christopher columbus explorer of the new world

8/14/2019 Christopher Columbus Explorer of the New World

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CH RISTOPH ERCOLUMBUSBE ANEYEWITNESS TO...

Explorer of the New W

Columbussof

thrilling voyagesexploration


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The Pinta

The royal treasurer

begs Queen Isabellaof Spain to backColumbuss voyage.

Portuguesetradersimportingslaves fromAfrica

Columbuslands atSan Salvador.


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A Dorling Kindersley Book

Written byPETER C HRISP

Illustrated byPETER D ENNIS

CHRISTOPHERCOLUMBUSEXPLORER OF THENEW WORLD


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Contents6T HE AGE OF

EXPLORATION

8IN SEARCH OF THE INDIES

10C HRISTOPHER

COLUMBUS

12THE PLAN

14THE QUEST FOR A ROYAL

SPONSOR

16SHIPS AND CREW

18T HE FLEET SETS OFF

Dorling Kindersley

LONDON , NEW YORK , SYDNEY , DELHI , PARIS ,MUNICH , and JOHANNESBURG

Project Editor Steve SetfordArt Editor Peter Radcliffe

Senior Editor Marie GreenwoodSenior Art Editor Carole Oliver

Managing Art Editor Jacquie GulliverPublishing Manager Jayne Parsons

DTP Designer Nomazwe MadonkoPicture Researchers Amanda Russell, Pernilla Pearce,

and Marie Osborn Jacket Designer Dean Price

Production Kate Oliver, Jenny Jacoby

Additional illustrations by David Ashby

First published in Great Britain in 2001 byDorling Kindersley Limited,

80 Strand, London WC2R ORL,

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Copyright 2001 Dorling Kindersley Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise, without the priorpermission of the copyright owner.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is availablefrom the British Library.

ISBN 0 7513 1388 2

Reproduced by Colourscan, SingaporePrinted and bound by L.E.G.O., Italy

For Lisa

see our completecatalogue at

WWW.dk.com


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20T HE VOYAGE

24T HE MEN FROM THE SKY

26SHIPWRECKED IN

HISPANIOLA

28T RIUMPHANTHOMECOMING

30T HE SPANISHSETTLEMENT

32C OLUMBUS RETURNS

34H ORROR ON HISPANIOLA

36T O THE MAINLAND

38ANOTHER WORLD

40ACROSS THE WILD

CARIBBEAN

42STRANDED !

44VOYAGES OFEXPLORATION

46C ONQUISTADORES

48INDEX


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U NTIL THE EARLY 1400 S, Europeans knewlittle about the wider world. Buteverything changed in the 15th century,when the kingdom of Portugal beganto send ships out on voyages ofexploration. Portuguese explorersworked their way down the westerncoast of Africa, establishing trading

posts as they went, and found aroute into the Indian Ocean.

World map by HenricusMartellus, c.1490

The Age ofExploration

This is the story ofheroes who, leavingtheir native Portugal

behind them, opened away to Ceylon [SriLanka], and further,

across seas no man hadever sailed before.

Luis de Camoens(Portuguese poet)

The Lusiads , 1572

The Africancoast, with names given by Portuguese explorers

Portugal


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C ITIES OF CATHAY

The Venetian Marco

Polo had visited Chinor Cathay as he calledin the 13th century. Hreturned with tales ofCathays wealthy citi

C ARAVEL

In little ships called caravels, Portuguese explorers sailedout into the unknown Atlantic Ocean.

Caravels had lateen (triangular)sails, which were better than squaresails for sailing into the wind.

Ceylon (S Lanka), in t Indian Ocea


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T H E A G E O F E X P L O R A T I O N

IN SEARCHOF THE INDIES

THE SILK ROADFor centuries, spices and other eastern goods had beenbrought west along a trade route called the Silk Road.By the time they reached Europe they were hugelyexpensive, because of the profits taken by all themerchants who bought and sold them along the way.

FANTASTIC STORIESOn his return to Italy, Marco Polos stories of theIndies were published as a book. It describedAsian rivers full of precious stones (above), andmany more fantastic sights. People loved his tales,but many readers thought he had made them up.

Cipangu[Japan] has goldin measurelessamounts. The

islands ruler has a very large palace

entirely roofed withfine gold.

Marco Polo journeyeall over Asia on miss for the Khan.

INDIA

MARCO POLOIn the late 1200s, themerchant Marco Polo ofVenice became one of thefew Europeans to visit Asia.He took four years to travelthe Silk Road to China,where he spent 17 yearsserving the emperor KublaiKhan as a diplomat.

Marco Polo andRusticello of Pisa,

The Travels of MarcoPolo , c.1299

Spices such ascinnamon addedexciting new flavours to European foods.

THE AIM OF THE EUROPEAN VOYAGES

of exploration was to reach the Indies,which was the old European name forAsia. The Indies included all the eastern lands,from India to Japan. Europeans had only the

vaguest ideas of where these places were. Theone thing they did know was that the Indieswere rich. They had spices, gold, jewels, and silk goods that were scarce in Europe, and whichEuropeans desperately wanted to get their hands on.

Silk Road goodsTHE GOODS CARRIED WEST along theSilk Road came from all over Asia.Silk fabrics were made in China.Cinnamon came from Sri Lanka.

India supplied black pepper.

SPICE ISLANDSThe most expensivespices, including nutmegand cloves, only grew inthe Spice Islands (better known as the Moluccas)of eastern Indonesia.Nutmeg Black pepper

Cloves

Cinnamon

I N D I A

AS I A

E U R O P E

C H I N A

S I L K R O A D R O U

T E

J A P A N

A R

A B I A

P E R S I A

Constantinople

KashgarShachow

Ning-hsia

Kerman

SultaniyehTabriz

Silk


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Prester JohnPRINCE HENRY HAD HEARDtravellers tales of a powerfulChristian king called Prester

John, who ruled somewherein Africa or Asia. He hopedthat the Portuguese voyages ofexploration would find Prester

John, so that he could helpChristian Europe fight a newcrusade against the Muslims.

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I N S E A R C H O F T H E I N D I E S

OTTOMAN EMPIREBy the 15th century, thecrusades had failed, and Europewas on the defensive. TheMuslim Ottoman Turkslaunched their own holy war,sweeping through Greece andthe Balkans, and conqueringislands in the Mediterranean,such as Rhodes. The strengthof the Ottoman Empire made itharder than ever for Europeansto reach the Indies overland.

Henry the NavigatorPrince Henry of Portugal, nicknamedHenry the Navigator, realized that thebest way to get around the Muslimbarrier was by sea. In the early 1400s,he sent a series of expeditions downthe coast of Africa. Henry had startedthe age of European exploration.

Imaginary kingAlthough he was pictured on maps,Prester John did not really exist.

Marco Polo dictated his stories to awriter named Rusticello while servinga prison sentence in Genoa. His book claimed that the Chineseburned black stones for fuel. HisEuropean readers, who did not knowabout coal, found this hard to believe. On his death bed, Marco Polo wasasked if he had made up his stories.He replied that he had not recordedhalf of what he had seen in the Indies. Other travellers tales told of giantgold-mining ants, and headless people,whose faces were on their chests.

FACT file

NO ROUTE EASTChristian Europe (pink) was hemmed in by Muslims,who ruled the lands to the south and east (green).There had been bitter hatred between the two religionssince the 11th century, when the Christians began aseries of holy wars, called crusades, against the Muslims.

Camels could carry heavier loadsthan horses or donkeys, and theywere better suited to the harsh desertconditions encountered on the route.

C AMEL CARAVANCamels were the main pack animals used tocarry goods along the Silk Road. Theytravelled in long lines called caravans.

Riding their short, stocky horses, the Khanssoldiers escorted Marco Polo on his missions.

Ottoman forcesconquering Rhodesin 1522

N O RT HA F R I C A

O T T O M A N

EM P I R E

M U S L I ML A N D S

C HRISTIANEU R O P E

M E DI T E R R A N E A N S EA

A

T L

A N T

I C

O C E A N


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C HRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

Engraving of Genoa harbourColumbuss home city, Genoa, wasone of the Mediterraneans busiestports. As a boy, Columbus must havewatched hundreds of merchant shipsarriving and departing, and dreamedof a life of adventure as a sailor.

Into the AtlanticColumbus sailed on several trading

voyages out into the Atlantic Oceanfrom Lisbon. He sailed north toIceland, and south to Guinea, all thewhile learning about the great oceanand its system of winds and currents.

