columbus 4th voyage map

The Fourth Voyage of Christopher Columbus

The Famous Explorer's Final Voyage to the New World

• History Before Columbus
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Caribbean History
• Central American History
• South American History
• Mexican History
• American History
• African American History
• African History
• Ancient History and Culture
• Asian History
• European History
• Medieval & Renaissance History
• Military History
• The 20th Century
• Women's History

Before the Journey

• Hispaniola & the Hurricane

Across the Caribbean

Native encounters, central america to jamaica, a year on jamaica, importance of the fourth voyage.

• Ph.D., Spanish, Ohio State University
• M.A., Spanish, University of Montana
• B.A., Spanish, Penn State University

On May 11, 1502, Christopher Columbus set out on his fourth and final voyage to the New World with a fleet of four ships. His mission was to explore uncharted areas to the west of the Caribbean in hopes of finding a passage to the Orient. While Columbus did explore parts of southern Central America, his ships disintegrated during the voyage, leaving Columbus and his men stranded for nearly a year.

Much had happened since Columbus’ daring 1492 voyage of discovery . After that historic trip, Columbus was sent back to the New World to establish a colony. While a gifted sailor, Columbus was a terrible administrator, and the colony he founded on Hispaniola turned against him. After his third trip , ​Columbus was arrested and sent back to Spain in chains. Although he was quickly freed by the king and queen, his reputation was in shambles.

At 51, Columbus was increasingly being viewed as an eccentric by the members of the royal court, perhaps due to his belief that when Spain united the world under Christianity (which they would quickly accomplish with gold and wealth from the New World) that the world would end. He also tended to dress like a simple barefoot friar, rather than the wealthy man he had become.

Even so, the crown agreed to finance one last voyage of discovery. With royal backing, Columbus soon found four seaworthy vessels: the Capitana , Gallega , Vizcaína , and Santiago de Palos . His brothers, Diego and Bartholomew, and his son Fernando signed on as crew, as did some veterans of his earlier voyages.

Hispaniola & the Hurricane

Columbus was not welcome when he returned to the island of Hispaniola. Too many settlers remembered his cruel and ineffective administration . Nevertheless, after first visiting Martinique and Puerto Rico, he made Hispaniola his destination because had hopes of being able to swap the Santiago de Palos for a quicker ship while there. As he awaited an answer, Columbus realized a storm was approaching and sent word to the current governor, Nicolás de Ovando, that he should consider delaying the fleet that was set to depart for Spain.

Governor Ovando, resenting the interference, forced Columbus to anchor his ships in a nearby estuary. Ignoring the explorer's advice, he sent the fleet of 28 ships to Spain. A tremendous hurricane sank 24 of them: three returned and only one (Ironically, the one containing Columbus’ personal effects that he'd wished to send to Spain) arrived safely. Columbus’ own ships, all badly battered, nevertheless remained afloat.

After the hurricane passed, Columbus’ small fleet set out in search of a passage west, however, the storms did not abate and the journey became a living hell. The ships, already damaged by the forces of the hurricane, suffered substantially more abuse. Eventually, Columbus and his ships reached Central America, anchoring off the coast of Honduras on an island that many believe to be Guanaja, where they made what repairs they could and took on supplies.

While exploring Central America, Columbus had an encounter many consider to be the first with one of the major inland civilizations. Columbus’ fleet came in contact with a trading vessel, a very long, wide canoe full of goods and traders believed to be Mayan from the Yucatan. The traders carried copper tools and weapons, swords made of wood and flint, textiles, and a beerlike beverage made from fermented corn. Columbus, oddly enough, decided not to investigate the interesting trading civilization, and instead of turning north when he reached Central America, he went south.

Columbus continued exploring to the south along the coasts of present-day Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. While there, Columbus and his crew traded for food and gold whenever possible. They encountered several native cultures and observed stone structures as well as maize being cultivated on terraces.

By early 1503, the structure of the ships began to fail. In addition to the storm damage the vessels had endured, it was discovered they were also infested with termites. Columbus reluctantly set sail for Santo Domingo looking for aid—but the ships only made it as far as Santa Gloria (St. Ann’s Bay), Jamaica before they were incapacitated.

Columbus and his men did what they could, breaking the ships apart to make shelters and fortifications. They formed a relationship with the local natives who brought them food. Columbus was able to get word to Ovando of his predicament, but Ovando had neither the resources nor the inclination to help. Columbus and his men languished on Jamaica for a year, surviving storms, mutinies, and an uneasy peace with the natives. (With the help of one of his books, Columbus was able to impress the natives by correctly predicting an eclipse .)

In June 1504, two ships finally arrived to retrieve Columbus and his crew. Columbus returned to Spain only to learn that his beloved Queen Isabella was dying. Without her support, he would never again return to the New World.

Columbus’ final voyage is remarkable primarily for new exploration, mostly along the coast of Central America. It's also of interest to historians, who value the descriptions of the native cultures encountered by Columbus’ small fleet, particularly those sections concerning the Mayan traders. Some of the fourth voyage crew would go on to greater things: Cabin boy Antonio de Alaminos eventually piloted and explored much of the western Caribbean. Columbus’ son Fernando wrote a biography of his famous father.

Still, for the most part, the fourth voyage was a failure by almost any standard. Many of Columbus’ men died, his ships were lost, and no passage to the west was ever found. Columbus never sailed again and when he died in 1506, he was convinced that he'd found Asia—even if most of Europe already accepted the fact that the Americas were an unknown “New World." That said, the fourth voyage showcased more profoundly than any other Columbus’ sailing skills, his fortitude, and his resilience—the very attributes that allowed him to journey to the Americas in the first place.

• Thomas, Hugh. "Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan." Random House. New York. 2005.
• What Was the Age of Exploration?
• Biography of Christopher Columbus
• The Third Voyage of Christopher Columbus
• Biography of Christopher Columbus, Italian Explorer
• 10 Facts About Christopher Columbus
• The Truth About Christopher Columbus
• The Second Voyage of Christopher Columbus
• Where Are the Remains of Christopher Columbus?
• The First New World Voyage of Christopher Columbus (1492)
• Biography of Juan Ponce de León, Conquistador
• Amerigo Vespucci, Explorer and Navigator
• Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Explorer and Cartographer
• Biography and Legacy of Ferdinand Magellan
• Biography of Ferdinand Magellan, Explorer Circumnavigated the Earth
• La Navidad: First European Settlement in the Americas

The Four Voyages of Columbus, 1492–1503

Christopher Columbus - 4nd Voyage

Christopher Columbus made a fourth voyage, nominally in search of the Strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean. On May 11, 1502, four old ships and 140 men under Columbus's command put to sea from the port of Cadiz. Among those accompanying him were his brother Bartholomew, and younger son Fernando, then thirteen years old. At age fifty-one, Columbus was sick, but felt he had one more voyage left in him.

He sailed to Arzila on the Moroccan coast to rescue the Portuguese soldiers who were being besieged by the Moors. On June 15, they landed at Carbet on the island of Martinique. A hurricane was forming so he continued on, hoping to find shelter on Hispaniola.

Columbus arrived at Santo Domingo on June 29, 1502, and requested that he be allowed to enter the harbor to shelter from the imminent hurricane. He also warned the treasure fleet gathering in the harbour not to put to sea till the the storm had passed. Nicolas de Ovando, the local governor, ignored the warning and the treasure fleet put to sea. Columbus sheltered his own ships in a nearby estuary, and all four ships survived the storm with moderate damage.

The large fleet was, however, caught by the storm, and twenty ships were lost, with them Bobadillo, Roldan, and the gold destined for the Crown. The admiral's share of the gold, four thousand pieces, was not lost, and on arriving delivered in Spain, was not confiscated. Hence Columbus should have had large funds for his retirement.

After a short stop at Jamaica, Columbus then sailed to Central America, arriving at Guanaja (Isla de Pinos) in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras on July 30 1502. On August 14, he landed on the American mainland at Puerto Castilla, near Trujillo, Honduras. He spent two months exploring the coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, before arriving in Almirante Bay, Panama on October 16 1502.

When they arrived at present-day Panama, they learned from the natives that there was another ocean just a few days march to the south. This convinced Columbus that he was near enough the strait that he had proved his point about this being the Far East. In addition the natives had many gold objects for which the Spaniards traded.

Beset by storms and contrary winds, Columbus finally returned to the mouth of the Rio Belen (western Panama) on January 9, 1503, and building a garrison fort there as he explored the area. As he was preparing to return to Spain, he took three of his ships out of the river, leaving one with the garrison. April 6, a large force of Indians attacked the garrison. The Spanish managed to hold off the attack, but lost a number of men and realized that the garrison could not be held for long. Columbus rescued the remaining members of the garrison, losing one of his ships in the process. The three remaining ships, now badly leaking from shipworm, sailed for home on April 16.

