Final answer:
Legends about Columbus include his exaggerated tales of gold-filled lands from his probanzas de méritos and the belief that he reached Asia, influenced by Marco Polo's narratives and perpetuated to secure funding for future voyages.
Step-by-step explanation:
Some of the legends about Christopher Columbus stem from the probanzas de méritos or proofs of merit like the one he sent in 1493, which tend to overly aggrandize the explorers' deeds to gain royal favor. Columbus's reports created enduring myths, such as his claim in the Letter on the First Voyage that he had reached Asia and found regions filled with gold. This letter, along with others, spread rapidly across Europe and inflamed imaginations with tales of a wondrous new world. These fantastical reports were influenced by earlier travel narratives like Marco Polo's, and in turn, they spurred other Europeans like Amerigo Vespucci to explore, who recognized that the lands were not part of Asia but a previously unknown continent. Columbus's legends were also fueled by the mistaken yet long-held belief that he had landed in Asia, and he continued to perpetuate this idea to secure more voyages and funding.
Popular misconceptions, such as ruthless Native Americans and a vastly underpopulated Western hemisphere prior to Columbus's arrival, stemmed from these reports and sailors' tales, fueling further legend. Columbus's own demands for wealth and titles also contributed to the narrative of him as a figure larger than life, one who ventured into a world teeming with monsters and untold riches. The legacy of Columbus is complicated by these legends and the realities of the impact his voyages had on both Europe and the indigenous peoples of the Americas.