Columbus saved himself by clinging on to a floating oar.

A T

L A N T

I C O

C E

A N

ICELAND

AF R I C A

PORTUGAL

CANARY ISLANDS

CAPE VERDEISLANDS

LISBON

AZORES

G UINEA

S P A I N

MADEIRA

C OLUMBUS THE SEAMAN As an experienced navigator,Columbus was always welcomeat the bustling dockside.

LISBON DOCKSColumbus settled in thePortuguese capital,Lisbon, built beside thewide River Tagus, whichpours into the AtlanticOcean. At the docks,the air resounded with a

babble of differentlanguages as sailors frommany lands loaded andunloaded cargo from ships.

BORN IN GENOA , NORTHERN ITALY , IN

1451, Christopher Columbus decided atan early age that he wanted to go to sea,rather than follow in his fathers footsteps as aweaver and wool merchant. By his mid-teens,Columbus was sailing on merchant voyagesall around the Mediterranean Sea. He hadlittle formal education, but showed a naturalskill as a navigator. Aged 25, he moved toPortugal. For a young man curious to find outabout the world, Portugal in the age ofexploration was the ideal place to be.

SHIPWRECKEDA shipwreck first brought

Columbus to Portugal. In1476, he sailed with aGenoese fleet, whichwas attacked by French

warships off the Portuguesecoast. Columbuss ship sank,but he made it safely ashore.

EUROPEAN EXPORTS Portuguese ships sailed to Africawith cargoes of horses, glassbeads, brass bells, carpets, English wool, and Irish linen.

E U

R O

P E


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At a very tenderage, I went to seasailing, and so I

have continued tothis day. The art

of navigation leadsthe man who

follows it to want toknow the secrets of

this world.Christopher Columbus,from a letter to the king

and queen of Spain,

1501

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C H R I S T O P H E R C O L U M B U S

IMPORTING SLAVESBetween 1450 and 1500, around 150,000African slaves passed through the Lisbondocks. The Portuguese bought them fromlocal slave traders and African chiefs. Therewas frequent warfare between the chiefs, whooften raided each others territories to takeprisoners whom they could sell as slaves.

C APTIVE CONVERTSThe Portuguese saw nothing wrongenslaving non-Christians. They mathe slaves convert to Christianity,believing that they would benefit blearning about the true faith.

In Africa, these11 slaves couldhave been boughtin exchange for asingle horse.

GOLD COAST TRADEThe Portuguese found a rich source of gold in partof Guinea, West Africa, which they called the GoldCoast. Gold from here was brought to Lisbon, whereit was made into coins called cruzados(crusades).

AFRICAN IMPORTSShips arriving from Africa unloadedslaves, chests of gold dust, bundles of ivory, andbarrels full of a pepper-like spice called malagueta.

R ICH REWARDSColumbus sailed to Guinea on a shiplike this. Deeply impressed by the goldmines he saw, he realized how profitablevoyages of exploration could be.

Navigating in known watersC OLUMBUS LEARNED TO FIND HIS WAY at seausing a magnetic compass and a map called aportolan, which was marked with criss-crosslines. When sailing in known waters, a marinercould use these two navigational tools to plot acourse between any two ports.

Sugar cane from Madeira

CompassA compass has a magneticneedle that always points

towards north.

Portolan mapWhen drawing a portolan,a mapmaker used a grid ofcriss-cross lines as a guidefor accuracy. The lines alsohelped a navigator to findthe sailing direction anddistance from port to port.


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T HE PLAN

EVIDENCEColumbus studied geography books to

find evidence that his voyage waspossible. He calculated the size of

Europe and Asia and the distancearound the Earth. Using only

writers who would back uphis ideas, he tried to

prove that theAtlantic was a

narrow sea.

A skilled mapmColumbus dre

charts to shothat his pla

was pract

12

Columbus always kepthis copies ofImagoMundi and Marco PolosTravels besidehim as he worked.

AS HE SAILED ON TRADING VOYAGESin the Atlantic Ocean, ChristopherColumbus must have often gazed atthe western horizon, and wondered whatsecrets it held. This was still a mysteriousocean. Nobody knew how wide it was,or what you would find if you tried tosail across it. Columbus had read MarcoPolos stories of the gold-roofed palace ofCipangu and the wealth of the Great Khan ofCathay. It struck him that these rich lands must

lie on the other side of the Atlantic, and that it might bepossible to reach them by sailing west. So Columbusbegan to work out a plan to sail across the AtlanticOcean, and find the riches of the Indies.

The Earth is round.Six parts of the globecan be lived upon, the

seventh is covered withwater...Between the end

of Spain and thebeginning of India liesa narrow sea that can

be sailed in a fewdays with a

favourable wind.Cardinal Pierre dAilly,

Imago Mundi ,1410

Imago MundiC OLUMBUS FOUND SUPPORT for hisplan in Imago Mundi(Picture of theWorld), a geography book writtenby a French cardinal, Pierre dAilly.The cardinal had read in the ancient

Jewish book ofEsdras that seacovered only one-seventh of theEarths surface.From this, dAillyargued that theAtlantic could notbe a wide ocean.

Columbus covered his copyofImago Mundi with notesin different inks, showingthat he read it many times.

TOSCANELLIColumbus learned that, in1474, Italian scholar PaoloToscanelli had tried toconvince the Portugueseking to back a western sea

voyage to Asia. Columbuswrote to Toscanelli, whosent him a sea chart and aletter encouraging him inhis great and noble desire.


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MARTIN BEHAIMThe German geographer MartinBehaim pictured the world in asimilar way to Columbus. He, too,dreamed of making a western sea

voyage to the Indies. AlthoughBehaim was in Portugal at thesame time as Columbus, thereis no evidence that the twomen ever met.

BIBLEAs a strong Christian,Columbus believedthat all importantknowledge was in theBible, which wasthought to be theword of God. Theonly continentsmentioned in the Bibleare Europe, Africa, andAsia, so he would havehad no inkling that theAmericas existed.

A deeply religiousman, Columbus oftenread the Bible.

Columbus probably useda crucifix and rosarybeads as prayer aids.

Columbuss namesake,Saint Christopher, was thepatron saint of seafarersand travellers.

Columbuss worldColumbus assumed that there was only the open water of theAtlantic between Spain and Asia. He also thought that there weremany islands off the coast of Asia, where he could break his journey.

The true pictureColumbus misjudged the size of the Earth, believing it to be muchsmaller than it really is. There are huge continents, the Americas, whereColumbus hoped to find Asia, and another, Australia, below Asia.A huge ocean, called the Pacific, separates the Americas from Asia.

BEHAIM S GLOBE In 1492, Martin Behaimbuilt a globe to show that awestward sea voyage to the Indies was possible. Behaimsis the oldest surviving globein the world today.

South America

North America

Africa

Europe

Australia

Asia

Japan PacificOcean

SAINTCHRISTOPHER

The name Christophermeans Christ bearer. It comesfrom the saint who, in legend,

carried a child safely across ariver. The child then revealedthat he was Jesus Christ.

Columbus felt that he was anew Saint Christopher, chosen

by God to carry Christianityacross the sea to the Indies.

Copy of Behaims1492 globe

Japan (Cipangu)Spain

Africa

AtlanticOcean

Asia

Mapping the EarthALL EDUCATED PEOPLE knew that the world was round,but there were arguments about its size, and how muchof it was covered by water. Many scholars believed thatthe Atlantic stretched over half the globe. Columbusrejected this idea, as it made his voyage unthinkable.


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T HE QUEST FOR A ROYAL SPONSOR C OLUMBUS COULD NOT SAIL ON

his voyage without royal backing. Hewanted to arrive in the Indies as theambassador of a powerful king, and heneeded the kings money to pay for all theships, crews, and supplies. Columbus wasalso very ambitious and expected to berewarded for his discoveries by being madea noble. So, in 1484, he approached King

John II of Portugal, and explained his plan. Theking did not believe in Marco Polos tales ofCipangu (Japan), so he turned Columbus down. In anycase, John was far more interested in the wealth his shipswere already bringing back from their trips to Africa.

AUDIENCE WITH THE QUEENAfter being rejected in Portugal, Columbusmoved to Spain in 1485 to seek sponsorshipfrom King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.A year later, Isabella met with Columbus inCordova and listened to his plan with interest.

BEFORE THE COMMISSIONFerdinand and Isabella knew little aboutgeography or voyages of exploration, sothey appointed a commission of expertsto see if Columbuss plan madesense. The experts weremostly churchmen, alongwith some scholarsand seamen.

