Konstantin Zapatos was the Imperial Seamaster to Emperor Michael XI. Born in 1395 in the Crimean town of Kaffa - a Genoese overseas territory defended by Byzantium - he emigrated to the province of Bithynia in search of work. Being a natural sailor, he joined the Byzantine Aegean fleet in 1412. By 1420 he was an officer, commanding over a dozen vessels. After settling a dispute between the Venetians on Crete and the Governor of Egypt, he was promoted to Admiral of the Aegean Fleet in 1425. In 1428, the Emperor gave him a special commission - to take a crack force of Byzantine troops to explore the Western Seas. He discovered a coastline in 1428, but wasted fruitless time and manpower attempting to wrest it from the natives. An easier task presented itself in the form of the Caribbean, wher