Off the coast of Cuba, they were hit by yet another storm, the last of the ship's boats was lost, and one of the caravels was so badly damaged that she had to be taken in tow by the flagship. Both ships were leaking very badly now, and water continued to rise in the hold in spite of constant pumping by the crew. Finally, able to keep them afloat no longer, Columbus beached the sinking ships in St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica, on June 25, 1503. Since there was no Spanish colony on Jamaica, they were marooned.

Columbus and his men were stranded on Jamaica for a year. Diego Mendez, one of Columbus's captains, bought a canoe from a local chief and sailed it to Hispaniola. He was promptly detained by governor Ovando outside the city for the next seven months, and was refused use of a caravel to rescue the expedition.

In a desperate effort to get the natives to continue provisioning him and his hungry men, he successfully wowed the natives by correctly predicting a lunar eclipse, using astronomic tables made by Rabbi Avraham Zacuto of Spain. In addition half of those left on Jamaica staged a mutiny against Columbus, which he eventually put down. When Ovando finally allowed Mendez into Santo Domingo, there were no ships available for the rescue. Finally, Mendez was able to charter a small caravel, which arrived at Jamaica on June 29, 1504, and rescued the expedition.

Columbus returned home to Spain on November 7, 1504, his last voyage complete.

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Christopher Columbus

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 11, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he stumbled upon the Americas. Though he did not “discover” the so-called New World—millions of people already lived there—his journeys marked the beginning of centuries of exploration and colonization of North and South America.

Christopher Columbus and the Age of Discovery

During the 15th and 16th centuries, leaders of several European nations sponsored expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find great wealth and vast undiscovered lands. The Portuguese were the earliest participants in this “ Age of Discovery ,” also known as “ Age of Exploration .”

Starting in about 1420, small Portuguese ships known as caravels zipped along the African coast, carrying spices, gold and other goods as well as enslaved people from Asia and Africa to Europe.

Did you know? Christopher Columbus was not the first person to propose that a person could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe. In fact, scholars argue that the idea is almost as old as the idea that the Earth is round. (That is, it dates back to early Rome.)

Other European nations, particularly Spain, were eager to share in the seemingly limitless riches of the “Far East.” By the end of the 15th century, Spain’s “ Reconquista ”—the expulsion of Jews and Muslims out of the kingdom after centuries of war—was complete, and the nation turned its attention to exploration and conquest in other areas of the world.

Early Life and Nationality 

Christopher Columbus, the son of a wool merchant, is believed to have been born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. When he was still a teenager, he got a job on a merchant ship. He remained at sea until 1476, when pirates attacked his ship as it sailed north along the Portuguese coast.

The boat sank, but the young Columbus floated to shore on a scrap of wood and made his way to Lisbon, where he eventually studied mathematics, astronomy, cartography and navigation. He also began to hatch the plan that would change the world forever.

Christopher Columbus' First Voyage

At the end of the 15th century, it was nearly impossible to reach Asia from Europe by land. The route was long and arduous, and encounters with hostile armies were difficult to avoid. Portuguese explorers solved this problem by taking to the sea: They sailed south along the West African coast and around the Cape of Good Hope.

But Columbus had a different idea: Why not sail west across the Atlantic instead of around the massive African continent? The young navigator’s logic was sound, but his math was faulty. He argued (incorrectly) that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than his contemporaries believed it was; accordingly, he believed that the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be not only possible, but comparatively easy via an as-yet undiscovered Northwest Passage . 

He presented his plan to officials in Portugal and England, but it was not until 1492 that he found a sympathetic audience: the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile .

Columbus wanted fame and fortune. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted the same, along with the opportunity to export Catholicism to lands across the globe. (Columbus, a devout Catholic, was equally enthusiastic about this possibility.)

Columbus’ contract with the Spanish rulers promised that he could keep 10 percent of whatever riches he found, along with a noble title and the governorship of any lands he should encounter.

Where Did Columbus' Ships, Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria, Land?

On August 3, 1492, Columbus and his crew set sail from Spain in three ships: the Niña , the Pinta and the Santa Maria . On October 12, the ships made landfall—not in the East Indies, as Columbus assumed, but on one of the Bahamian islands, likely San Salvador.

For months, Columbus sailed from island to island in what we now know as the Caribbean, looking for the “pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, and other objects and merchandise whatsoever” that he had promised to his Spanish patrons, but he did not find much. In January 1493, leaving several dozen men behind in a makeshift settlement on Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), he left for Spain.

He kept a detailed diary during his first voyage. Christopher Columbus’s journal was written between August 3, 1492, and November 6, 1492 and mentions everything from the wildlife he encountered, like dolphins and birds, to the weather to the moods of his crew. More troublingly, it also recorded his initial impressions of the local people and his argument for why they should be enslaved.

“They… brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells," he wrote. "They willingly traded everything they owned… They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features… They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

Columbus gifted the journal to Isabella upon his return.

Christopher Columbus's Later Voyages

About six months later, in September 1493, Columbus returned to the Americas. He found the Hispaniola settlement destroyed and left his brothers Bartolomeo and Diego Columbus behind to rebuild, along with part of his ships’ crew and hundreds of enslaved indigenous people.

Then he headed west to continue his mostly fruitless search for gold and other goods. His group now included a large number of indigenous people the Europeans had enslaved. In lieu of the material riches he had promised the Spanish monarchs, he sent some 500 enslaved people to Queen Isabella. The queen was horrified—she believed that any people Columbus “discovered” were Spanish subjects who could not be enslaved—and she promptly and sternly returned the explorer’s gift.

In May 1498, Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic for the third time. He visited Trinidad and the South American mainland before returning to the ill-fated Hispaniola settlement, where the colonists had staged a bloody revolt against the Columbus brothers’ mismanagement and brutality. Conditions were so bad that Spanish authorities had to send a new governor to take over.

Meanwhile, the native Taino population, forced to search for gold and to work on plantations, was decimated (within 60 years after Columbus landed, only a few hundred of what may have been 250,000 Taino were left on their island). Christopher Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains.

In 1502, cleared of the most serious charges but stripped of his noble titles, the aging Columbus persuaded the Spanish crown to pay for one last trip across the Atlantic. This time, Columbus made it all the way to Panama—just miles from the Pacific Ocean—where he had to abandon two of his four ships after damage from storms and hostile natives. Empty-handed, the explorer returned to Spain, where he died in 1506.

Legacy of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus did not “discover” the Americas, nor was he even the first European to visit the “New World.” (Viking explorer Leif Erikson had sailed to Greenland and Newfoundland in the 11th century.)

However, his journey kicked off centuries of exploration and exploitation on the American continents. The Columbian Exchange transferred people, animals, food and disease across cultures. Old World wheat became an American food staple. African coffee and Asian sugar cane became cash crops for Latin America, while American foods like corn, tomatoes and potatoes were introduced into European diets. 

Today, Columbus has a controversial legacy —he is remembered as a daring and path-breaking explorer who transformed the New World, yet his actions also unleashed changes that would eventually devastate the native populations he and his fellow explorers encountered.

HISTORY Vault: Columbus the Lost Voyage

Ten years after his 1492 voyage, Columbus, awaiting the gallows on criminal charges in a Caribbean prison, plotted a treacherous final voyage to restore his reputation.

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The Ages of Exploration

Christopher columbus, age of discovery.

Quick Facts:

He is credited for discovering the Americas in 1492, although we know today people were there long before him; his real achievement was that he opened the door for more exploration to a New World.

Name : Christopher Columbus [Kri-stə-fər] [Kə-luhm-bəs]

Birth/Death : 1451 - 1506

Nationality : Italian

Birthplace : Genoa, Italy

Christopher Columbus leaving Palos, Spain

Christopher Columbus aboard the "Santa Maria" leaving Palos, Spain on his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The Mariners' Museum 1933.0746.000001

Introduction We know that In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. But what did he actually discover? Christopher Columbus (also known as (Cristoforo Colombo [Italian]; Cristóbal Colón [Spanish]) was an Italian explorer credited with the “discovery” of the Americas. The purpose for his voyages was to find a passage to Asia by sailing west. Never actually accomplishing this mission, his explorations mostly included the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America, all of which were already inhabited by Native groups.

Biography Early Life Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, part of present-day Italy, in 1451. His parents’ names were Dominico Colombo and Susanna Fontanarossa. He had three brothers: Bartholomew, Giovanni, and Giacomo; and a sister named Bianchinetta. Christopher became an apprentice in his father’s wool weaving business, but he also studied mapmaking and sailing as well. He eventually left his father’s business to join the Genoese fleet and sail on the Mediterranean Sea. 1 After one of his ships wrecked off the coast of Portugal, he decided to remain there with his younger brother Bartholomew where he worked as a cartographer (mapmaker) and bookseller. Here, he married Doña Felipa Perestrello e Moniz and had two sons Diego and Fernando.

