HRISTOPHER C COLUMBUS
EXPLORER OF THE NEW WORLD
Portuguese traders importing slaves from Africa
The royal treasurer begs Queen Isabella of Spain to back Columbus’s voyage.
The Pinta
Columbus lands at San Salvador.
Written by
PETER CHRISP Illustrated by
PETER DENNIS
LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH, MELBOURNE, and DELHI
Project Editor Steve Setford Art Editor Peter Radcliffe Senior Editor Marie Greenwood Senior Art Editor Carole Oliver Managing Art Editor Jacquie Gulliver Publishing Manager Jayne Parsons US Editors Gary Werner and Margaret Parrish DTP Designer Nomazwe Madonko Picture Researchers Amanda Russell, Pernilla Pearce, and Marie Osborn Jacket Designer Dean Price Production Kate Oliver, Jenny Jacoby Additional illustrations by David Ashby
THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
IN SEARCH OF THE INDIES
This edition published in the United States in 2006 by DK Publishing, Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copyright © 2001, 2006 Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved under International Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. DK books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact: DK Publishing Special Markets 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
[email protected] A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-13 978-0-789479-36-5 ISBN-10 0-7894-7936-2 (Hardcover) ISBN-13 978-0-756619-65-7 ISBN-10 0-7566-1965-3 (Paperback)
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
THE PLAN
Reproduced by Colourscan, Singapore Printed in China by Toppan Printing Co (Shenzhen) Ltd. For Lisa
Discover Di er m more at
www.dk.com
THE QUEST FOR A ROYAL SPONSOR
SHIPS AND CREW THE FLEET SETS OFF
20
36
THE VOYAGE
TO THE MAINLAND
24
38
THE MEN FROM THE SKY
ANOTHER WORLD
26
SHIPWRECKED IN HISPANIOLA
28
TRIUMPHANT HOMECOMING
30
THE SPANISH SETTLEMENT
32
COLUMBUS RETURNS
34
HORROR ON HISPANIOLA
40
ACROSS THE WILD CARIBBEAN
42
STRANDED!
44
VOYAGES OF EXPLORATION
46
CONQUISTADORES
48
INDEX
The Age of
Exploration 1400S, Europeans knew little about the wider world. But everything changed in the 15th century, when the kingdom of Portugal began to send ships out on voyages of exploration. Portuguese explorers worked their way down the western coast of Africa, establishing trading posts as they went, and found a route into the Indian Ocean.
U
NTIL THE EARLY
“
This is the story of heroes who, leaving their native Portugal behind them, opened a way to Ceylon [Sri Lanka], and further, across seas no man had ever sailed before. Luis de Camoens (Portuguese poet) The Lusiads, 1572
”
Portugal The African coast, with names given by Portuguese explorers World map by Henricus Martellus, c.1490
CARAVEL In little ships called caravels, Portuguese explorers sailed out into the unknown Atlantic Ocean.
Caravels had lateen (triangular) sails, which were better than square sails for sailing into the wind.
CITIES OF CATHAY The Venetian Marco Polo had visited China, or Cathay as he called it, in the 13th century. He returned with tales of Cathay’s wealthy cities.
Ceylon (Sri Lanka), in the Indian Ocean
T H E
A G E
O F
E X P L O R A T I O N
IN SEARCH
OF THE INDIES
THE AIM OF THE EUROPEAN VOYAGES of exploration was to reach “the Indies,” which was the old European name for
“
Asia. The Indies included all the eastern lands, from India to Japan. Europeans had only the vaguest ideas of where these places were. The one thing they did know was that the Indies were rich. They had spices, gold, jewels, and silk – goods that were scarce in Europe, and which Europeans desperately wanted to get their hands on.
Cipangu [Japan] has gold in measureless amounts. The island’s ruler has a very large palace entirely roofed with fine gold. Marco Polo and Rusticello of Pisa, The Travels of Marco Polo, c.1299
”
Marco Polo journeyed all over Asia on missions for the Khan.
MARCO POLO
EUROPE
Constantinople OUT
AR AB
OAD R SILK R Kashgar P E Kerman A S I A R
E
Shachow
CHINA
SIA
IA
INDIA
JAP
AN
Tabriz Sultaniyeh
Ninghsia
THE SILK ROAD
For centuries, spices and other eastern goods had been brought west along a trade route called the Silk Road. By the time they reached Europe they were hugely expensive, because of the profits taken by all the merchants who bought and sold them along the way.
In the late 1200s, the merchant Marco Polo of Venice became one of the few Europeans to visit Asia. He took four years to travel the Silk Road to China, where he spent 17 years serving the emperor Kublai Khan as a diplomat. Spices such as cinnamon added exciting new flavors to European foods.
