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...

Hurakán on Española

A tremendous storm ravaged “Española” in the summer of 1495 (528 years ago), and the Spaniards adopted the Taínos’ word for it—hurakán—as the storm’s fury and swirl so distinguished it from storms they knew. As depicted in Columbus and Caonabó, the hurricane uprooted...

Tribute Imposed on Taínos in Española

Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand’s instructions to Columbus at the commencement of the second voyage required that all trade with “Indians” be conducted by barter. In practice, the key barter envisioned was trading items such as hawks’ bells, bead necklaces, and...