Christopher Columbus owned a copy of Marco Polo’s famous book, and it gave him a love for exploration. In the mid 15th century, Portugal was desperately trying to find a faster trade route to Asia. Exotic goods such as spices, ivory, silk, and gems were popular items of trade. However, Europeans often had to travel through the Middle East to reach Asia. At this time, Muslim nations imposed high taxes on European travels crossing through. 2 This made it both difficult and expensive to reach Asia. There were rumors from other sailors that Asia could be reached by sailing west. Hearing this, Christopher Columbus decided to try and make this revolutionary journey himself. First, he needed ships and supplies, which required money that he did not have. He went to King John of Portugal who turned him down. He then went to the rulers of England, and France. Each declined his request for funding. After seven years of trying, he was finally sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

Voyages Principal Voyage Columbus’ voyage departed in August of 1492 with 87 men sailing on three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. Columbus commanded the Santa María, while the Niña was led by Vicente Yanez Pinzon and the Pinta by Martin Pinzon. 3 This was the first of his four trips. He headed west from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean. On October 12 land was sighted. He gave the first island he landed on the name San Salvador, although the native population called it Guanahani. 4 Columbus believed that he was in Asia, but was actually in the Caribbean. He even proposed that the island of Cuba was a part of China. Since he thought he was in the Indies, he called the native people “Indians.” In several letters he wrote back to Spain, he described the landscape and his encounters with the natives. He continued sailing throughout the Caribbean and named many islands he encountered after his ship, king, and queen: La Isla de Santa María de Concepción, Fernandina, and Isabella.

It is hard to determine specifically which islands Columbus visited on this voyage. His descriptions of the native peoples, geography, and plant life do give us some clues though. One place we do know he stopped was in present-day Haiti. He named the island Hispaniola. Hispaniola today includes both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In January of 1493, Columbus sailed back to Europe to report what he found. Due to rough seas, he was forced to land in Portugal, an unfortunate event for Columbus. With relations between Spain and Portugal strained during this time, Ferdinand and Isabella suspected that Columbus was taking valuable information or maybe goods to Portugal, the country he had lived in for several years. Those who stood against Columbus would later use this as an argument against him. Eventually, Columbus was allowed to return to Spain bringing with him tobacco, turkey, and some new spices. He also brought with him several natives of the islands, of whom Queen Isabella grew very fond.

Subsequent Voyages Columbus took three other similar trips to this region. His second voyage in 1493 carried a large fleet with the intention of conquering the native populations and establishing colonies. At one point, the natives attacked and killed the settlers left at Fort Navidad. Over time the colonists enslaved many of the natives, sending some to Europe and using many to mine gold for the Spanish settlers in the Caribbean. The third trip was to explore more of the islands and mainland South America further. Columbus was appointed the governor of Hispaniola, but the colonists, upset with Columbus’ leadership appealed to the rulers of Spain, who sent a new governor: Francisco de Bobadilla. Columbus was taken prisoner on board a ship and sent back to Spain.

On his fourth and final journey west in 1502 Columbus’s goal was to find the “Strait of Malacca,” to try to find India. But a hurricane, then being denied entrance to Hispaniola, and then another storm made this an unfortunate trip. His ship was so badly damaged that he and his crew were stranded on Jamaica for two years until help from Hispaniola finally arrived. In 1504, Columbus and his men were taken back to Spain .

Later Years and Death Columbus reached Spain in November 1504. He was not in good health. He spent much of the last of his life writing letters to obtain the percentage of wealth overdue to be paid to him, and trying to re-attain his governorship status, but was continually denied both. Columbus died at Valladolid on May 20, 1506, due to illness and old age. Even until death, he still firmly believed that he had traveled to the eastern part of Asia.

Legacy Columbus never made it to Asia, nor did he truly discover America. His “re-discovery,” however, inspired a new era of exploration of the American continents by Europeans. Perhaps his greatest contribution was that his voyages opened an exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas both during and long after his journeys. 5 Despite modern criticism of his treatment of the native peoples there is no denying that his expeditions changed both Europe and America. Columbus day was made a federal holiday in 1971. It is recognized on the second Monday of October.

• Fergus Fleming, Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration (New York: Grove Press, 2004), 30.
• Fleming, Off the Map , 30
• William D. Phillips and Carla Rahn Phillips, The Worlds of Christopher Columbus (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 142-143.
• Phillips and Phillips, The Worlds of Christopher Columbus , 155.
• Robin S. Doak, Christopher Columbus: Explorer of the New World (Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2005), 92.

Bibliography

Doak, Robin. Christopher Columbus: Explorer of the New World . Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2005.

Fleming, Fergus. Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration . New York: Grove Press, 2004.

Phillips, William D., and Carla Rahn Phillips. The Worlds of Christopher Columbus . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Map of Voyages

Click below to view an example of the explorer’s voyages. Use the tabs on the left to view either 1 or multiple journeys at a time, and click on the icons to learn more about the stops, sites, and activities along the way.

• Original "EXPLORATION through the AGES" site
• The Mariners' Educational Programs

Christopher Columbus’s Fourth Voyage

“in 1492, columbus sailed the ocean blue.” .

It’s a simple rhyme, taught to thousands of young children when most history instruction focused on names and dates. This simple lesson ignores the broader story of Christopher Columbus’s four voyages to the New World and the impact those explorations had on Europe and the Americas. Columbus’s last voyage left Europe on May 11, 1502, and continued his quest for a sea route to China, this time by exploring the coastal areas west of the Caribbean islands. Though he failed to achieve his goal, his voyages launched a new age of European exploration, colonization, and a nightmare for the indigenous Caribbean people. His legacy is complicated.  “After five centuries, Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure who has been variously described as one of the greatest mariners in history, a visionary genius, a mystic, a national hero, a failed administrator, a naïve entrepreneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist.”

Given the variety of viewpoints about Columbus, it is no wonder some try to simplify his story.

One benefit of contributing to our  We the Teachers  blog is the opportunity to research various topics in American history. I always learn things I either did not know or had forgotten. Columbus’s voyages, especially trips two, three, and four, are no exception. For example, I did not know that 11-year-old Christopher Columbus’s first sailing experience was on a merchant ship. Nor did I know that when he was 25, by clinging to his ship’s debris and floating to shore in Portugal, he survived a pirate attack that destroyed and sank his vessel. It also surprised me that before Columbus secured financial support for his first expedition from Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille, he embarked on a comprehensive self-study of mathematics, astronomy, navigation, and cartography, subjects he needed to master to implement his plan. 

These facts paint a picture of a driven, ambitious man determined to make his mark in a violent and dangerous world. His experiences may have contributed to his assessment of the people he encountered in the New World as people to exploit for his purposes. “They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance …,” he recorded in his  diary . “They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Though he was denied permission to enslave natives on at least one occasion, Columbus and his men ignored the restriction, enslaving hundreds throughout his career.

Columbus was not the first to seek a sea route from Europe to Asia. The challenge had engaged European thinkers since the days of early Rome. Traveling overland was long, arduous, and dangerous. If a sea route could be discovered, it promised to make trade with Asian nations more profitable and gain access to goods not found or produced in Europe. 

Columbus’s insight was to reach the East by sailing west. His mistake was mathematical. He assumed the globe was smaller than it is, so his estimate of how long the trip would take was unrealistic. He also did not know that the Western Hemisphere blocked his path.

Impressed by the gold, spices, and human captives Columbus brought back from his first expedition, the Spanish crown authorized a quick turnaround for his next voyage with a significantly larger fleet of seventeen ships and 1200 men. Also on the expedition were settlers encouraged by promises of large quantities of gold in the islands. The Spanish crown ordered Columbus to Christianize all the natives he encountered. 

Upon his return to Hispaniola, the settlement he founded on his first landing, Columbus discovered it decimated by disease and war with the natives. The new settlers he brought quickly grew discouraged by the exaggerated claims of gold on the island. Columbus decided to return to Spain for supplies, leaving his brother Bartholomew in charge of Hispaniola. His third trip was equally disastrous. The Spaniards on Hispaniola accused Christopher and his brother of maladministration. A new Spanish administrator arrived in September 1499, investigated the allegations, arrested Columbus, and sent him home in chains. 

He attempted to salvage his reputation on his fourth voyage by finally locating the sea route to Asia. Ironically, he landed on the coast of Nicaragua and Panama, the area future visionaries saw as the best place to construct a man-made canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal is now the route Columbus hoped nature had provided.

Columbus’s expeditions decimated the native Taino population of the Caribbean. It began an age of exploration that led to the triangular trade of the colonial era, where raw goods produced with enslaved labor were shipped to Europe, where rum and other manufactured goods were produced and traded in Africa for more enslaved African people. Thus, his expeditions are important because they permanently changed the relationship between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. 

