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| | ipedia.com: Christopher Columbus Article (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16) |
 | | Both boys served as pages to Prince Juan, son of Ferdinand and Isabella, and each later contributed, with fabulous success, to the rehabilitation of their father's reputation. |
 | | Christian Europe, long allowed safe passage to India and China (sources of valued trade goods such as silk and spices under the hegemony of the Mongol Empire (Pax Mongolica, or "Mongol peace"), was now, after the fragmentation of that empire, under a complete economic blockade by Muslim states. |
 | | In response to Muslim hegemony on land, Portugal sought an eastward sea route to the Indies, and promoted the establishment of trading posts and later colonies along the coast of Africa. |
| www.ipedia.com /christopher_columbus.html (4756 words) |
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