Caonabó and Columbus at Isabela

After his capture in March 1495 (post of March 17), Chief Caonabó was shackled in a partitioned portion of Columbus’s residence at Isabela. The first three photos show the preserved ruins of the residence (the thatched roof is modern), the residence’s main floor...

Taíno “Discovery” of Europe

Columbus took ten Taínos to Europe at the end of his first voyage. For upcoming Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I reconstruct what the ten “discovered” during their first days after arrival, in and around Lisbon, Portugal, from March 4–10, 1493, a parallel to Columbus’s...

Fort Concepción in the Aftermath of Santo Cerro

Chief Manicoatex burned down the original wooden Fort Concepción at the time of the battle of Santo Cerro (March 1495). The precise site of this original fort is unknown, but it was erected adjacent to Chief Guarionex’s hometown of Guaricano near the base of Santo...

Caravels Built at Isabela

Following the hurricane (see prior post), Columbus ordered Isabela’s shipwrights to construct two new caravels, the first ships so designed made in the Americas. He’d survived violent storms—during the return ocean crossing of the first voyage and the Cuban...