How should we teach students about Columbus?

Though I am no longer in the classroom, every time I research a topic for a blog post, I evaluate how I would change my lessons. In the past, when teaching Columbus, I assigned my students an excerpt from historian David E. Stannard’s book,  American Holocaust . Stannard’s descriptions of Columbus’s treatment of the indigenous people are horrific. His descriptions of contemporaneous Europe are equally horrible. The students debated whether men from a violent place would treat strangers non-violently.

Here is one way to change that lesson. First, I would divide the students into groups to analyze each of Columbus’s four voyages and ask them to consider the stated goals of each trip, plus what he learned from each expedition. Next, I would assign  Documents and Debates: Early Contact   from Volume 1 of  TAH’s Core Document Collection   so that students read and discuss how the treatment of Native Americans was debated in Columbus’s time before exposing them to a historian’s interpretation. Students should learn that the debate over Columbus’s actions and, thus, his legacy began in the 1490s and continues today. They are free to read the primary and secondary sources and reach their conclusions about the man and his times.

Ray Tyler was the 2014 James Madison Fellow for South Carolina and a 2016 graduate of Ashland University’s Masters Program in American History and Government . Ray is a former Teacher Program Manager for TAH and a frequent contributor to our blog.

Gordon Lloyd (1942–2023)

Multi-day seminar examines the failure of reconstruction and rise of jim crow in the south, join your fellow teachers in exploring america’s history..

The Fourth Voyage of Columbus

If any of Columbus's voyages deserves to be made into a movie, this is the one.

On May 11, 1502, four old ships and 140 men under Columbus's command put to sea from the port of Cadiz. Among those in the fleet were Columbus's brother Bartholomew, and Columbus's younger son Fernando, then just thirteen years old. At age fifty-one, Columbus was old, sick, and no longer welcome in his old home base of Hispaniola. But the Admiral felt he had one more voyage left in him.

The nominal purpose of the trip was to find a strait linking the Indies (which Columbus still thought to be part of Asia) with the Indian Ocean. This strait was known to exist, since Marco Polo had traversed it on his way back from China. In effect, Columbus was looking for the Strait of Malacca (which is really near Singapore) in Central America.

Columbus arrived at Santo Domingo on June 29, 1502, and requested that he be allowed to enter the harbor to shelter from a storm that he saw coming. He also advised the treasure fleet assembling in the harbor to stay put until the storm had passed. His request was treated with contempt by Nicolas de Ovando, the local governor, who denied Columbus the port and sent the treasure fleet on its way. Columbus found shelter for his ships in a nearby estuary.

When the hurricane hit, the treasure fleet was caught at sea, and twenty ships were sunk. Nine others limped back into Santo Domingo, and only one made it safely to Spain. Columbus's four ships all survived the storm with moderate damage.

Columbus arrived at the coast of Honduras at the end of July, and spent the next two months working down the coast, beset by more storms and headwinds. When they arrived at present-day Panama, they found two important things. First, they learned from the natives that there was another ocean just a few days march to the south. This convinced Columbus that he was near enough the strait that he had proved his point. But more importantly, the natives had many gold objects that the Spaniards traded for. This made the region, which Columbus named Veragua, very valuable.

After coasting east along Panama until the area rich in gold petered out, Columbus tried to return to Veragua but was again beset by storms and contrary winds. Finally, Columbus returned to the mouth of the Rio Belen (western Panama) on January 9, 1503, and made it his headquarters for exploration, building a garrison fort there. As he was preparing to return to Spain, he took three of his ships out of the river, leaving one with the garrison. The next day, April 6, the river lowered so much that the remaining ship was trapped in the river by a sandbar across the river mouth. At this moment, a large force of Indians attacked the garrison.

The Spanish managed to hold off the attack, but lost a number of men and realized that the garrison could not be held for long. Columbus abandoned the ship in the river, and rescued the remaining members of the garrison. The three ships, now badly leaking from shipworm, sailed for home on April 16.

One of the remaining ships had to be abandoned almost immediately because it was no longer seaworthy, and the remaining two crawled slowly upwind in a game effort to make it to Hispaniola. They didn't make it. Off the coast of Cuba, they were hit by yet another storm, the last of the ship's boats was lost, and one of the caravels was so badly damaged that she had to be taken in tow by the flagship. Both ships were leaking very badly now, and water continued to rise in the hold in spite of constant pumping by the crew. Finally, able to keep them afloat no longer, Columbus beached the sinking ships in St. Anne's Bay, Jamaica, on June 25, 1503. Since there was no Spanish colony on Jamaica, they were marooned.

Diego Mendez, one of Columbus's captains, bought a canoe from a local chief and sailed it to Hispaniola. He was promptly detained by governor Ovando outside the city for the next seven months, and was refused use of a caravel to rescue the expedition.

Meanwhile, half of those left on Jamaica staged a mutiny against Columbus, which he eventually put down. When Ovando finally allowed Mendez into Santo Domingo, there were no ships available for the rescue. Finally, Mendez was able to charter a small caravel, which arrived at Jamaica on June 29, 1504, and rescued the expedition. Columbus returned home to Spain on November 7, 1504, his last voyage complete.

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The Diffusion of Columbus’s Letter through Europe, 1493-1497

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Christopher Columbus’s 1493 announcement of the success of his voyage westward across the Atlantic Ocean quickly became one of the earliest ‘best sellers’ of European publishing. No less than eleven editions were published in 1493! They were issued across western Europe, in Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Six more editions were published in 1494-97. They are however all quite rare today; several of the editions survive in only a single copy; in total there are no more than 80 extant copies of all the editions.

This document traces the extremely rapid dissemination of the letter through its first 17 published editions. It is impossible to date all the editions precisely, but we can discern the basic pattern of the diffusion of this new knowledge to the major urban centers of western Europe. (Update with apologies: the map is no longer clickable.)

The result is a genealogy of the letter’s publication (click on thumbnail for full image):

Columbus’s Manuscript Letters

We do not know precisely when Columbus first composed a letter announcing the success of his voyage to what he presumed were the islands in the ‘Indian Sea’ off the eastern coast of Asia. He certainly composed letters during his return voyage. However, his personal log, in which he might have recorded his literary efforts, has survived only in an abstract by Bartolomé de Las Casas (author of the Historia de las Indias).

The first mention of any letter in the Las Casas abstract occurs on February 14th, 1493, the third day of a severe storm that threatened to sink the ships. The log entry states:

“in order that, if he [i.e., Columbus] were lost in that tempest, the Sovereigns [i.e., Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain] might have news of his voyage, he took a parchment and wrote upon it all that he could of everything that he had found, earnestly requesting whoever might find it to carry it to the Sovereigns. This parchment he enclosed in a waxed cloth, very well secured, and ordered a great wooden barrel to be brought and placed it inside … and so he ordered it to be cast into the sea.” (Morison, 165)

That this letter has never been found has only encouraged the numerous fake letters which have been produced since the mid-nineteenth century!

Perhaps these events made Columbus think about a more formal announcement, because the letter which has survived (through being printed) is dated the following day, February 15th. Columbus’s log reveals that the storm had blown itself out and had left the expedition within sight of the Azores.

Columbus sailed into Lisbon on March 4th, driven before another storm. From there he sent letters to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, who were then holding Court in Barcelona. Enclosed in the packet was a letter to the “escriuano deraciõ” (modern Spanish: ‘escribano de Racion’), the secretary of the royal treasury. This post was then held by Luis de Santángel, who was one of Columbus’s prominent supporters at court. None of the original manuscripts of Columbus’s letters have survived; all we have today are printed copies derived from the enclosure for de Santángel.

The general level of uncertainty and conjecture which surrounds Columbus’s letters is exemplified by the confusion over the date on which Columbus sent his letters from Lisbon. The printed version of the letter to the “escriuano deraciõ,” Luis de Santángel, gives a date of March 14th for the postscript. However, Columbus had presumably sent the letters overland to Barcelona: the winter storms that year were far worse than usual so only land delivery could guarantee the letters’ arrival. This would mean that Columbus would have had to have sent the letters before he sailed out of Lisbon on March 13th. Moreover, the postscript explicitly states that “today I was driven into this port of Lisbon,” which would date the postscript to March 4th. An immediate letter would also seem to more in keeping with the magnitude of Columbus’s news. It seems safest to agree with Morison, 180, that the letter should be dated the 4th; in that case the printed date can be ascribed to a typographic error by the printer.

Barcelona, 1493: The First Printed Letter

Columbus’s letter to the “escriuano deraciõ” was soon passed on to a Barcelona printer, Pedro Posa. The time elapsed between the receipt of the letter by Luis de Santángel, the secretary to the treasury, and Posa’s publication of the letter (in April?) could only have been one or two weeks.