PRESENTING THE PLANColumbus explained his pthe royal experts. To suppideas, he showed them hithe Atlantic, and read to t from his favourite books

geography.

ReconquestFERDINAND AND ISABELLA WERE BUSYfighting, and winning, a war against theMuslim Moors, who ruled southern Spain.

Only after the fall of Granada,the last Muslim stronghold,on 2 January 1492,could they givetheir fullattention toColumbussproposal.

Woodcut of Ferdinand, commemoratingthe conquest of Granada in 1492

Coat of armsof Granada

Arms of Leon andCastille


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THE EXPERTS DECIDEThe experts concluded that Columbuss ideas weremistaken, and that it would take at least threeyears to sail west to Asia. Isabella and Ferdinandwere also put off by Columbuss demands hewanted to rule as viceroy over any lands that hediscovered. In January 1492, after six-and-a-halfyears, Columbus was rejected once again.

T H E Q U E S T F O R A R O Y A L S P O N S O R

Return to PortugalIN 1488, WHILE AWAITING THE EXPERTS DECISION ,Columbus decided to try his luck again in Portugal. Hearrived in time to see the triumphant return of explorerBartolomeu Dias, who had just found a way around thesouthern tip, or cape, of Africa into the Indian Ocean.

The experts were not convincedby Columbusscalculations.

Dias set up across on thecape to claimthe land for Portugal. Columbus hear

the good new from a roya

messenge

FRIEND AT COURTLuis de Santangel, the royal treasurer, was a friend ofColumbus. Santangel told Isabella that Columbuss planwould bring Spain wealth and glory, and help to spreadthe Christian religion. He warned that Spain would loseout if a rival kingdom sponsored the voyage instead.

COLUMBUS CALLED BACKMeanwhile, Columbus packed his belongingsand set off for France, intent on offering hisplan to yet another king. But before long, amessenger caught up with Columbus and toldhim that the queen had changed her mind.He would sail to the Indies after all!

FINANCING THE TRIPSantangel had so much faith in

Columbus that he offered topay for the voyage himself.

Won over by Santangel,Isabella said she would raise

the money for the trip, even ifit meant pawning her jewels.

Gold coin showing Ferdinandand Isabella

Hope and gloomThe cape Dias found was named Good Hope. Diashad opened up an eastern sea route to the Indies.The Portuguese now had no use for Columbus, sohe gloomily made his way back to Spain.

Santangel told Isabella shewas wrongto rejectColumbus.


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SHIPS AND CREW

Spare sails

O N 12 MAY 1492, COLUMBUS TRAVELLEDto the port of Palos, on the south coast

of Spain, to prepare for his voyage tothe Indies. The people of Palos had upset

Ferdinand and Isabella in some way, nowunknown. As punishment, they were orderedto supply Columbus with two ships, Nia and Pinta. Columbus hired a third ship, Santa Maria,from his friend Juan de la Cosa. Getting theships was the easy part. Now Columbus had to findmore than 90 men and boys to crew his three ships.

Santa MariaShips had an official name, usuallythat of a saint, and a female nickname.Columbuss flagship, Santa Maria, wasnicknamed La Gallega(the Galician)after Galicia in northern Spain, whereshe was made. A no, or round-belliedcargo ship, she was the slowest vesselin the fleet, and the hardest to handle.

Finding a crewAt first, nobody in Paloswanted to sail withColumbus. Spanish sailorsdid not want to risk their liveson a dangerous voyage intothe unknown, captained by aforeigner. Columbuss planstruck them as insane.

Falconet

Rowingboat

PUMP Every day the men had to pout water that leaked into thhold. All wooden ships leak

Meals were cookedabove an open fireon afogn(firebox).

WEAPONSColumbus did not know if the peopleof the Indies would be peaceful orhostile, so the ships had small,swivelling guns called falconets, as

well as larger cannons calledlombards. The men were armed withswords, crossbows, and muskets.

INSIDE SANTA MARIAFor four months, Santa Mariawould behome to a crew of more than 40 menand boys together with cockroaches,rats, lice, and fleas! Columbus had his

own cabin, but everyone else slept inthe open air, on deck. The

areas below deck weretoo smelly and cramped.

EAGLE-EYES Lookouts stood forward and at themast-head, their eyesscouring the seas for signs of land.

The anchor was raisedand lowered on a long

thick rope that ranthrough this

hole.


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The Pinzn brothersMARTN ALONSO PINZN, a respected localsea captain, welcomed Columbuss plan tosail to the Indies. Pinzn was eager to sailwith Columbus, and used his influence towin over his younger brother, VincenteYez Pinzn, and the seafarers of Palos.

Martn PinznMade the captain of Pinta, Martnfell outwith Columbus on thevoyage, challenging hischoice of route anddisobeying his orders.

Vincente Pinzn Niawas put under thecharge of Vincente. Inthe years to come, hewould lead his ownvoyages of explorationto South America.

PINTAThe fastest of the threeships, Pintawas a caravelwith square sails, knownas acaravela redonda(round

caravel). Pintais anickname meaning

spotted one; her officialname is not known. Duringthe voyage, Pintawouldoften race ahead of the otherships, looking for land.

Lateensails

NIAThe smallest ship, Nia, was acaravel with lateen sails. Her officialname wasSanta Clara. Niameanslittle girl and was probably a playon the name of her owner, JuanNio, who sailed on the voyage asher second-in-command. Easy tohandle, even in storms, she soonbecame Columbuss favourite ship.

HELMSMANThe helmsman steeredbelow deck, obeyingorders shouted down from the pilot above.

Mizzen mast Main mast Foremast

Bowsprit

Pilot

Slim hull madePinta fast.

BALLASTStones were used asballast, making theship more stable.

Cargo was carriedin the hold.

Chickens for eggs and fresh meat

Falconets were mountedon the ships bulwarks(raised sides).

Checklistof cargo

LOADING SUPPLIESColumbus bought enough suppliesto feed his men for months. Woodenbarrels held wine, water, vinegar,salted fish, pork, and beef. Therewere sacks of rice, flour, lentils, beansand ships biscuits (hard, flat bread)There were also boxes of cannon

balls, gunpowder, crossbow bolts,fishing lines and hooks, and tradegoods such as woollen caps andglass beads.

Columbusscabin

17


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SHORTLY BEFORE SUNRISE ON FRIDAY 3 AUGUST 1492,Columbuss little fleet set off from Palos. The shipssailed south-west, towards the Canary Islands, where theycould take on more supplies. Columbus believed that Japan

lay directly west of the Canaries.With luck and a good wind, he

was sure he would reach Japanin just a few days.

Red crosses werepainted on the sails of the ships. Sailorshoped these Christiansymbols would bringthem Gods protection.

ThePinta , under thcommand of Mart Alonso Pinzn

The FleetSets off


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The littleNia , captainedby Vincente Yez Pinznset off with lateen sails.

The ships flew flagsdecorated with the royalcoat of arms of Spain.

Columbus sailed onthe flagship, theSanta Maria.

I have decided to setdown each day full

details of everything Ido, see, and experienceon this voyageAbove

all, I must have noregard for sleep, butmust carefully watchmy course. All of thiswill be no small task.

Christopher Columbus,

extract from his logbook ofthe voyage, 1492

19th-century painting ofColumbuss fleet


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New foodsEVERYTHING IN THE ISLANDSwas new and strange toColumbus. His men werethe first Europeans to enjoymany foods, such as maize,which we now take forgranted. But they avoidedother Taino foods, such aslizards, spiders, and worms.

24

T H E F L E E T S E T S O F F

IN THE VILLAGESColumbus travelled fromisland to island, visitingTaino villages. Some of the

villages were more like towns,with up to 1,000 hutsand 5,000 inhabitants.

The Tainoswere skilled

at pottery.

Columbus knew that,back in Spain, theTainos would makea big impressionon Ferdinandand Isabella.

Capturing guidesAlthough Columbus was pleased toreach land at last, it was clearly not

Japan. Where were the buildingsroofed with gold? To find Japan,he needed guides, so he capturedseven Tainos and took them backto his ships.

Two of the captiveslater escaped. The rest

would never see their homes again.

EYEWITNESSWe understood themto be asking if we had

come from the sky.

One old man climbedinto the boat while theother men and womenshouted come and see

the men who have comefrom the sky!

Christopher Columbus,extract from his logbook

of the first voyage,1492

Cotton was wovento make loinclothsand hammocks.

