Columbus’s letter to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of October 15, 1495 (first available in 1985, as discussed in the post of February 25) reveals that he felt Chief Caonabó’s capture was essential to “Española’s” conquest. He reported that Caonabó was “truly the...

Columbus’s letter to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of October 15, 1495 (first available in 1985, as discussed in prior post), reports that, after parleying with Chief Guarionex, “I went to Santo Tomás to capture certain principal caciques of the Cibao because they...

Ships bearing the 550 Taíno captives departed Isabela on February 24, 1495, bound for Cádiz, Spain (see prior post). As depicted in Columbus and Caonabó, four key events then occurred on “Española,” from late February through March 1495: Columbus and Chief Guarionex...

After relieving Fort Magdalena from Guatiguaná’s siege, by early February 1495 (528 years ago) Columbus’s soldiers commenced a series of raids throughout the Yaque River valley to capture Guatiguaná and warriors in retribution. Guatiguaná was located and seized and,...

Fort Magdalena’s construction in December 1494 triggered Chief Caonabó’s decision to go to war. As depicted in Columbus and Caonabó, in January 1495 (528 years ago), he led warriors of his alliance to destroy Fort Santo Tomás, whose garrison then was commanded by...

In early December 1494 (528 years ago), the Hieronymite friar Ramón Pané and the Franciscan friars Juan Leudelle and Juan de Tisín began preaching Christianity in the river valley surrounding the newly established Fort Magdalena. They soon kindled interest in the...

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...