Columbus' world

Episode number 1 of Series “Columbus and the age of discovery”.
Why did it have to be Christopher Columbus who discovered the “New World”? What was it about his personality and the time in which he lived that conspired to change the course of history? In this, the first episode of a series made to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ discoveries, the trading practices of the civilised world at the time of Columbus are extensively outlined to explain why this ambitious and determined son of a Genoese wool-weaver, inspired by the earlier travels of Marco Polo, set off into the unknown, lured by the promise of the gold, silk and spices of the Orient.