Silk Road goods THE GOODS CARRIED WEST along the Silk Road came from all over Asia. Silk fabrics were made in China. Cinnamon came from Sri Lanka. India supplied black pepper.
Cinnamon
Cloves
SPICE ISLANDS
Silk
Nutmeg
Black pepper
The most expensive spices, including nutmeg and cloves, only grew in the “Spice Islands” (better known as the Moluccas) of eastern Indonesia.
8
FANTASTIC STORIES
On his return to Italy, Marco Polo’s stories of the Indies were published as a book. It described Asian rivers full of precious stones (above), and many more fantastic sights. People loved his tales, but many readers thought he had made them up.
I N
S E A R C H
O F
T H E
I N D I E S
EAN
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
TIC
OC
By the 15th century, the crusades had failed, and Europe was on the defensive. The Muslim Ottoman Turks launched their own holy war, sweeping through Greece and the Balkans, and conquering islands in the Mediterranean, such as Rhodes. The strength of the Ottoman Empire made it harder than ever for Europeans to reach the Indies overland.
CHRISTIAN
ATLAN
EUROPE OTTOMAN EMPIRE NORTH AFRICA
ME D
IT E R R A NE A N
S EA
MUSLIM LANDS
Ottoman forces conquering Rhodes in 1522
NO ROUTE EAST
Christian 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 religions since the 11th century, when the Christians began a series of holy wars, called crusades, against the Muslims.
Camels could carry heavier loads than horses or donkeys, and they were better suited to the harsh desert conditions encountered on the route.
Henry the Navigator
CAMEL CARAVAN
Camels were the main pack animals used to carry goods along the Silk Road. They traveled in long lines called caravans.
FACT file
Riding their short, stocky horses, the Khan’s soldiers escorted Marco Polo on his missions.
Prince Henry of Portugal, nicknamed Henry the Navigator, realized that the best way to get around the Muslim barrier was by sea. In the early 1400s, he sent a series of expeditions down the coast of Africa. Henry had started the age of European exploration.
Prester John PRINCE HENRY HAD HEARD travelers’ tales of a powerful Christian king called Prester John, who ruled somewhere in Africa or Asia. He hoped that the Portuguese voyages of exploration would find Prester John, so that he could help Christian Europe fight a new crusade against the Muslims.
• Marco Polo dictated his stories to a writer named Rusticello while serving a prison sentence in Genoa. • His book claimed that the Chinese burned black stones for fuel. His European readers, who did not know about coal, found this hard to believe. • On his death bed, Marco Polo was asked if he had made up his stories. He replied that he had not recorded half of what he had seen in the Indies. • Other travelers’ tales told of giant gold-mining ants, and headless people, whose faces were on their chests.
Imaginary king
Although he was pictured on maps, Prester John did not really exist.
9
T H E
A G E
O F
E X P L O R A T I O N
CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS
BORN IN GENOA, NORTHERN ITALY, IN 1451, Christopher Columbus decided at an early age that he wanted to go to sea,
Engraving of Genoa harbor
Columbus’s home city, Genoa, was one of the Mediterranean’s busiest ports. As a boy, Columbus must have watched hundreds of merchant ships arriving and departing, and dreamed of a life of adventure as a sailor.
rather than follow in his father’s footsteps as a weaver and wool merchant. By his mid-teens, Columbus was sailing on merchant voyages all around the Mediterranean Sea. He had
little formal education, but showed a natural skill as a navigator. Aged 25, he moved to Portugal. For a young man curious to find out about the world, Portugal in the age of
ICELAND
EU
ATL
AN
RO
TI
PE
C
OC
EA
N
exploration was the ideal place to be.
AZORES MADEIRA
•
SPA
IN
LISBON
P ORTUGAL
CANARY ISLANDS
CAPE VERDE ISLANDS
AFRICA
LISBON DOCKS
Columbus settled in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, built beside the wide Tagus River, which pours into the Atlantic Ocean. At the docks, the air resounded with a babble of different languages as sailors from many lands loaded and unloaded cargo from ships. COLUMBUS THE SEAMAN
GUINEA
Into the Atlantic
Columbus sailed on several trading voyages out into the Atlantic Ocean from Lisbon. He sailed north to Iceland, and south to Guinea, all the while learning about the great ocean and its system of winds and currents. Columbus saved himself by clinging on to a floating oar.
As an experienced navigator, Columbus was always welcome at the bustling dockside.
EUROPEAN EXPORTS
Portuguese ships sailed to Africa with cargoes of horses, glass beads, brass bells, carpets, English wool, and Irish linen.
SHIPWRECKED
A shipwreck first brought Columbus to Portugal. In 1476, he sailed with a Genoese fleet, which was attacked by French warships off the Portuguese coast. Columbus’s ship sank, but he made it safely ashore.