Posa’s edition was in Spanish, printed on two leaves of folio-sized paper. It bears neither title — it simply starts “Sir, …” — nor a printer’s imprint. That it was published by Posa has been established by the similarity of its design and layout to the works known to have been printed by Posa. (Indeed, this has been the procedure for several of the early editions of the letter.) As for its date, that too is conjectural, but its text is clearly copied directly from Columbus’s manuscript.

Today, the only known copy of this letter is housed in the New York Public Library.

The Translation to Latin

A copy of Columbus’s letter to Luis de Santángel — whether the original manuscript, a copy thereof, or one of Pedro Posa’s printed letters — was taken to Rome. There (probably) it was translated into Latin by one Aliander (or Leander) de Cosco. Aliander’s introductory statement states that he finished the translation on “the third of the kalends of May,” which is to say April 29th, 1493. That the translation was undertaken in Rome is implied by the further specification of the year as being the first of the reign of Pope Alexander VI; furthermore, a colophon — a final statement — was added to the translation by an Italian bishop, “R. L. de Corbaria” (or Berardus/Leonard of Carninis), bishop of Monte Peloso (1491-98).

If the letter was translated into Latin in Rome, by April 29th, then there could not have been much slack time between the letter’s appearance in Barcelona and its being shipped off across the Mediterranean. There was clearly a great interest in disseminating the news.

Aliander’s added introduction identifies the recipient of the original manuscript to have been Raphael Sanxis, the king’s treasurer, rather than Luis de Santángel. This difference has led many to suppose that it was a second manuscript letter from Columbus which had been sent to Rome (e.g., Harrisse, 6). It is now accepted, however, that the new name was a mistake on Aliander’s part, and that only one manuscript ended up in print (Obregón, 4).

Rome, 1493: The Second Printed Letter

Aliander de Cosco’s Latin translation of Columbus’s Spanish letter was printed by Stephen Plannck, probably in early May, 1493. The format was of four leaves, each quarto-size (much like the size of most hard-bound books today).

Like Posa before him, Plannck did not give the letter a formal title. Most bibliographers and historians have however assigned the third phrase of Aliander’s introduction statement as a title:

Epistola Christofori Colom: cui [a]etas nostra multu[m] debet: de Insulis Indi[a]e supra Gangem nuper inuentis.

Letter of Christopher Columbus, to whom our age owes much, concerning the recent discovery of the islands of India beyond the Ganges.

This phrase is very similar to the many book titles of the period which began “De …”

Although this edition survives today in only a handful of copies, we know that it was widely disseminated throughout Europe because this was the source edition for almost all of the subsequent versions of the letter. Of key significance here is the fact that Aliander’s introduction cites only Ferdinand of Spain as being Columbus’s patron, ignoring Isabella’s role in the voyage. Two more editions of the letter were published in Rome in 1493: another by Plannck and one by Eucharius Silber (or Argentius). Both of these later editions added Isabella to the introduction; they also changed the name of the addressee to Gabriel Sanchez, and changed Aliander de Cosco to Leander di Cosco.

It is unclear which of the two editions were produced first, although it is certain that they were printed in 1493 as ‘corrections.’

Also certain is that neither of the two extra Rome editions were the source of the several other Latin editions that were soon to be published in France, Switzerland, and the low Countries. In those editions, the introduction refers only to Ferdinand and makes no mention of Isabella.

Basel, 1493: The Cartographically Illustrated Letters

A copy of Stephen Plannck’s first Latin edition reached Basel, then a principal city in the Swiss Confederation, with easy access to Germany and the Netherlands. The letter was republished there before the end of 1493. This edition was given a formal title: De Insulis inuentis, “Concerning the Discovered Islands.”

As with the other editions, the text was reset and in the process some small changes and errors were introduced. It is by examining these variations in the text that we can reconstruct the pattern of dissemination. In the case of the Basel letter, for example, we see an immediate difference in the introduction. Whereas the Plannck edition, and other editions derived therefrom, all describe the location of the islands that Columbus had reached as being “of India beyond the Ganges” (the Greek name for southeast and eastern Asia), the Basel edition changed this to be “islands in the Indian sea.”

The really obvious features which identify the Basel 1493 edition are however its woodcut images. These are schematic images which show Columbus’s arrival in the Caribbean. One commentator in the late-nineteenth century indicates a once common belief:

“The curious woodcuts with which [the Basel editions are] illustrated are supposed by some to have been copied from drawings made originally by Columbus himself. They give remarkable representations of the admiral’s own caravel, of his first landing on Hayti and meeting with the natives, and of the different islands which he visited.” (Lenox, v)

The wonderfully detailed image of “the admiral’s own caravel” is however now known to be a direct copy of a woodcut of a caravel from Bernhard von Breydenbach’s Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam (“Voyage to the Holy Land”), published in Mainz in 1486. The other illustrations are schematic in nature and all were almost certainly created by a Swiss artist. That is, the images are representations of Columbus’s arrival among the islands of the Caribbean and are not representations of the islands themselves. In this respect, while they resemble maps and while they have often been referred to as the first cartographic images made by Europeans of the Old World, a more appropriate description of them would be as ‘map-like’ images.

Basel, 1494: The Osher Map Library’s Edition

The edition of Columbus’s letter entitled De Insulis inuentis did not bear an imprint. Historians have suggested several potential printers for the work, but they all agree that it was produced in Basel because of its similarities to another edition of the letter that was definitively published in Basel. This edition bears the explicit imprint of Johann Bergmann and is dated April 21st, 1494.

This is the edition of the letter now possessed by the Osher Map Library and is described in the rest of this web site.

Unlike all the other published editions of Columbus’s letter, this edition was printed in conjunction with a second text, specifically a ‘prose drama’ that praised Ferdinand of Spain for the conquest of Granada in 1492. The drama is known to have been performed in Rome in 1492, and copies of it were printed in Rome in both 1492 and 1493 (Hain, nos.15940 and *15941).

The 1494 Basel edition of Columbus’s letter used most of the same woodcut images as the 1493 edition, except that the title image (of Ferdinand) was recut. The images were inserted in different locations within the text. The text itself is reset without many of the numerous contractions which characterize the earlier Latin editions.

Paris, 1493: Three More Editions

Another copy of Stephen Plannck’s first Latin edition reached Paris, the capital of France. Guyot Marchant, a printer based in the Champs-Gailliard, quickly copied this work and soon produced no less than three editions, all before the end of 1493. The changes between the editions are subtle. The implication is that Marchant churned out many copies to meet the intellectual curiosity of the French.

Marchant’s three editions are easily identified from their inclusion of a woodcut image of an angel appearing to the shepherds, announcing Christ’s birth. Although this image had obviously been made for a religious publication, and was now being reused by Marchant, it has clear allegorical overtones: Columbus becomes the angel of God bringing the new faith to the uncivilized heathens of Asia (as it was presumed). Marchant’s third edition also carried his woodcut “printer’s device,” a large image similar to a personal bookplate.

Antwerp, 1493: Yet Another Edition!

Stephen Plannck’s first Latin edition of Columbus’s Letter had also reached Antwerp, a major trading center in the Low Countries, and been taken up by another printer before the end of 1493. This is today known in only one copy, in the Royal Library, Brussels.

Rome, 1493: Dati’s Translation into Italian Verse

The popularity of Columbus’s Letter and of his whole adventure is perhaps most clearly shown by the publication history of a translation of the letter — probably the first Plannck edition — in Italian verse. The translation was made by one Leonardo Dati, at the request of Giovanni Filippo dal Legname (Delignamine), private secretary to Ferdinand of Spain. The verse rendition was published in Rome in June, 1493.

Like the Basel editions of 1493 and 1494, the verse edition also contained, on its title page, a highly stylized woodcut image. It depicts King Ferdinand looking out over the ocean at Columbus’s small flotilla making the actual first landing on a distant island. The image’s highly decorative border is in keeping with the verse-letter’s appeal as an aesthetic and decorative product. It has been reproduced by Hirsch, 539.

A copy of the Roman verse edition reached Florence, where it was copied in several more editions. The first Florentine edition was dated October 26th, 1493. The printers copied the Rome edition’s woodcut. The theme is the same — Ferdinand watching Columbus’s landing — but the composition was changed. The original copy had Ferdinand enthroned in the background of the image, with Europe in the foreground, the two separated by water (i.e., the Atlantic). In the new version, Ferdinand was moved to the foreground.

This Florentine edition was reprinted in 1495; indeed, the impression gives the same day, October 26th. The title image is from the same woodcut. Sometime later, another edition was printed, with a third version of the image of Ferdinand watching Columbus land.

There was also a fourth Florentine edition, a copy of the first, that we cannot date for certain. It lacks the woodcut image on the title page.

