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Conflicts of interest and the truth of scientific discovery: an editor's perspective.

When Christopher Columbus was struck by his idee fixe to find a direct route to India, he needed a sponsor for his journey. Joao II, King of Portugal, was unsure if this was possible. Columbus failed to convince the ruler, too dangerous and uncertain seemed the plan to sail into the Atlantic into nowhere land.

But Columbus did not give up, and subsequently went to Spain, where Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the catholic monarchs, were ruling the country with iron fists. They had just united several kingdoms save for Granada (which was the one city that successfully resisted the Reconquista ) in their campaign to expulse all Jews. In January 1492, Isabel finally did conquer the last stronghold of Islamic rule on the Iberian Peninsula. Columbus visited her in Cordoba and tried to gain her support for his journey.1,2 Isabella told him that the Junta of Salamanca had concluded that the Atlantic was not crossable. Columbus boldly replied: ‘What did they say about Granada before today?’ whereupon the queen had to acknowledge: ‘That it was impregnable.’3 Columbus had won.

Columbus was far from modest in his triumph: he not only asked for the title of ‘Don’, but also was given the rank of Admiral of the Spanish Fleet. In addition, he was appointed Viceroy and Governor of all new lands discovered, and for one-tenth of the revenues from his discoveries. From the very beginning, there were huge conflicts of interest marring his journey. The rest is history: Columbus discovered the new world, landed in what he called Hispaniola (now Haiti), and eventually established a route to North and South America. Was his seminal discovery devalued by his financial conflicts? Without a doubt he had asked for compensation in gold and honours, and …