Christopher Columbus

In 1498 Columbus set off on his third trip Westwards. Just 6 years after his first exploration these trips now became commonplace. He sailed from Madeira and landed on the south side of the island of Trinidad on July 31st. He spent a week exploring the gulf which separates Trinidad from Venezuela, he explored some of the South American mainland including the Orinoco river and found and named the islands of Tobago and Grenada.

He sailed north to revisit Hispaniola and found many discontents among the Spanish settlers complaining that he had promised them riches and that there were none there. Columbus was a firm supporter of slavery and advised the settlers that this might be the riches they sought. So much an advocate of slavery that Columbus refused the baptism of the native people of Hispaniola since Catholic Law forbade the enslavement of Christians.

Many of Columbus’s settlers and sailors began to rebel and he had some hanged for disobeying him. Some lobbied against Columbus when they returned to Spain and he was arrested for a period of time on his return.

Columbus’s final voyage began in 1502, ten years after his first earth-shattering voyage. He landed at Martinique but encountered a hurricane so fled north to Hispaniola for shelter. However so unpopular was he that the new Governor there refused to listen or to grant him port entry. Columbus sought harbour further up the coast, but the Governor's own treasure fleet heading for Spain hit the hurricane and was all but wiped out. The Governor himself was drowned, together with 500 sailors.

Columbus then explored the whole Central American coastline stopping at Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

In December Columbus found himself in the middle of a storm “unlike any I have ever experienced. For nine days we were lost without hope. Eyes never beheld a sea so angry, so high and covered with foam. Never did the sky look more terrible as for a whole day and a night it blazed like a furnace. All this time water fell from the sky – not rain for it was more a continuous deluge. The men were so worn out they prayed for death”.

In Panama Columbus learned from the natives of source gold and a strait through to another big ocean. Records do not show that he pursued this information which was strange as it was really what he had been searching for all along.

He sailed north discovering the Cayman Islands (naming them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there) before arriving at Jamaica where his ships suffered great damage in yet another storm. Such was the damage that he remained stranded there until some of his crew paddled a canoe across to Hispaniola for help, a distance of 150 miles. In the meantime Columbus intimidated the local natives into helping by successfully predicting a lunar eclipse on February 29th 1504. They arrived home in Spain eventually on November 7th 1504.

On May 20th 1506 Columbus died in Valladolid, fairly wealthy from the gold he and his men had accumulated in Hispaniola. At his death he was still convinced that his voyages had been along the East coast of Asia.

Columbus’ remains were first interred in Valladolid and later in Seville. In 1542 his remains were transferred to Hispaniola but when the French took over the island in 1795 the remains were moved to Cuba. When Cuba became independent the remains were moved back to the Cathedral in Seville. It would seem that Columbus travelled as much after death as before it!

Tony Rice-Oxley