Chilli peppersHot chillies

remindedColumbus ofthe spices he

hoped to find inthe Indies,

which is whywe call them

peppers today.

MaizeMaize was roastedand eaten whole,

or ground up tomake a kind ofporridge.

PineappleThis was one of thefew Taino foodsthat the Spaniardsliked as soon asthey tried it.

Cassava rootThe Tainos made

poisonous cassavaroots edible bygrating and soaking

them. Dried cassavawas baked into bread.

Grindingmaize tomake porridge

THE MEN FROMTHE SKYC OLUMBUS HAD ARRIVED AT THE

islands we now know as the Bahamas,which were home to the Taino people.The Tainos were amazed to see strange,bearded men who covered their bodieswith clothes. They thought that the Spaniardshad come down from the sky.Once they hadgot over their fear, the Tainos were eager to pleasethe strangers. Columbus

decided that theseIndians wouldmake fine servants.


24/4625

Brass for goldColumbuss most popular trade goodswere little brass bells. The Tainoswere eager to trade their gold nose

ornaments for these bells, which theywore as earrings. Columbus wasdisappointed to find that the Tainoshad only tiny amounts of gold, andthat the ornaments were wafer thin.

Taino canoesColumbus sailed through the islands,giving each one a new Spanish name,and claiming them all for Spain. Asnews of his arrival spread, manyTainos came out in their canoes to seethe men from the sky. They broughtcolourful parrots, balls of cotton, bowsand arrows, and other goods to trade.

THEY MUST BE INDIANSBelieving he was in the Indies,Columbus naturally assumed that theislanders were Indians. He could see thatthey were not Europeans or Africans. As far ashe knew, this was what Asian people lookedlike. Columbuss mistake means that, to thisday, Native Americans are still called Indians.

The Spaniards received awarm and excitedwelcome. They gave theTainos woollen hats and glass beads to wear.

The bells were made fothe legs of hunting haw

W HICH WAY TO JAPAN ? None of the Tainos had ever heard of Cipangu (Japan) or

the Great Khan of Cathay.

The Tainos had nohard metals, so theytipped their arrows andspears with fish teeth.

SILENT DOGSThe Tainos kept dogs, which they fattenedand ate. The Spaniards were surprised to find that Taino dogs never barked.

The Taino cultureTHE TAINOS WORSHIPPED A GREAT SPIRIT who lived in thesky, where they thought Columbus had come from.They believed that, on Earth, they were surroundedby other spirits, called zemis. Some were forces ofnature, while others were the ghosts of ancestors.

Their foreheads were flattenedas babies, when boards werestrapped to them.

Tall homesTaino homes were

huts made of woodenpoles, with cane

walls and tall,sloping roofs

thatched withpalm leaves.

Some zemis werroughly shaped

stones, otherswere beautiful

carvings.

Each canoe was holloout from a sin

tree trun

DecorationInstead of wearing clothes,the Tainos painted theirbodies in different coloursand patterns. In theirpierced noses and ears

they wore gold orstone jewellery.

ZemisPeople kept smallcarved or potteryfigures of the zemisin their huts, so thatthe spirits wouldprotect their homes.

T H E M E N F R O M T H E S K Y


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SHIPWRECKEDIN HISPANIOLA

Drinking the smoke of herbsThe Spaniards were amazed to seeCuban Tainos drinking the smoke ofrolled up leaves. They were smokingtobacco. The Tainos also inhaled thesmoke through a wooden tube, calleda tobaco, inserted into one nostril.

HammocksThe Tainos slept in long cotton netsslung from the posts of their houses.These hanging beds were known ashamaca. The idea would later beadopted for use on ships by Europeansailors, who called them hammocks.

Columbus outragedOn 21 November, when the fleet washeading south along the Cuban coast, Pinta suddenly sailed off to the east.Tired of obeying Columbus, MartnPinzn had decided to go exploringon his own. Columbus was furiousthat Pinzn had deserted the fleet,taking the fastest ship with him.

H ELPFUL INDIANSColumbus wrote that theTainos wept at his misfortune,and did everything theycould to aid him.

Tobaccoleaves wererolled intocigars.

SALVAGE MISSIONThe next day, the crew returned to their ship to salvage amuch as possible. They unloaded stores and trading goointo the rowing boats fromSanta Maria andNia .

RUN AGROUND!On Christmas Eve (24 December)1492, Santa Mariaran aground onrocks off the coast of Hispaniola.All efforts to refloat her failed.When holes opened up in the hull,which began to fill with water,Columbus gave the order to

abandon ship.

COLUMBUS S GUIDES TOLD HIM OF A LARGE

island to the south that they called Cuba.Thinking that this might be Japan, hesailed to Cuba, but again found no goldenpalaces. However, the friendly Cuban Tainossaid there was another island to the east, calledHaiti, which was rich in gold. On 6 December1492, Columbus reached Haiti. He was amazedby its beauty and relieved that the local Tainosseemed to have plenty of gold ornaments. He gave theisland a new name, La Isla Espaola (the SpanishIsland), which later became Hispaniola.

Everything thatmight be useful wasstripped from the ship.


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T RIUMPHANTHOMECOMING

AFTER A STORMY RETURN JOURNEY

across the Atlantic Ocean, Columbusreached Palos in Spain on 15 March1493. He then travelled overland toBarcelona, where Ferdinand and Isabella

gave him a magnificent royal reception.Sadly for Martn Pinzn, it was a very

different homecoming. On board Pinta, Pinzngot back to Spain first, but the king and queenrefused to see him without Columbus. Pinzn wenthome to Palos, where he is said to have died of grief.

Heros welcomeThe news ofColumbuss greatachievement reached

Barcelona before hedid. His arrival, in April1493, caused a sensation.As he rode through thestreets, everyone came outto gaze at the man whohad found a sea route tothe Indies. Columbus wasacclaimed a hero.

Statue of Columbus byBarcelona's harbour,commemorating his

great discovery

Message in a barrelOn the return journey, the sea was sorough that Columbus thought Niamight sink. He was worried that if hedied, Martn Pinzn, on Pinta, wouldsteal his glory and the men left inHispaniola would be forgotten. So hewrote an account of the voyage, placedit in a barrel, and threw it over the side.

The Catholicsovereigns, surrounded

by their court, awaited himon a magnificent throneunder a golden canopy.

When he came to kiss theirhands, they stood up togreet him as if he were a

great lord, and sathim beside them.

Ferdinand Columbus,The Life of the Admiral,

1530s

Vividly coloureparrots wereadditional prooColumbus had bto the Indies.

ROYAL RECEPTIONThe king and queen welcomed Columbus in thegreat hall of their palace. With his captured Tainosand colourful parrots, Columbus put on a show toimpress them. He explained how he wanted toreturn to Hispaniola and build a Spanish colony.

The Tainos said Ave Maria, a prayer honouringthe Virgin Mary, whichColumbus had taught them.

To the Tainos, the courtwas an astonishing sight.

Columbus presented gold, chiand other souvenirs of his lon


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IN SEPTEMBER 1493, JUST SIX MONTHS AFTER HIStriumphant homecoming, Columbus sailed back toHispaniola. He had a grand fleet of 17 ships, carryingmore than 1,200 men, as well as horses, sheep, pigs,seeds, and everything else he needed to build a Spanishsettlement in the Indies. This time, Columbus had notrouble finding the men to sail with him. Thousands ofSpaniards volunteered, eager to share in the wealth ofHispaniola. They included gentlemen, priests,soldiers, craftsmen,and labourers.

Hispaniola isa wonder. The

mountains, hills, plains,and meadows are fertileand beautiful. They are

most suitable forplanting crops and forall kinds of cattle, andthere are good sites for

building towns and villagesThere are

many great rivers, andmost contain gold.

Christopher Columbus,from a letter written on

his first voyage,15 February 1493

The Spanish

Settlement

N AVIDADThis 1493 woodcut showsColumbuss men constructing the fort of Navidad during his firstvoyage. Columbus hoped to buildhis new settlement around the fort.


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T H E S P A N I S H S E T T L E M E N T

C OLUMBUSRETURNSO N 27 NOVEMBER 1493,

Columbus returned to Navidad,where he had left behind 39men at the end of his first voyage.He was looking forward to a happy

reunion with them, and was certain that bynow they would have collected heaps of gold.Columbus was horrified to learn that they were alldead, and that their fort had been destroyed. Thelocal Tainos said that they were not to blame, but

Columbus could no longer trust them. Hesailed east, to found a new settlement.

