On return from his Cuban exploration, Columbus learned of Fray Buil and Margarite’s desertion and that growing Taíno hostility in areas along the Yaque River endangered his men’s travel between the settlement at Isabela and Fort Santo Tomás (see post of September 11)....

For Indigenous Peoples Day, I repost the article I wrote for the History News Network explaining why I feel it’s important to retell the “Columbus story” from both Taíno and European perspectives: History News Network Article

Returning from Cuba, Columbus’s caravels reached “Española’s” southwestern tip in mid-August 1494. By September, they had anchored in a river mouth (Río Jaina) on the southern coast near modern Santo Domingo, where he dispatched sailors to march north across the...

In August 1494 (528 years ago), Columbus’s caravels circled counterclockwise along the southern coast of the Taíno Yamaye (Jamaica), returning from Cuba to “Espanola.” During his absence from Española, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand had heard criticisms of his...

Sailing east along Cuba’s southern coast to return to “Española,” on July 7, 1494 (528 years ago), Columbus brought his caravels to anchor by a river mouth at a promontory beneath coastal mountains where, on the outward voyage, he had traded peacefully with the...

After departing Cabo Cruz, Columbus’s caravels coursed the long stretches of Cuba’s southern shoreline that are hazardous to navigate, including south of Camagüey and around the Zapata peninsula. The waters frequently are shallow and appear “milky,” tangled with an...

In 1493, after Columbus’s first voyage, Pope Alexander VI issued papal bulls “awarding” Spain dominion over “Española” and other lands Columbus had “discovered,” i.e., the Taíno homeland, reasoning that the Lord was pleased that “barbarous nations” be overthrown and...

By the end of April 1494, Columbus’s three caravels reached Cuba, and he planted a cross at the island’s easternmost point, which today retains the name of the Taíno chiefdom then located there—Point Maisí. He believed the point was terra firma’s easternmost tip and...

Following Columbus’s departure for Cuba, Pedro Margarite promptly and openly disobeyed Columbus’s orders to: survey the island; attempt to establish the sovereigns’ dominion without triggering resistance; and capture Chief Caonabó. Instead, by early May 1494 (528...

Prior to the second voyage, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand had instructed Columbus promptly to explore the land the “Indians” called “Cuba” to ascertain whether it was the Indies mainland, and he’d advised them that this exploration would follow establishment of...