He returned with neither spices nor gold. He did create some Christians, as we'll discuss in a future episode, but in terms of goal accomplishment, Columbus was much less successful than either Zheng He or Vasco de Gama. But within two generations of Columbus, Spain would become fantastically wealthy, and for a time they were the leading power in Europe. Columbus' voyages also had a huge, largely negative impact on the people the Spanish encountered in the Americas. And excitingly from my perspective, once Columbus returned from San Salvador, we can speak for the first time of a truly world history. Except for you, Australia. So who was the greatest mariner of the 15th century?