THE SECOND VOYAGEWhile the settlers tried to get used tolife on Hispaniola, Columbus set offexploring again in April 1494 on trusty Nia. He sailed along the south coastof Cuba, which he still thought was theAsian mainland, and reached Jamaica.But he found no signs of the wealthof Asia. In September, he becameseriously ill. Suffering from fever andtemporary blindness, he returned toHispaniola a disappointed man.

FATE OF NAVIDADThe Tainos told Columbus that themen of Navidad had quarrelled amongthemselves, splitting into rival groups.Some were killed by fellow Spaniards,while others died of disease. But mostdied when a powerful cacique (king),called Caonabo, attacked their fortand burned it to the ground.

Cannibal islandsOn the way to Hispaniola, Columbus

visited the islands of the fierce Caribs,who gave their name to the Caribbeanand to the word cannibal. Historiansstill argue over whether they really atehuman flesh. Columbus was sure thatthey did: in their houses, he saw humanlimbs in cooking pots and captiveTainos who were being fattened up.

The great fleetThis picture shows Columbuss fleetof colonizers setting off from Spain,with Ferdinand and Isabella sayinggoodbye. The Tainos had beenamazed by the sight of Columbussthree ships on his first voyage.Imagine how they felt when they now

saw 17 ships arriving!

Some important buildinwere made of stone, butSpaniards mostly lived small thatched huts.

Caonabo led asurprise attack

at night.

32

27 November 1483Columbus hearsof the fate of Navidad.

2 January 1494Columbus founds Isabela.

14 November 1493 First encounter

with the Caribs.

25 September 1494Columbus becomesseriously ill and headsback to Hispaniola.

AprilSeptember 1494Columbus exploresCuba and Jamaica.

H I S PA N I O L AP U E RTO

R IC O

C U B A

J A M A I C A

A T L A N T I C O

C E A N

C A R I

B B E A N

S E A


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C O L U M B U S R E T U R N S

FlamingoesWhile exploring the tiny islands offCuba, Columbus marvelled at the sightof masses of brightly coloured wadingbirds. From a distance, they lookedlike flocks of pink sheep. These wereflamingoes, named after the Spanishword flamenco (flaming).

Columbus planned Isabelaaround a main public square,like a typical Spanish town.

A trade in diseasesTHE SPANIARDS and the Tainos each passedon unfamiliar diseases to the other, withdevastating effect. Many Spaniards caughttropical fevers and syphilis, while theTainos died from smallpox and measles.

Smallpox virusThe smallpox virus travelled

to Hispaniola as aninvisible passenger onColumbuss ships. InEurope, it killed manychildren, but most adults

were immune to it. Forthe Tainos, it was fatal.

FIRST CHURCHThe church of Isabela was the

first built in the Americas. Thesound of its bell fascinated the Hispaniola Tainos.

ISABELAColumbus called his new capital Isabela, inhonour of the queen. He chose the location inthe mistaken belief that there were gold minesnearby. It was an unhealthy, mosquito-infestedplace. By 1500, Isabela had been abandoned.

Taino guides led

the Spanishexplorers inland.

INTO THE INTERIOR Columbus was desperate to find gold tosend back to Ferdinand and Isabella, inorder to justify the expense of the colony.In January 1494, he sent a party of armedSpaniards inland to look for gold mines.They were led by a tough, aggressivesoldier called Alonso de Hojeda.

Female mosquitoes passon tropical fevers asthey feed on blood.

Taino caciquesHispaniola was made up of severalkingdoms, each ruled by a great king,or cacique (pronounced katheekay).There were also many lesser caciques,ruling the villages. Caciques weretreated with great respect and carriedon litters. To govern Hispaniola,Columbus needed to win over thecaciques or defeat them in battle.

MosquitoesA week after arriving, 400Spanish settlers becameill with an unknowndisease, probably causedby mosquito bites. Therewere so many mosquitoesin Isabela that Columbuswas nicknamed, Admiralof the Mosquitoes.

By 1494, two-thirds of the Spanishsettlers in Isabela had died. In 1492, there were around 100million Native Americans. By 1600,European diseases had killed 90 millionof them the worst disaster in history. One Spaniard wrote that the Indiansdie so easily that the bare look andsmell of a Spaniard makes them giveup the ghost. A mild form of syphilis alreadyexisted in Europe, but the American

version brought back by the Spaniardswas far worse. The first mass outbreakof this disease was in Italy, in 1494.

FACT file


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T H E S P A N I S H S E T T L E M E N T

H ORROR ONHISPANIOLAFOLLOWING HIS RETURN TO HISPANIOLA ,

in September 1494, Columbus was ill forfive months. The colony was ruled by hisyounger brothers, Diego and Bartolom, whohad crossed the sea to share in their brothersfortune. As foreigners, all three brothers wereunpopular with the Spaniards. The Spanishsettlers also felt that Columbus had lied to themabout the wealth of Hispaniola. While Columbuslay on his sickbed, gangs of discontented Spaniardswere roaming around the island, living by plunderingTaino villages. The Tainos began to fight back.

DECISIVE BATTLEAfter recovering from illness, Columbuslearned that the most powerful Tainocaciques had joined together and raiseda huge army, thousands strong. InMarch 1495, he set off to fight them.His 200 Spanish soldiers were vastlyoutnumbered, but they had superiorweapons and devastated the Taino army.

Reign of terrorThe Tainos reacted to raids on their

villages by ambushing stray Spaniards.Columbus did not want to riskupsetting his men. Instead of punishingthem for their brutal behaviour, he sentthem on an expedition against theTainos. Hundreds of Tainos were killedor brought back to Isabela as slaves.

SHIPMENT OF SLAVESIn 1495, Columbus sent 500 Taino slavesback to Spain. He hoped that these slaveswould make up for his failure to send thegold he had promised. But the king andqueen were not happy with Columbussgift they had sent him to convert theTainos to Christianity, not to enslave them.

Between 1494 and 1496, a third ofall the Tainos on Hispaniola died. Apart from the Tainos killed by theSpaniards, thousands died of disease,starvation, and overwork. Unable tocope with Spanish rule, others killedthemselves by taking cassava poison. In 1492, there were some 300,000Tainos on Hispaniola. By 1548, therewere less than 500 left. In 1510, the Spaniards began to shipAfrican slaves to Hispaniola, to replacethe dwindling numbers of Tainos.

FACT file

D EATH TOLLOf the 500 Tainos thatColumbus captured and senSpain, 200 perished duringvoyage. The rest died soon

The Tainos were terrified by the sightof armoured Spaniards on horseback.They had never seen horses before.

T HUNDER -STICKSThe battle began with the roar of musketeers firing their matchlock guns. To the Tainos, matchlockswere magic sticks that madethunder and spewed fire.


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To the

MainlandO N HIS THIRD VOYAGE , IN 1498, COLUMBUS FOUND A LONGcoastline, broken by the mouth of a mighty river whosewater made the sea taste fresh for miles around. Such a greatriver could not flow from an island. Columbus realized thathe had reached a mainland. This mainland would later beknown as South America.

Just off the mainland, Co found a large island, whic named Trinidad in honou Holy Trinity (God as FathSon, and Holy Spirit).

Columbuss fleet sailedbetween Trinidad andthe mainland.

Christopher Columbus,

from a letter to Juana de la Torre,

Queen Isabellasfriend, 1500

Sixteenth-centurywoodcut depicting scenesfrom the third voyage

I made a new voyage to new skies

and lands whichhad been hidden

until nowBy myefforts, these lands

are now known.


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H I S PA N I O L A

IS A B E L A

S A N TAD O M I N G O

P U E RT OR IC O

C UB A

S O U T H AM E R I C A

IS L AM A R G A R I TA

J A M A I C A

5 August 1498Columbus sets fooon the mainland.

5 August 1498Giant wavehits the ships.

21 August 1498The ships reach Hispaniola.

Early October 1500Columbus is sent backto Spain in chains.

T R I N I D A D

A T L A N T I C O C E A N

C A R I B B E A N S E A

38

T O T H E M A I N L A N D

Audience of monkeysOn 5 August 1498, Columbus landedon the mainland. To legally claim theland for Spain, he needed an audienceof local people. The only inhabitants he

found were chattering monkeys, so heput off the ceremony until the next day,when some friendly Indians turned up.

