Christopher Columbus: The Four Voyages to the New World

The Voyages of Christopher Columbus

First Voyage (1492-1493)

On his first voyage, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with two caravels, the Pinta and the Niña, and the nao Santa Maria. After calling at La Gomera, ostensibly to repair a rudder while awaiting the trade winds that would facilitate navigation to the west, he set sail. After two months at sea and facing mutiny attempts from the crew, he reached land on October 12, 1492, which he named San Salvador. He skirted the islands of the Bahamas and visited Cuba and Haiti, which he christened La Española (Hispaniola). Off its coast, the Santa Maria ran aground, and its remnants were used to build Fort Navidad. Columbus befriended the natives and their chief. He returned to Spain with gold and a small group of indigenous people.

Second Voyage (1493-1496)

The second voyage was a larger expedition. It included colonists entitled to occupy the land, as well as sailors like Diego Velázquez and Alonso de Ojeda, and friars such as Father Boyle, tasked with evangelizing the natives. During this journey, Columbus discovered the Lesser Antilles archipelago. Upon returning to Hispaniola, he found that Fort Navidad had been destroyed. He accused the natives and began harsh reprisals against them. He discovered the islands of Tortuga and Jamaica while ignoring his governmental duties, which were left in the hands of his despotic brother, Diego Columbus. Returning to Hispaniola, he discovered a native mutiny. Columbus ceded control of the island to his other brother, Bartholomew Columbus, before returning to Spain. However, he was too late; Father Boyle had already fled months before to report the brutality of the Columbus brothers' governance to the Catholic Monarchs.

Third Voyage (1498-1500)

The Catholic Monarchs agreed to a third voyage, where the Admiral sailed along the Venezuelan coast without touching the continent and worked to stifle a second indigenous rebellion. News of the disorders reached the Catholic Monarchs, who sent Francisco de Bobadilla to investigate the facts, requiring the Columbus brothers to return to Spain.

Fourth Voyage and Final Years

The Catholic Monarchs appointed Nicolás de Ovando as the new governor, who accepted a fourth voyage for Columbus to sail alongside his own expedition. About 2,500 settlers and friars embarked to evangelize the zone. Ovando sent Bobadilla back to Spain, but his caravel sank, a victim of a hurricane. Ovando appointed Diego Velázquez as Deputy Governor. Columbus reached the Belén River but had to be rescued from certain death by Ovando's men. Columbus returned to Spain, dying shortly after in Valladolid.

Treaties Regulating Discovery

The discovery of America was regulated by two key agreements:

• Bull Inter Caetera: This papal bull granted Castile control of all land in the Atlantic that had not already been discovered by Portugal.
• Treaty of Tordesillas: This treaty established an imaginary line 370 leagues from the Azores, which ceded the western territories to Spain and the eastern territories to Portugal, with exceptions for the Canary Islands and northern Africa.