No he had to get most of his crew from prisons because people knew that the earth was much bigger then he said it was.
They were right.
If he had not had the luck to run into a place where he could take on fresh food and water they would have all died.
Columbus really sucked at math.
The ancient estimate of the circumference of the Earth was known (as was the fact that the Earth’s a globe) was too large; Columbus used information from long distance voyages, including his own research in Iceland. His conclusion about the circumference was wrong , but he knew the landmass was there.
No he had to get most of his crew from prisons because people knew that the earth was much bigger then he said it was.
The thing is, he thought he found what he was looking for—islands off of a continent—filled with people with long straight black hair, speaking strange languages and eating strange food, right where he expected to find it.
And yes, his math was rubbish.
There are certain indications that Columbus knew the size of the world (from the ancient Greeks), that there was a continent in between; but used the idea of getting to India in order to sell the voyage to Ferdinand and Isabella.