By the numbers

Christopher Columbus

3: number of products – aloe, aromatics and rhubarb – Columbus promised in great quantities to the Spanish sovereignty in 1493 if they’d support another voyage.

70-80: number of oarsmen Columbus saw in boats powered by West Indians

20: Maximum number of wives per native chief Columbus was told existed on Haiti

1: Nail, swapped by a sailor under Columbus’ command to a West Indian for an equal weight of gold

8: Number of times Columbus successfully crossed the Atlantic to explore the New World

Source: Library of Congress, Columbus letter