1497: Late editions in Spanish and German

Subsequent to the main period of publication, which is to say 1493, and a second period of copies, between 1494 and 1495, two more editions of Columbus’s first letter were published in 1497.

A rather late edition was printed, in German, in Strasbourg on September 30th, 1497. Its introduction implies that the translation was made in Ulm from both the Spanish and the Latin, although there is no indication when it was done. This has given rise to speculation that there was an early, German edition published in Ulm, but there is no known copy of such a printing. The Strasbourg edition contains a titlepage woodcut, of Christ addressing Ferdinand and his followers, that was also used in the same printer’s edition of Johann Lichtenberger’s Prognosticatio zu teutsch, printed in October 1497.

Finally, a second Spanish-language edition was printed in Valladolid, in norther Spain, some time after Posa’s edition appeared in Barcelona. Lacking an imprint, we cannot say precisely when it appeared, although most authorities believe it to have been published in 1497. That is, it was not part of the initial diffusion of the letter through Europe.

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Cristóbal Colón

Fourth voyage  1502 - 1504.

On October 5th, 1502, they dropped anchor in Almirante Bay within the confines of the modern Panama. Thus Bastidas, sailing from South America to the west in 1501, and Columbus, sailing from Honduras to the east and south, discovered at different times different parts of Panama. Columbus had given strict orders, at the start of the expedition, keeping his men from fraternizing with the natives, and would not allow them to trade with them. One of the clauses of his charter with the King, was that no private trading would be allowed. Columbus did not want his men to harm the natives in anyway, to prevent the natives from becoming upset, and attacking the Spaniards. At first,  Columbus enter a channel, leading to the great Bay, and he thought that he had finally found the channel needed to get to India. Here the local natives called the main land, Quiriquetana and a couple of islands in the bay, Carambaru and Cerabaro . He also that the natives wore large medals on their chest, made of pure gold, not guanine (alloy of copper and gold), as in the previous landings. The use of pure gold, the names of the area, convinced Columbus that he had finally reached Cipangu (China). He did trade with the natives, getting their gold disks for three hawks' bells, and the heavier ones, for more bells. The natives, waved Columbus on through an other channel which he thought was the final passage to China, but ended up in an other lagoon, which he called the Alburema , now known as the Chiriqui Lagoon. On the 6th of October, he passed his four caravels, the Capitana, Santiago, Gallega and Vizcaíns into this landlocked lagoon. On the 7th, they went ashore, and traded for more gold disks, gold eagles and provisions. Fernando described the natives of the area, as being painted in black, white and red, all over their bodies. They covered their genitals with narrow cotton cloth, that they made. These Indians, were the Guaymies, (that populated the whole area, all the way to the Panama Canal). They stayed in the area for 10 day, trading with the natives and getting as much information as possible. One of the natives by the name of Cariai serves as an interpreter, after leaning the Castilian language very rapidly.  Columbus learned that he was on an isthmus and there was a great sea on the other side of the mountains, 9 days march over the cordillera. He also learned that another land laid on this ocean, called Ciguare (Chiriqui), which again, convinced Columbus that India, was just a short distance away. This knowledge, that he was on an isthmus, and there was no strait in the area, convinced Columbus, to stop looking for one, and concentrate on learning all he could of the area, and searching for gold.

On October 17th, the fleet put to sea and continued exploring the coast of Tierra Firme. They were now in the area, which they called, El Golfo de los Mosquitos , which lacks good harbors. One day out, they anchored at the mouth of a river called Guaiga (Chiriqui River), and a region that the natives called Veragua and an area, very rich in gold mines. They stayed there several days, hoping to make contact with the natives. In this area, the native villages were located up river, not on the beach, as in the lands that they had visited in the past. On October 20th, they made contact and found the natives to be very belligerent.  Columbus had sent a boat ashore, when they saw a large group of natives on the beach. The natives attacked the Spaniard, yelling and screaming and making threatening gestures at them. Eventually, they were able to get close enough to exchange some 16, pure gold, polished mirrors, for 3 hawks' bells each. The next day they tried to land again, but was prevented again by the natives. Again, the natives threatened to attacked. one of the Spaniards wounded an Indian, and fired their gun, which made them all run away. They did manage to trade for 3 more gold mirrors. They also learned that most of the natives gold, had been left at their home, since they came to the beach to fight, not trade.

Columbus then continued along the Mosquito coast. They anchored in the mouth of another river, called Cativa by the natives. Here, the natives threatened them, as before, but soon changed their attitude, and allowed the Spaniards to land. At this place, the found a large stucco building, and traded for more gold disks. They continued their journey, to another area called Cobraba . Here they traded with 5 villages, for large quantities of gold. One of the natives, referred to a place called Veragua , where all of the gold collected and the ornaments were made. The next day, they arrived at a village called Cubiga , that was located up the river. This was the area where the natives from Chiriqui, told the Spaniards, that was the last place to trade for gold, along the coast. The next day, they left Cubiga, continuing there explorations, with Columbus saying that they would return to explore that area, and find the gold mines.

The day they left Cubiga, they were hit by a storm, and were forced past Limon Bay, and took refuge in an excellent harbor, that he named, Puerto Bello , on November 2nd, 1502. He named it because it was very beautiful and well protected and the land around it was well cultivated. This same harbor was visited by Bastidas, the year before. There were many houses near the beach and the people were friendly, and they traded for provisions and finely woven, cotton cloth. They were forced to stay there 7 days, due to inclement weather.

On the 9th of November, they set sail, rounding Manzanillo Point and continued to the east until the direction of the wind changed, and drove them back, some of the distance the had covered. They were pushed back about 13 miles, so they dropped anchor off the coast of some islands, where Nombre de Dios , was later founded and renamed by Nicuesa in 1508. Columbus called this place, Puerto de Bastimentos , because the islands were all planted with fields of maize, and they were able to get all of the provisions they needed. The fleet remained here for 12 days, making needed repairs to their caravels and barrels. 

Fernando recounts the incident here, where one of the ships boats, seeing a dugout full of natives, rowed to the dugout. As they approached, the natives all jumped into the water and dived underwater. Whenever a native swam back to the surface, the boat would row toward him. This cause the native to dive underwater again, resurfacing a distance from the boat. This continued for hours, while the men on the ships roared with laughter, and the men in the boat, just got madder, never being able to get any of the natives. For the natives, this was just a game, while those in the boat, saw no hummer in what was happening.

On November 23rd, they sailed out of Nombre de Dios and dropped anchor at a place called Guigua (the mouth of Rio Culebra). Going ashore, they met a large group of natives, and did some trading with them. On the next day, they took off again, and were soon forced into another harbor, that Columbus named Retrete (this place is now called Puerto Escibanos) and is about 20 miles east of Nombre de Dios.  This port was very small, with a narrow channel, and the ships had to go in, one by one. Since they were anchored, so close to shore, the Spaniards were able to disobey Columbus' orders, and would slip away at night, to steal from the natives, and rape their women. Such were the outrages, that the natives, were provoked into becoming belligerent and attacking the Spaniards. Columbus, tried to appease the natives, but they were so incensed, that did not heed him. He was forced to fire some of his cannons, at them, but they only thought that it was only a noise machine, and they show no fear of it. The cause Columbus to fire a cannon ball at a group of natives, and when the realized the cannons did more than make noise, and could kill a lot of men at the same time, the scattered, and hid. From then on, the natives were fearful of the Spaniards, and stayed well hidden. The natives of this area, were different than those seen by the Spaniards before. These were tall and well built and had fine features. They lacked the pot belly that was common, among the natives they had seen, up to then. Here is the first time, that Fernando, mentions alligators, during the whole trip. He mentions that if the caught a man on shore, they would drag them into the water, and devour him. He said that they were the same crocodiles that were on the Nile River.

On December 5th, they set sail again, going back to investigate the area of Veragua. Columbus was sure that the rough weather was over, and he would have no problem getting back to Veragua. The next day, on the 6th, the weather changed, and so did the wind. The fleet spent the next month, being battered by the rough seas and winds, between Puerto Bello, and the Chagres River.

On December 17th, the fleet anchored in a port the natives called Huiva .  A short distance away was a large rock, at the mouth of a river, that he called Peñon (the palisades were where el Castillo de San Lorenzo, was built, in 1595). They rested here for 3 days, trading with the natives for gold, when ever they could. Columbus noted that the river was full of alligators (caimans), as many as he had seen on the Nile. Later, he entered this feature onto his charts, and called it El Rio de Los Lagartos , a name that lasted for many years. They set sail again on the 20th, because the weather had improved. As soon as they hit open water, a storm came up, forcing them back into another harbor. Columbus gave this harbor a Spanish name, calling it, Puerto Gordo (Limón Bay). They stayed there from December 26 through January 3, 1503. Columbus entered a note in his charts, as to the large size of this bay, and that all of the ship of the world would fit into it. English seamen would later mistranslate this comment, and named it Navy Bay , a name that stuck for a long time.