10
C H R I S T O P H E R
C O L U M B U S
Navigating in known waters COLUMBUS LEARNED TO FIND HIS WAY at sea using a magnetic compass and a map called a portolan, which was marked with criss-cross lines. When sailing in known waters, a mariner could use these two navigational tools to plot a course between any two ports.
“
At a very tender age, I went to sea sailing, and so I have continued to this day. The art of navigation leads the man who follows it to want to know the secrets of this world.
Compass
A compass has a magnetic needle that always points toward north.
Portolan map
When drawing a portolan, a mapmaker used a grid of criss-cross lines as a guide for accuracy. The lines also helped a navigator to find the sailing direction and distance from port to port.
Christopher Columbus, from a letter to the king and queen of Spain, 1501
GOLD COAST TRADE
The Portuguese found a rich source of gold in part of Guinea, West Africa, which they called “the Gold Coast.” Gold from here was brought to Lisbon, where it was made into coins called cruzados (“crusades”). RICH REWARDS
CAPTIVE CONVERTS
Columbus sailed to Guinea on a ship like this. Deeply impressed by the gold mines he saw, he realized how profitable voyages of exploration could be.
The Portuguese saw nothing wrong in enslaving non-Christians. They made the slaves convert to Christianity, believing that they would benefit by learning about the “true faith.”
IMPORTING SLAVES Sugar cane from Madeira
AFRICAN IMPORTS
Ships arriving from Africa unloaded slaves, chests of gold dust, bundles of ivory, and barrels full of a pepper-like spice called malagueta.
In Africa, these 11 slaves could have been bought in exchange for a single horse.
11
”
Between 1450 and 1500, around 150,000 African slaves passed through the Lisbon docks. The Portuguese bought them from local slave traders and African chiefs. There was frequent warfare between the chiefs, who often raided each other’s territories to take prisoners whom they could sell as slaves.
T H E
A G E
“
The Earth is round. Six parts of the globe can be lived upon, the seventh is covered with water...Between the end of Spain and the beginning of India lies a narrow sea that can be sailed in a few days with a favorable wind. Cardinal Pierre d’Ailly, Imago Mundi, 1410
Imago Mundi
”
COLUMBUS FOUND SUPPORT for his plan in Imago Mundi (“Picture of the World”), a geography book written by a French cardinal, Pierre d’Ailly. The cardinal had read in the ancient Jewish book of Esdras that sea covered only oneseventh of the Earth’s surface. From this, d’Ailly argued that the Atlantic could not be a wide ocean.
O F
E X P L O R A T I O N
THE PLAN
AS HE SAILED ON TRADING VOYAGES in the Atlantic Ocean, Christopher Columbus must have often gazed at
the western horizon, and wondered what secrets it held. This was still a mysterious ocean. Nobody knew how wide it was, or what you would find if you tried to
sail across it. Columbus had read Marco Polo’s stories of the gold-roofed palace of
Cipangu and the wealth of the Great Khan of Cathay. It struck him that these rich lands must
lie on the other side of the Atlantic, and that it might be possible to reach them by sailing west. So Columbus began to work out a plan to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, and find the riches of the Indies. Columbus always kept his copies of Imago Mundi and Marco Polo’s Travels beside him as he worked.
EVIDENCE
Columbus studied geography books to find evidence that his voyage was possible. He calculated the size of Europe and Asia and the distance around the Earth. Using only writers who would back up his ideas, he tried to prove that the Atlantic was a narrow sea. A skilled mapmaker, Columbus drew charts to show that his plan was practical.
Columbus covered his copy of Imago Mundi with notes in different inks, showing that he read it many times.
TOSCANELLI
Columbus learned that, in 1474, Italian scholar Paolo Toscanelli had tried to convince the Portuguese king to back a western sea voyage to Asia. Columbus wrote to Toscanelli, who sent him a sea chart and a letter encouraging him in his “great and noble desire.”
12
Mapping the Earth
BIBLE
As a strong Christian, Columbus believed that all important knowledge was in the Bible, which was thought to be the word of God. The only continents mentioned in the Bible are Europe, Africa, and Asia, so he would have had no inkling that the Americas existed. Columbus’s namesake, Saint Christopher, was the patron saint of seafarers and travelers.
ALL EDUCATED PEOPLE knew that the world was round, but there were arguments about its size, and how much of it was covered by water. Many scholars believed that the Atlantic stretched over half the globe. Columbus rejected this idea, as it made his voyage unthinkable. Japan (Cipangu)
Africa Asia
A deeply religious man, Columbus often read the Bible.