ANOTHER WORLD

THE THIRD VOYAGEColumbuss exploration of the mainlandwas cut short by a fresh bout of illness.Returning to Hispaniola, he reachedSanta Domingo, the islands new capital,on 31 August 1498. His brotherBartolom had founded Santa Domingoto replace the mosquito-infested Isabela.

THE KING AND QUEEN WERE WORRIED BYevents in Hispaniola, but they had notyet lost faith in Columbus. They agreedto pay for a third voyage of exploration,

which set off in May1498. Columbus wasamazed to find amainland, which hedescribed as another

world. After exploring

part of its coast, he returned toHispaniola. He found the island ina state of chaos: half the Spaniardshad rebelled against his brother, Bartolom.

EYEWITNESSI have come to

believe that this is a vastcontinent, previously

unknown. I am led tothis view by the greatriver and the fresh-water

sea. If this be acontinent, it is amarvellous thing.

Christopher Columbus,journal of his third voyage,

14/15 August1498

ENCOMIENDATo bring order to Hispaniola, Columbusinvented a new system. He gave eachSpanish settler a large plot of land, togetherwith the labour of all the Tainos living there.This was later called the encomienda(in trussystem, because the land and Indians wereheld in the trust of the Spaniards.

The Tainos hawork hard, gr food for theirSpanish mast

Giant waveOff the coast of Trinidad, Columbussships were almost wrecked by a giantwave, possibly caused by an undersea

volcano. The wave lifted the ships highinto the air, and then plunged them solow that they could see the bottom.


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Strange notionsC OLUMBUS FOUND IT HARD to fit his newlydiscovered mainland an unknowncontinent, not mentioned in the Bible into his view of the world. He alsodeveloped some odd ideasabout the shape of the Earth.

39

A N O T H E R W O R L D

BOBADILLAFerdinand and Isabella heard alarming reports of the chaosin Hispaniola. They sent Francisco de Bobadilla, a Spanishnobleman, to restore order. On 23 August 1500, he reachedSanta Domingo, where Diego Columbus was in command.Bobadilla was shocked to find that Diego had just hangedseven Spanish rebels, and was about to hang five more.

CHAINEDIN IRONS

Won over bytales he heard from

Columbuss enemies, Bobadillaarrested all three brothers and

had them chained in irons. Theywere kept in prison for over amonth, and then sent back to

Spain by ship to stand trial.

Columbus never gotover the humiliation of being chained up.

Pear-shaped worldColumbus, who was sick at thetime, convinced himself that thestars were nearer to Earth thanusual. He decided that he wassailing uphill and getting closer tothe sky. This led him to concludethat the Earth was pear shaped.

Paradise found?The Earthly Paradise, described in the

Book of Genesis, was the only land in theBible whose location no one knew.

Columbus believed that the EarthlyParadise lay on this newly

discovered continent.

People were shocked by thesight of the chained Columbusreturning in disgrace.

DISGRACEDBobadilla chargedColumbus withoppressing the

Spanish settlers andwithholding goldfrom the king andqueen. However,Columbus was nevertried. Upset by theway that Bobadillahad treated him,Ferdinand and Isabellaimmediately pardonedColumbus. He neverforgot the experience.

Columbus thought he wasailing towards the stemof a pear-shaped Earth.

The ships captain who took himback to Spain felt sorry for Columbus,and offered to remove the chains.Columbus refused, saying he wouldkeep wearing his chains until the kingand queen ordered their removal.

Columbus wore his chains for morethan three months.

He wore the chains to show how hehad been rewarded for his manyservices to Ferdinand and Isabella.

For the rest of his life, Columbuskept the chains in his bedroom, toremind him of his treatment. He evenasked to be buried with the chains.

FACT file

Spaniards hanged for rebelling against

the Columbusbrothers


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HURRICANE!During the summer, theCaribbean can be ravagedby violent wind systemscalled hurricanes. Columbusreached the Caribbean in time forone of the worst hurricanes in

years. His ships survived, buta fleet of 20 ships returningfrom Hispaniola toSpain was destroyed.Among the 500 deadwas his old enemy,Bobadilla.

ACROSS THEWILD CARIBBEAN

Mayas of the mainlandThe ships encountered some Indiansin a boat wearing beautifully wovenclothes. They were Maya peoplefrom Central America. This wasthe first European contact with one ofthe rich civilizations of the mainland.

Indian crocodiles?On the mainland, Columbus saw

alligators, which he presumed werecrocodiles. Columbus may have takenthis as an encouraging sign, becausehe knew from books he had read thatthere were crocodiles in India.

FERDINAND AND ISABELLA WELCOMED

Columbus at court, but refused toreinstate him as governor, since it wasclear that he had made a mess of rulingHispaniola. For months, Columbusbombarded them with complaints abouthis treatment. He made such a nuisanceof himself that they agreed to let him lead

one more voyage of exploration. In1502, Columbus sailed with four ships

across the Caribbean, searching foran ocean route to India. It was a

terrible voyage across awild, stormy sea.

H EAVY DAMAGEThe wind tore at the sa Anchors, rigging, and cwere lost, as were the rboats and many stores.

Pottery figureof Mayanwoman

EYEWITNESSEyes never saw the sea

so viciousNever did thesky appear so threateninglightning came in such great

flashes that I wonderedwhether it would destroy

my masts and sails. And allthe while water came down

from heaven withoutceasingmen longed fordeath to put them out of

their miseryChristopher Columbus,

from a letter to

Ferdinand and Isabella,7 July 1503



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STRANDED !

EYEWITNESSI am cut offalone

in my troubles,sick, each day

expecting death,and surrounded bya million cruel andhostile savages....

if you have charity,truth, and justice,

weep for me!Christopher Columbus,

from a letter toFerdinand and Isabella,

7 July 1503

The mutineers robbTaino villages as throwed along the cotowards Hispaniola

TWO OF COLUMBUS S WORM -EATEN SHIPwere leaking so badly that he had toabandon them. He headed north withthe remaining pair, Santiagoand La Capitantowards Hispaniola. Carried off course byeasterly winds and currents, Columbus foundhimself off Cuba. He tried to sail east toHispaniola, but could make no progress againstthe winds. The ships were dangerously low in thewater, and the crews were exhausted by constantwork at the pumps. Columbus was forced to land in Jamaica,where he would be stranded for over a year.

PORRAS REVOLTSFrancisco de Porras, captain of Santiago, spread a rumourthat Columbus did not intend to leave Jamaica, but wantedto keep everybody there to die with him. On 2 January1504, he convinced 48 men to join him in a mutiny. Themutineers took ten Taino canoes and headed for Hispaniola.

Columbus set off on his fourth voyage with a crew of 143, including55 boys. The large number of boysmay have been due to the fact they

could be paid less than grown men. More than 40 of the crew died onthe voyage. They perished fromsickness, drowning, and in battles withthe Indians and each other.

Only 25 of the survivors returned toSpain. The rest stayed in Hispaniola.They had done enough seafaring.

Diego Mendez was so proud of hisrescue mission that he had a canoecarved on his grave stone.

On the decks, themen built woodenhuts, thatched withpalm leaves.

Sails were fixedon the canoes.

SAILING FOR HELPOn 17 July 1503, DiegoMendez, a loyal follower ofColumbus, set off for Hispaniolato get help. He took two Tainocanoes, manned by sevencrewmen and ten Indians.

HOUSEBOATSOn 25 June 1503, the shipswere beached and turnedinto homes. Columbussgreatest worry was that the

Jamaican Tainos might attack.To avoid provoking them, heordered his men to stay onboard, allowing only a fewto go inland to trade for food.Penned up for months, thecrews grew increasinglyfrustrated. Meanwhile,Columbus lay sick in his cabin.

FACT file


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S T R A N D E D !

Disappointmentin deathC OLUMBUS RETURNED TO SPAIN inNovember 1504. He was now an old

man, his health ruined by his long voyages. He spent his last monthspleading unsuccessfully to have hisrights restored. He died on 20 May1506. With his voyages of exploration,he had changed the course of worldhistory. Yet, to the day hedied, Columbus neverrealized that he hadnot reached Asia.

A CUNNING PLANWhen the Tainos stopped bringing food tothe ships, Columbus came up with a cleverplan to scare them into obedience. He knewfrom an astronomy book that there would bean eclipse of the Moon on 29 February. Hetold the Tainos that he would punish them

that night by asking God to put out thelight of the Moon. The trick worked,

and the terrified Tainos brought all thefood they could find.

The men fought mainlywith swords, since there waslittle gunpowder left.