On January 3rd, 1503, the 4 ships loaded with provisions, and set sail for Veragua. On the 6th, they dropped anchor off a river, that Columbus named Belén (Bethlehem) since it was the day of the Epiphany. There were sand bars, at the mouth of this river, and also of the Veragua River, a couple of miles away. Finding the depth of the sand bar at Belén of 7 feet, and less at Veragua, they sailed two of their ships, the Capitana and Viszína on the 9th, before the tide changed the depth of the bar, leaving the other two ships outside. They immediately rowed their boats, up river to trade with the natives. They were not able to get across the bar, until the next day, at high tide. This place was ideal, as a base of operations for the exploration of the area, and finding the gold mines that Veragua was famous for. Columbus decided that they would stay there for at least a month, until after the rainy season was over.

Columbus was able to find an Indian, that had learned some Spanish, while they were at Chiriqui, who served as an interpreter while they were there. On the 12th of January, they rowed up the Veragua River, in the direction of the village of the local cacique, El Quibián , he, in turn, came down the river with a large group of warriors in their dugouts, and they met half way. At this meeting, one of the warriors, went to the river, and got a large rock, dried it, and set it so that Quibián could sit down, during the powwow. At this meeting, Columbus got the impression that Quibián gave his permission to them to explore the area and his river. The next day, Quibián returned and visited with Columbus on his flag ship and he was given gifts.

As they got ready to explore the Belén River, a storm struck, and the river flooded, forcing them to abandon their expedition. The rain and floods, kept them from going anywhere for two weeks. On February 6th, the rowed up the Veragua River with 68 men, and spent the night at Quibián's village. The next day, they continued up river, with some of Quibián's men, as guides. On the second day, they reach the area where the natives obtained their gold. In one day, the Spaniards were able to collect some gold, with out tools. Each of the men, were able to get about $10.00 worth of gold, using their knives, as the only tool. The group then returned to their ships, very pleased and excited over having found the gold mines. Columbus was so pleased, that he decided to build a settlement there, and return to Spain for reinforcements. In this place, there was much more gold, than they ever found in Española, and although he never found the strait to India, he found large quantities of gold, and that would please the King.

On the 14th of February, Bartholomew Colón, El Adelantado, took a group of 54 men, to explore an area, 22 miles to the west. They reached a river that the natives called Urirá (Culovebora River) were they met a large group of friendly natives, and were able to trade for some more gold disk, and saw large quantities of maize, cultivated by the Guaymi's. The Adelantado, with about half the force, continued overland to two villages, Cobrava and Cativa, where he found more maize and gold disk. He obtains a large number of these disk, which he likened, if the same quality, as the finest chalices, and that they wore hanging from their necks by strings, like a Christian  might wear a cross or an Agnus Dei.

When the Adelantado, returned, they proceeded to build the settlement of Santa María de Belén. They built it on a small hill, on the west bank of the river, a the distance of about a rifle shot away from the mouth. Buildings were constructed of timber cut from the area, with the roofs being made of thatch. All provisions that they brought from Spain, would be stored in the Gallega, on of the caravels. They elected to leave the Gallega there, since she was so BADLY eaten by teredo worms (Sea worms that are the plague of wooden boats. They will bore through the wood and cause the boat to leak, like a sieve) , that her hull was like a sponge, and they would not be able to keep her afloat.  When a dozen houses were built, Columbus got ready to go, and the rain stopped. This caused the water level in the river to drop, and the ships could not get over the sand bars, and were stranded.

At this time, Quibián noted that the visitors planned to stay, and were not leaving, and his attitude change toward the Spaniards. Columbus also suspected that some of his men, were sneaking off into the bush, and taking things from the natives, by force. The Spaniard began to see large groups of natives, coming into the area, painted in war paint, and claiming that they were going to join forces with Quibián, who was planning a raid on the neighboring tribe of Cobrava.

Diego Méndez, one of the gentlemen volunteers on Santiago, conferred with Columbus, their suspicions of the situation. Méndez, who had learned some of the Guaymi language during their stay, volunteered to check out the situation, and took off in one of the boats, towards the Veragua River, when he came upon a site were there were a thousand warriors, encamped, hooting and howling. Méndez, landed his boat, and walked up to the warriors, and asked them what they were up to. He then retuned to his boat, and had his men row out into the middle of the river, where they could watch the warriors, and keep an eye on them. The next morning, he returned to the ships, and told Columbus what he saw. Columbus, still wanted to leave men at Belen, while he went back to Spain for reinforcements. We would not abandon his plans, unless he had more evidence that the warriors planned to attack. Méndez, again volunteered to find out.

This time, he walked along the shore with one of the men, until he found a couple of dugouts, were the warriors admitted that they planned to attack in two days. He got the warriors to take him to Quibián's village, so that he could confer with Quibián. He approached Quibián with the pretext that he had come to cure an arrow wound the cacique had. He was admitted into the village and into Quibián's hut. There he was confronted by the cacique's sons and others, and they would not let him get close to Quibián. Méndez then proceeded to sit down, and have his companion, give him a hair cut. This surprised the warriors, and they being very curious of the strange habits of the Spaniards, did not know what to do. Quibián permitted his hair to be cut, and he was presented with the scissors comb and mirror. Méndez then asked to be fed, and he sat down with his companion and Quibián, to eat. After this, they returned to the ships.

Now with more proof that Quibián planned to attack the settlement, Méndez and Columbus agree on a plan to control the situation. They planned to take Quibián and his family and other caciques, hostages. The next day, with a force of 80 men, the rowed to Quibián's village. Hiding most of his men in the jungle, the Adelantado, Méndez and a couple of men,  marched into the village, pretending he was back to check Quibián wound. When Quibián went to meet them, they grabbed him and fire a shot, which was a signal, for the Spaniards to rush into the village. They captured Quibián, his family, and some other important prisoners. They were all bound and sent with the pilot, Juan Sánchez with a couple of men, to escort them back to Belén, in one of the boats. The rest stayed in the village, finishing the job.

Quibián complained to Sánchez, that his hands were tied to tight, and Sánchez fell for the trick, loosening the ropes. Quibián was able to escape by jumping overboard. Sánchez, let go of the rope, so that he would not be pulled into the water, allowing Quibián to escape into the jungle. When the rest of the party returned to Belén, they had with them, a large amount of gold, that they took from the village. The captives that did not get away, were taken to one of the ships, and put in chains. They had hoped to take Quibián with them on their return to Spain, insuring that the Guaymi's would not present a problem to the Colony. 

It started raining again, and they were able to sail their ships over the sand bars, and they prepared to sail to Spain. The Adelantado, Bartholomew Colón was left in charge, Diego Méndez would be one of his lieutenants, and seventy men were to be left in Belén to hold it until Columbus returned. On April 6th, with most of the force saying farewell on the beach, and only 20 guards at Belén, Quibián attacked the settlement, with over 300 warriors, shooting arrows, darts and spears. They were able to kill one and wound several men, including the Adelantado, but were held a bay, by the fierce fighting of the Spaniards and the wolfhound that was at the fort. At this time, Captain Diego Tristán of the Capitana, had gone ashore to get a final supply of water, and he remained in his boat, in the river, not offering any assistance, since he had only come to get water, not fight. After three hours, the battle was over, and Tristán came ashore to fill his barrels with water. As they headed back to the ship, they passed close to a spot on the river, where some of the natives were hiding.  They attacked the boat, killing Tristán and his companions except for one, that jumped into the water and swam away.

The three ships were out in open water, about a mile from shore. They were able to see much of the fighting. The men that were to be left behind, wanted to leave on the ships, but the Gallega was in no condition to float, and had been grounded, to keep her from sinking earlier. The decision was made to get all of the men out of Belén, and abandon the settlement . The only boat left, could not be sent in to pick up the men, so the men at Belén, made a raft, and managed to float all of the supplies that had been left in the settle, out to the ships. They were able to get all of the men on board. On April 16, 1503, Easter night, when all were on the ships, they set sail for Española. Thus ended the first attempt to Colonize and garrison Panama and Tierra Firme. Columbus now beat up the coast eastward, past the Chagres River and Limon Bay, until he again reached Puerto Bello, where one of his three remaining ships, the Biscaina, had to be abandoned on account of her extremely leaky condition. When Diego de Nicuesa arrived in Puerto Bello, to establish his settlement in 1510, he found the remains of the Biscaina. Columbus still continued eastward for about ten leagues, and then, on May 1, 1503, from Marmora, as his son Fernando calls it, sailed north for Española. Columbus thought that he was further east, than he was, when he headed north, expecting to run into Española. The identification of Marmora is difficult. Some are of opinion that Columbus went as far as Cape Tiburon and saw the Gulf of Urabi or Darien; a more probable opinion is that the most easterly point he reached in Panama was Punta Mosquito. When he headed for Española his ships were practically un-seaworthy, and only the most strenuous bailing with pumps and kettles prevented them from being entirely swamped. Contrary winds and currents carried him far out of his course, he landed on the south coast of Cuba. Realizing the they were way off course, and that his ship would not make it all the way to  Española, he steered for Jamaica, where, at Puerto Bono, he arrived on June 24. Next day he moved into another more easterly harbor, into which he had once before put during his second voyage in 1494, and to which he had then given the name of Santa Gloria. Here he ran his two worn out vessels aground, shored them up so that they could not move, and built sheds on them for the protection of himself and his men. 

