Tuesday, November 27, 1492

by | | Cuba

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...

Thursday, November 29, 1492

by | | Cuba

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...

Monday, December 3, 1492

by | | Cuba

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...

Wednesday, December 5, 1492

by | | Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti

The Guanahanían captives understood that Cuba was an island and told Columbus so. But, since early November, Columbus had believed Cuba was part of the Indies’ mainland. On December 5, the Santa María and Niña passed Cuba’s eastern tip, modern Punta de Maisí, sailing...

Friday, December 7, 1492

by | | Spain

Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand had taken their court to Barcelona for the winter. They regularly held audiences to hear grievances and resolve criminal and civil cases of their common subjects and, at noon, Ferdinand finished an audience at the Casa de Deputacion....