SWORD FIGHTThe mutineers tried and failed three timesto reach Hispaniola in their canoes. Porrasnow accused Columbus of using witchcraftto keep them in Jamaica. On 19 May, themutineers marched back towards the shipsto fight. Bartolom Columbus went to meetthem with 50 armed men. A fierce battlefollowed, which Bartolom won. Porras wascaptured, and the mutineers surrendered.

After a year and five days on Jamaica, the men wereoverjoyed to see Mendezs ship.

Columbuss mwere fitter abetter fed ththe mutinee

RESCUED AT LASTAlthough Diego Mendez had reached

Hispaniola by August 1503, it wasseveral months before he was able to buya ship and load it with supplies to send to

Columbus. The ship arrived at the end of June 1504, nearly a year since Mendez hadleft with his canoes. Columbus told Mendez

that the day of his rescue was the most joyfulin his life. He had expected to die in Jamaica.

Monks say prayersover the dying

Columbus, while hissons look on

The Tainos panicked asthe Moon, turned blood-red by the eclipse, began

to disappear.


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VOYAGES OFEXPLORATION

John CabotLike Columbus, Cabot was

a Genoese seafarer. In 1497,he sailed west in search ofthe Indies, backed by KingHenry VII of England. Hereached North America,and believed it to be China.In 1498, he set off onanother voyage, but wasnever heard from again.

Balboa reaches the PacificIn 1513, Vasco Nez deBalboa led an expedition acrossthe American mainland, andbecame the first European tosee the Pacific Ocean. Wearingarmour and waving his sword,he waded into the water anddeclared that this sea and all itsislands now belonged to Spain.However, Balboa did notsuspect that the Pacific is theworlds largest ocean, coveringa third of the Earths surface.

F A C T F I N D E R

44

BY THE LATE 1490 S,Columbuss voyages had

inspired other explorers to setoff across the Atlantic. At first,they shared Columbuss hopethat they would reach theIndies. But gradually theyrealized that the lands acrossthe Atlantic had nothing to do

with Asia. They had found twocontinents previously unknownto Europeans, later namedNorth and South America.

Vespucci and the New WorldAmerigo Vespucci made two

voyages to the mainland, in 1499and in 1501. Vespucci realized thatthe mainland was not part of theIndies. He wrote that it was a NewWorld, which he claimed to havediscovered. This impressed a Germanmapmaker, who suggested the nameAmerica in Vespuccis honour.

CABOT LEAVING BRISTOL , ENGLAND , ON 20 MAY 1497

Ferdinand MagellanIn 1519, Ferdinand Magellan led a Spanishfleet in search of a strait (passage of water)through America to the Pacific. He founda strait, at the tip of South America, andthen discovered the true size of thePacific. It took Magellan almost fourmonths to reach the Philippines,where he was killed. Only oneof his four ships, the Vittoria ,made it back to Spain. Afterthree years at sea, Vittoriabecame the first ship tosail around the world.

EQUATOR

Vespucci1499~1500

Magellan1519

Cabot1497

PACIFICO CEAN

ATLANTICO CEAN

SOUTH

A MERICA

A FRICA

N ORTH A MERICA

E UROP

KEY TO MAP :CABOTVESPUCCIBALBOAMAGELLAN

LAND BARRIER Europeans were shocked to learnthat a vast land barrier blocked anysea route to the wealth of the Indies.But when Balboa walked acrossAmerica at its narrowest part (Panama),it was hoped that this was a narrowcontinent, and the Indies might be

just a short sea journey beyond.Magellans voyage across the Pacificsoon disproved this theory.

Balboa1513

P ANAMA

CARIBBEANSEA

PACIFICO CEAN


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Improvements in navigationTO NAVIGATE , Columbus relied simply on his compass.He owned a quadrant, which was meant to be used towork out latitude (northsouth position) from the stars.But Columbus always made mistakes with his quadrant.In time, as more European ships took to the open seas,new and better tools for navigation were developed.

ChronometerThe greatest navigational problem was

finding a ships longitude (eastwestposition). The solution was the

chronometer a clock thatkept accurate time on long voyages. The navigatorcompared local time, workedout from the height of the

Sun, with the time backhome, shown on the clock.

The difference told him howfar the ship had sailed east or west.

V O Y A G E S O F E X P L O R A T I O N

45

QuadrantA quadrant consisted of a quarter circlewith a plumbline attached. One side ofthe quadrant was aimed at the PoleStar. The stars height, measured bythe angle of the plumbline, revealed aships latitude. But it was very hard touse on the rolling deck of a ship.

T HE WORLD S TRUE SIZEMagellans voyage revealed just how wrongColumbus had been in his ideas of geography.The world was much larger than Columbussuspected, and there was no short-cut to theIndies. The Americas and the Pacific Ocean

stood in the way.

Compare this with the worldmap on pages 67, made onlyabout 60 years earlier. It ismuch more like the maps youcan find in modern atlases.

This line shows the route takenby Magellans shipVittoriain 1519-22, on her historicvoyage around the world.

On reaching the Philippine Magellan got caught up in local war. He was killed inbattle on 27 April 1521. Magellan had set off with men. Only 17 returned toSpain onVittoria .

Crossing thevast Pacific, Magellans men grew so hungry that theyate rats, sawdust, and leather.

The anglewas read off this scale.

This sidewas pointedat the PoleStar.

Plumbline

Q UADRANT(FIRST USED ATSEA 1450 S)

Eyepiece Mirrors

Scale

SEXTANT(INVENTED

1730 S)

C HRONOMETER(INVENTED1760 S)

Moveable bar

This tipwas aimed

at a star or the Sun.

A sextant was quicker to use than a cross-staff, and moreaccurate.

Scale

This tip was alignedwith the horizon.

C ROSS -STAFF(INVENTEDEARLY 1500 S)

Cross-staffThe cross-staff was easier to use thana quadrant. The navigator held therod to his cheek, moving the slidingcross-piece to gauge the height of astar or the Sun above the horizon.Measurements of latitude were readoff a scale along the staffs edge.

A WORLD MAP , C .1550

Two continen Australia an

Antarctica, were swaiting to be fou

Some Americancoastlines had yet to bemapped.

SextantThe navigator looked through the sextants eyepiece atthe horizon. Then he adjusted a mirror, fixed to amoving bar, until it reflected the Sun or a star onto ahalf-transparent mirror in front of his eyepiece. Theangle of the bar, read off the scale, told him his latitude.


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After ColumbusTHE PERIOD OF AMERICAN HISTORY before the Spanishconquest is known as Precolumbian (beforeColumbus). Columbuss voyages, which led to theconquests, changed almost everything in the Americas.The conquistadores introduced new animals, such ashorses, sheep, pigs, and cattle; new food crops, such

as wheat; tools made from iron and steel; wheeledtransport; and, of course, the Spanish language.

C O N Q U I S T A D O R E S

47

GOLDEN REWARDThe mainland peoples used gold for jewelleryand ornaments. These were melted down bythe conquistadores and sent back to Spain.American gold and silver made Spain richand powerful, and wasused to financeEuropean wars.

PIZARRO AND THE INCASFrancisco Pizarro led a tiny force of 180

Spaniards to Peru in 1532. He arrivedwhen the Inca empire was weak due tocivil war. In a bold move, Pizarro captured

the Inca emperor, Atahualpa, in front ofhis own army and demanded a roomful ofgold as ransom. Atahualpa paid the ransom,

but Pizarro had him strangled anyway.

Spanish doubloonsMuch of the Aztec and Inca

gold was made into coins like thesedoubloons, which are decorated with

the royal lion and castle of Spain.

Religious legacyThe Spaniards made thenative peoples give up theirold religions and becomeChristians. This cathedral, inMexico City, was built on topof the ruins of Aztec templestorn down by conquistadoresMexico City itself is aEuropean-style capital, builton the site of Tenochtitln.

What survived?

Despite the changes, manyaspects of Native Americandaily life survived theSpanish conquest. Women inMexico and Central Americstill cook meals, such asmaize tortillas, which wereeaten by the Aztecs and theMaya. Traditional skills andcrafts live on, too: cloth isstill woven using a backstraloom, just as it has been formany thousands of years.

C ONQUEST OF THE MAYAThe Maya were the oldest mainland civilization,and they were already in decline when theSpaniards arrived. Yet they put up the strongestresistance to the conquistadores. They lived inmany kingdoms, which had to be conquered oneby one. The lastMaya strongholdfell in 1697.