Diego Méndez, with a couple of men walked to several native villages and befriended the people and purchased food from them. He arranged for them to take food to Columbus, since they were without food. He sent one of the men that was in his party, with instruction to Columbus, to pay for the food that the natives were bringing. He proceeded to other villages, and made the same arrangement with them. insuring that the Spaniards would have plenty to ear. In one of the villages, he was able to trade for a large dugout, which he used to explore the island. They waited in Jamaica for several months, hoping to see a ship sail past, and hailing her to get them off the island. This never happened, since they were in an area, where there was no exploration. Previous expeditions in that area, had determined that there was no gold in the region, so nobody wanted to go there.

Once again, Diego Méndez came to the rescue, when he offered to take his dugout with ten native paddlers and another Spaniard, to paddle their way, across the sea, from Jamaica to Española. They agreed to send two dugouts, just incase one did not make it. They took six Christians, and ten Indians per canoe. One of the dugouts would be commanded by Diego and the other by Fieschi, an Italian gentleman, that had proven this worth during the expedition. They figured that they would have to travel 108 nautical miles, but they could stop on the Island of Navassa, which they figured was a little over half way across the ocean. The trip started on a day in July, when the sea was calm

On the first day, the sun and heat gave them a hard time, and they had to take turns swimming in the ocean, to keep cool. That evening, they were far enough out, that they could barely make out the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. They paddled all through the night, and the next morning realized that the natives, were not use to sea voyages and had drank all of their water on the first day. The Spaniards, accustomed to the sea, knew how to space and conserve their water, and had their supply which they had to share with the Indians. They hoped to reach Navassa before dark, but they did not. On the second night, one of the Indians died of thirst, and the others were too weak to continue paddling. On the third night, still no Navassa. By the light of the moon, they were able to make out the island, and the next morning, the fourth day out of Jamaica, they landed on the island. They found water trapped in the rocks, and some of the natives drank so much, so fast,  that they died. They gathered shellfish, and started a fire, and cooked it, and had a good meal that night. That evening, they were able to see the mountains of Cape Tiburon, on Española, only 30 miles away. They set out that night, arriving in Española before morning. After resting for two days at Cape Tiburon, Bartolomeo Fieschi, did as promised, and was prepared to paddle back to Jamaica. But none of the men wanted to go with him, not even the Indians.

The natives of the area, brought them food, and Méndez set off to Santo Domingo with six fresh Indian paddlers. When he reached Azua , the place they had weathered the hurricane over a year before, he learned that the Governor, Don Nicolás de Ovando, was in the interior, pacifying the natives, and searching for gold. Méndez, set out on foot, to reach the place where the governor was at, to ask for a ship to go rescue Columbus, and his crew. Fearing that the news of Columbus' new discoveries of land and gold, would cause the King to restore his rights and privileges, Ovando was not ready to have the Admiral back in Española, so he delayed Méndez, during his campaign, at his headquarters for over 7 months. In the mean time, Ovando, put down the natives revolt with great blood shed and cruelty. Méndez reached Ovando in August, 1503, and it was not until March, 1504, that he was allowed to proceed to Santo Domingo, by foot. There, he had to wait an additional two months, before ships arrived from Spain. The one ship that was in port, Ovando would not allow Méndez to contract, to go pick up Columbus. Méndez proceeded to hire two of the ships to go to Jamaica to rescue Columbus and his men. Méndez paid for the charter, with the gold he had for Veragua. The third ship was used to return to Spain, so that Méndez could give the King and Queen, letters that Columbus wrote about the expedition, and the 20% share of the gold that was collected. Fieschi, was never able to hire anybody to help him get back to Jamaica, and remained in Santo Domingo, until Columbus arrived.

In Santa Gloria, Jamaica, Columbus and his men waited to be rescued. Trouble started brewing when the Porras brothers, started talk about a mutiny. They were on the trip, because their sister was the mistress of the Royal Treasurer, and he ordered Columbus to take them along. Francisco Porras was made captain of the Santiago, and Diego Porras, was the crown representative, and comptroller. As political appointees, they refused to do any work, and were a burden on the expedition. The Adelantado, was acting captain of the Santiago, and his fine seamanship, kept Francisco Porras out of trouble, when the going got rough. They spread discontent among the crew, claiming that the reason, Columbus ran the ships aground was to prevent the men from ever getting home alive. The told the men that Columbus knew that when he got back to Spain, the King was going to be very unhappy, since they never found the passage to India, and he lost all the ships. The Porra's promised that if they killed Columbus, when the got to Española, Governor Ovando, would congratulate them, and not try them for mutiny, since he hated Columbus. Half of the men at Santa Gloria, joined the mutiny. On the morning of January 2, 1504, Francisco Porras boarded Capitana, were Columbus was at, and demanded that Columbus get them to Spain, or else. Porras, then went out and started yelling that he wanted to go to Castile, and who would join him. At this point, they tried to take control of the ship, but were prevented by Bartholomew Colón, and some others, loyal to the Admiral. 

The mutineers all piled into ten dugouts and took off. They headed east, robbing the natives along the way, telling them to collect payment from Columbus. They went to the most eastern point of Jamaica where they waited for a calm sea to set out towards Española. They set out to sea, and about four leagues out, the water became so rough, that they started throwing things overboard, to help stabilize the canoes. When this was not enough, the even threw the Indian paddlers overboard. The natives that hung on to the side of the canoes, had their hands cut off, so they would let go. Only a few of the Indians were spared, to steer the canoes. They returned to Jamaica, and hung around for a month, making two additional attempts to cross, but all were failures. Finally, the abandoned their canoes, and started walking back to Santa Gloria, abusing the natives as they went.

Meanwhile, at Santa Gloria, all was well, until the natives started bring less food and supplies. They were unhappy with the treatment they were receiving from the mutineers, and were getting even with Columbus, for the action of the Spaniards. At this point, Columbus was aware of a coming eclipse of the moon, that was to occur on the night of February 29, 1504. Columbus warned the natives, that his god was unhappy with them, because they were not bringing food to the Spaniards. The night, when the eclipse was occurring, the natives became scared, and came running with food, and when it was almost over, Columbus ordered it to stop, and the moon reappeared. From that point on, they had no trouble from the natives. Following the eclipse, Columbus was able to calculate, exactly where they were (latitude), by timing the eclipse, and the time of the night.

At the end of March, 1504, they spotted a small caravel, coming from the sea, and she anchored next to the grounded ships. She was not sent from Española to rescue them, but was sent by Ovando to spy on them, and left the same night. The captain, Diego de Escobar, did give the Admiral two casks of wine and a slab of salted pork, with the compliments of the Governor, and a message from Méndez, telling that he had arrived in Española, and would send a boat to pick them up, when one became available. On May 19th, Columbus sent his brother, with 50 armed men to offer war or peace to the mutineers, that were at the Indian village of Maima. Porras decided to fight, and they were beaten by the by Columbus' forces. They killed some of the mutineers and arrested the Porras's, along with his officers. They were chained and locked up, while others were forgiven, when they said they were sorry.

On the two ships sent by Méndez  from Española Columbus and the survivors set out, on June 28, 1504, for Santo Domingo, but met with such adverse winds that they did not arrive At that city until August 13. There, he was greeted by Ovando, who offered his home, for Columbus to stay, but the reception was not warm. Ovando then insulted Columbus, by setting free, all of the mutineers, including the Porra brothers, that were the ring leaders.

The admiral started on his last voyage from the West Indies for Spain on September 12, and, after a stormy passage, dropped anchor in the harbor of San Lúcar on November 7, 1504. Here ended the active life of the High Admiral of the Ocean Sea.

This map traces Christopher Columbus' trip through Panamá. He firsts lands in Almirante Bay (Oct 6, 1502), On Nov. 24, he arrives at a place he called El Retrete (near Cabo Tiburon). On Dec. 5, he starts back to Veragua. On Jan. 6, 1503 he anchored in Veraguas, at a place he named Nuestra Señora de Belen. On May 1, 1503, he sailed from a place he called Marora, north to Española.

June 21, 2002