.

Pre-20th century

1900–1950

1950–1990

1990s

2000s

Unsorted

Columbus, an important historical figure, has been depicted in fiction, cinema and television, and in other media and entertainment, such as stage plays, music, cartoons and games.
In games
In literature
In music
  • Christopher Columbus is regularly referred to by singers and musical groups in the Rastafari movement as an example of a European oppressor. The detractors include Burning Spear, Culture, and Peter Tosh.
  • Toward the end of "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream", a parody of US society in the 1960's, there is a comedy sequence "But the funniest thing was when I was leaving the bay; I spied three ships a sailing, they were all heading my way; I asked the captain what his name was and how come he didn't drive a truck; He said his name was Columbus, and I just said, 'Good luck.'"
  • The Church's 1985 album Heyday contains the song "Columbus", where the singer expresses regret at sponsoring the expedition.
  • In June 2024, the Japanese rock band Mrs. Green Apple released a song and music video entitled "Columbus". However, the band's description of dressing up as Columbus, Napoleon and Ludwig van Beethoven and having an ape-like character pull a rickshaw in the music video was heavily criticised as racist and the band were forced to remove the music video from YouTube.
On screen
In sculpture
In space