MAYAN TEMPLES Like the Aztecs, the Maya built their templeson top of huge stonepyramids. This one is atUxmal, in Mexico. Likemany Maya cities,Uxmal was abandoned400 years before theconquistadores arrived.

Machu Pichu was onlydiscovered in 1911.

This painted wooden beaker shows an Inca noble in a headdress, walking behindhis conqueror, a Spanish trumpeter.

Doubloons carriedthe Christian Cros

The Magicians Pyramid is 38 m

(117 ft) high.

NecklaceThis goldnecklace wasfound buriedinside the AztecsGreat Temple atTenochtitln.

Nose plugA Mexican gold noseplug one of the few

not melted down by theconquistadores.

MAGICIAN SPYRAMID ,UXMAL ,MEXICO

Beads decoratedwith spirals

Lost city of the IncasThe Incas were expert stonemasons who built mightycities and fortresses out of huge stone blocks. This isMachu Pichu, an Inca mountain stronghold 2,400 m(7,875 ft) above sea level. It was never found by theSpaniards, yet it was abandoned around the time ofthe conquest. Half the Inca population had diedfrom European smallpox, which sweptthrough South America, evenbefore Pizarros arrival.


45/46

AAfrica, 6, 9, 10, 11Ailly, Pierre d, 12Alexander VI, Pope,

29alligators, 40alphabet, 46armour, 35Atahualpa, Emperor,

47Atlantic Ocean, 10,

13, 23Aztecs, 46, 47

BBahamas, 24Balboa, Vasco de, 44baptisms, 29

Barcelona, 28, 29battles, 40Behaim, Martin, 13bells, 25Bible, 13biscuits, 41Bobadilla, F. de, 39,

40body decorations,

25breastplates, 35

CCabot, John, 44

caciques, 32, 33, 34calendar, 46Canary Islands, 18,

20cannibals, 32cannons, 16, 27canoes, 25, 27, 42Caonabo, 32, 35Cape of Good

Hope, 15captives, 24, 28, 34caravans, 9caravels, 7, 17Carib people, 27, 32

Caribbean Ocean,2627, 29, 40

cassava, 24, 34

Cathay, see ChinaCentral America, 40,

41, 4647Ceylon, see Sri

Lankachilli peppers, 24China (Cathay), 7,

8, 44Christianity, 15, 22,

46converts, 11, 34,47

Christopher, Saint,13

chronometers, 45Cipangu, see Japancoat of arms, 29codices, 46colonies, 28, 33

Columbus,Bartolom, 34, 35,38, 41, 43

Columbus,Christopher:death, 43early voyages,1011first voyage,1827fourth voyage,4043homecomings,2829, 35, 39, 43

illness, 32, 34, 38,42imprisonment, 39planning, 1213,14preparations,1617second voyage, 32signature of, 29sponsors, 1415third voyage,3639

Columbus, Diego,34, 39

Columbus,Ferdinand, 41

compass, 11, 21

conquistadores,4647

Corts, Hernn, 46Cosa, Juan de la, 16crew, 1617crossbows, 35cross-staffs, 45crusades, 9Cuba, 26, 27, 32, 42

DEdead reckoning, 21Dias, Bartolomeu, 15diseases, 33, 41, 47dogs, 25, 35doubloons, 47Earth, 13, 39, 45Earthly Paradise, 39eclipse, lunar, 43encomiendasystem, 38exploration, 617, 44

Ffalconets, 16, 17Ferdinand & Isabella

of Spain, 1415,2829, 32, 3840

flamingoes, 33fleas, 41flies, 41 fogn, 16, 22food, 22, 24, 41forts, 27, 30friars, 46

GGenoa, 10globes, 13gods, Aztec, 46gold, 11, 25, 26, 29,

33, 35, 47Gold Coast, 11Granada, 14Guinea, 10, 11

HIHaiti, 26hammocks, 26helmets, 35Henry VII, King, 44

Henry theNavigator, 9

Hispaniola, 28, 29, 42

conquest of, 35discovery of,2627rebellion, 38, 39return to, 3035

Hojeda, Alonso de,33, 35

homes, 25horses, 34hourglass, 21hurricanes, 40

I Imago Mundi, 12Incas, 46, 47India, 8Indian Ocean, 6, 7,

15Indies, 8Isabela (town), 33, 38Isabella, Queen, see

Ferdinand &

Isabella

JKL Jamaica, 32, 4243 Japan (Cipangu), 8,

14, 18, 24, 26 jewellery, gold, 47 John II, King, 14Kublai Khan, 8 La Capitana, 42Lisbon, 1011logbook, 19, 2021lombards, 16looms, 47

MMachu Pichu, 47Magellan, Ferdinand,

44, 45maize, 24, 47matchlocks, 34, 35Maya, 40, 46, 47Mendez, Diego, 42,

43Mexico, 46, 47Moctezuma, 46monkeys, 38Moors, 14

mosquitoes, 33Muslims, 9, 14, 35mutinies, 22, 42, 43

NONative Americans,

25, 33, 37, 4647Navidad, 27, 30, 32navigation, 11, 21,

45 Nia, 16, 17, 19, 20,

27, 32, 35Nio, Juan, 17North America, 44Ottoman Empire, 9

PPacific Ocean, 44,

45Palos, 1617, 18, 28Panama, 44parrots, 28pearls, 37Peru, 46, 47Philippines, 44, 45pineapples, 24

Pinta, 16, 17, 18, 20,22, 23, 28Pinzn, Martn, 17,

18, 22, 23, 26,27, 28

Pinzn, Vincente,17, 19

Pizarro, Francisco,47

Polo, Marco, 7, 89,12

Porras, Francisco de,42, 43

portolan map, 11

Portugal, 6, 9,1011, 14, 15

Prester John, 9pumps, 16, 41

QR quadrants, 45quipus, 46rats, 41rebellions, 38, 39record keeping, 46rudders, 20

SSan Salvador, 23Santa Domingo, 38,

39

Santa Maria, 16, 19,20, 2627

Santa Maria deBlen, 41

Santangel, Luis de,15

Santiago, 41, 42Sargasso Sea, 21settlements, 27,

3035, 42sextants, 45shipworms, 41shipwrecks, 10,

2627Silk Road, 89slaves, 11, 34, 38smallpox, 33, 47South America, 36,

38Spain, 1415, 16,

2829colonies, 4647

spices, 8, 11, 24spirits, 25Sri Lanka (Ceylon),

7, 8swords, 35syphilis, 33

TTainos, 2429, 32,

33, 42, 43battles, 3435slaves, 34, 38

temples, 47Tenochtitln, 46

tobacco, 26Toscanelli, Paolo,

12trade goods, 17, 25traverse board, 21Trinidad, 36, 38

VWZVespucci, Amerigo,

44Vittoria, 44, 45waterspouts, 41waves, giant, 38weapons, 16, 34, 35

winds, 23writing, 46zemis, 25

Index

The publisher would like to thankthe following for their kindpermission to reproduce theirimages:

Position key: c=centre; b=bottom;l=left; r=right; t=top

AKG London: 10tl, 26bl, 44bc;Bibliotheque Nationale 8br, 9tr; BritishLibrary 11t; Erich Lessing 29br; SevillaBiblioteca Columbina 12cl; Veintimilla47cl; Bridgeman Art Library, London / New York: Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid,Spain 46tr; British Library 67, 9b; Libraryof Congress, Washington 35 cr; BritishLibrary, London: 34cl, 45b; BritishMuseum: 8bl, 12tl, 15cr, 47br; INAH

40bl, 46bl; Corbis UK Ltd: 3637;Bettmann 32cl; The Art Archive: PalazzoFarnese Caprarola/Dagli Orti 44br; MaryEvans Picture Library: 1819dps, 39tl; DeLorgues 43br; Glasgow UniversityLibrary: Ms Hunter 46cr; INAH: 40bl,46bl; Katz Pictures: The MansellCollection 14bl, 15tl, 3031; Museum ofMankind: 47t; Museum of Order St.

John: 35c (above); Peter Newark's

Pictures: 44cl; Ernest Board 44tr; NationalMaritime Museum: 11tc, 12br, 41bc, 45tr,45cr; N.H.P.A.: Kevin Schafer 39cr;Robin Wigington, Arbour Antiques: 35tl;Scala Group S.p.A.: Biblioteca NazionaleFirenze 46c; Science Photo Library: Eyeof Science 33tl; Wallace Collection: 35cl(above); Warwick Castle: 35tc.

Acknowledgments


46/46

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