I continued to lobby the royal court and fortunately, soon after the Spanish army captured the last Muslim stronghold in Granada in January of 1492, the monarchs agreed to finance my expedition. In August of 1492, I left Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña along side. After thirty-six days of sailing, I and several crewmen set foot on an island in the present day Bahamas, claiming it for Spain. There I encountered a timid but friendly group of natives who were open to trade with the sailors exchanging glass beads, cotton balls, parrots, and spears.
My men and I continued our journey, visiting the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and meeting with the leaders of the native population. During this time, the Santa Maria was wrecked on a reef off the coast of Hispaniola. With the help of some islanders, my men salvaged what they could and built the settlement Villa de la Navidad ("Christmas Town") with lumber from the ship. Thirty-nine men stayed behind to occupy the settlement. Convinced my exploration had reached Asia, I set sail for home with the two remaining ships.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment