1492 from a Bicultural Perspective

Columbus again attempts to sail to Baneque but is impeded by contrary winds. He considers sailing north to Lucayan islands previously visited but fears the Guanahanían captives would jump ship given the proximity to their homeland. The ships withdraw to Cuba.

The ships attempted to sail to Baneque for the third time. After nightfall, Columbus again determined that the wind and seas were too contrary to reach it. But Martín Alonso Pinzón believed otherwise and, while the Santa María and Niña returned to Cuba, the Pinta...

Columbus believed the Guanahanían captives aboard theSanta María feared cannibals on Haiti. At this time, he doubts cannibalism exists, reasoning in the Journal that some of the peoples the voyage had encountered similarly believed Columbus and his men were cannibals.

The Santa María and Niña entered a Cuban harbor to explore and, ashore, the locals shouted, raised their spears, and gestured that the visitors should depart. Columbus dispatched armed sailors to try to establish relations but the locals fled. That night, Columbus...

Inclement weather forced Columbus to anchor offshore at modern Baracoa, Cuba, for a week, commencing November 27. On the 29th, sailors explored nearby villages, and, when the locals fled, investigated deserted bohíos (homes, as shown on this website’s Contact page) to...

Still at modern Baracoa, Columbus, a Guanahanían captive, and armed sailors row up a river in the Santa María’s launch and disembark to explore. When they return to the launch, Cuban villagers surrounded them, waving spears and shouting. The Guanahanían captive sees...