SAINT CHRISTOPHER
The name Christopher means ”Christ bearer.” It comes from the saint who, in legend, carried a child safely across a river. The child then revealed that he was Jesus Christ. Columbus felt that he was a new Saint Christopher, chosen by God to carry Christianity across the sea to the Indies.
MARTIN BEHAIM
The German geographer Martin Behaim pictured the world in a similar way to Columbus. He, too, dreamed of making a western sea voyage to the Indies. Although Behaim was in Portugal at the same time as Columbus, there is no evidence that the two men ever met.
In 1492, Martin Behaim built a globe to show that a westward sea voyage to the Indies was possible. Behaim’s is the oldest surviving globe in the world today. Copy of Behaim’s 1492 globe
Atlantic Ocean
Columbus’s world
Columbus probably used a crucifix and rosary beads as prayer aids.
BEHAIM’S GLOBE
Spain
Columbus assumed that there was only the open water of the Atlantic between Spain and Asia. He also thought that there were many islands off the coast of Asia, where he could break his journey. Japan Pacific North Europe Ocean America
Asia Australia
The true picture
Africa South America
Columbus misjudged the size of the Earth, believing it to be much smaller than it really is. There are huge continents, the Americas, where Columbus hoped to find Asia, and another, Australia, below Asia. A huge ocean, called the Pacific, separates the Americas from Asia.
T H E
A G E
O F
E X P L O R A T I O N
THE QUEST FOR
A ROYAL SPONSOR
COLUMBUS COULD NOT SAIL ON his voyage without royal backing. He wanted to arrive in the Indies as the
ambassador of a powerful king, and he needed the king’s money to pay for all the ships, crews, and supplies. Columbus was also very ambitious and expected to be rewarded for his discoveries by being made a noble. So, in 1484, he approached King John II of Portugal and explained his plan. The king did not believe in Marco Polo’s tales of
Cipangu (Japan), so he turned Columbus down. In any case, John was far more interested in the wealth his ships were already bringing back from their trips to Africa.
Reconquest
BEFORE THE COMMISSION
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA WERE BUSY fighting, and winning, a war against the Muslim Moors, who ruled southern Spain. Only after the fall of Granada, the last Muslim stronghold, on January 2, 1492, could they give their full attention to Columbus’s proposal.
Ferdinand and Isabella knew little about geography or voyages of exploration, so they appointed a commission of experts to see if Columbus’s plan made sense. The experts were mostly churchmen, along with some scholars and seamen.
Arms of Leon and Castille
Woodcut of Ferdinand, commemorating the conquest of Granada in 1492
AUDIENCE WITH THE QUEEN
After being rejected in Portugal, Columbus moved to Spain in 1485 to seek sponsorship from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. A year later, Isabella met with Columbus in Cordova and listened to his plan with interest.
Coat of arms of Granada
14
PRESENTING THE PLAN
Columbus explained his plan to the royal experts. To support his ideas, he showed them his map of the Atlantic, and read to them from his favorite books on geography.
T H E
Q U E S T
F O R
A
Return to Portugal IN 1488, WHILE AWAITING THE EXPERTS’ DECISION, Columbus decided to try his luck again in Portugal. He arrived in time to see the triumphant return of explorer Bartolomeu Dias, who had just found a way around the southern tip, or cape, of Africa into the Indian Ocean.
R O Y A L
S P O N S O R
Santangel told Isabella she was wrong to reject Columbus.
FRIEND AT COURT
Luis de Santangel, the royal treasurer, was a friend of Columbus. Santangel told Isabella that Columbus’s plan would bring Spain wealth and glory, and help to spread the Christian religion. He warned that Spain would lose out if a rival kingdom sponsored the voyage instead.
FINANCING THE TRIP
Hope and gloom
The cape Dias found was named “Good Hope.” Dias had opened up an eastern sea route to the Indies. The Portuguese now had no use for Columbus, so he gloomily made his way back to Spain.
Dias set up a cross on the cape to claim the land for Portugal.
THE EXPERTS DECIDE
Santangel had so much faith in Columbus that he offered to pay for the voyage himself. Won over by Santangel, Isabella said she would raise the money for the trip, even if it meant pawning her jewels. Gold coin showing Ferdinand and Isabella
The experts were not convinced by Columbus’s calculations.
The experts concluded that Columbus’s ideas were mistaken, and that it would take at least three years to sail west to Asia. Isabella and Ferdinand were also put off by Columbus’s demands – he wanted to rule as viceroy over any lands that he discovered. In January 1492, after six-and-a-half years, Columbus was rejected once again.
Columbus heard the good news from a royal messenger.
COLUMBUS CALLED BACK
Meanwhile, Columbus packed his belongings and set off for France, intent on offering his plan to yet another king. But before long, a messenger caught up with Columbus and told him that the queen had changed her mind. He would sail to the Indies after all!
15
T H E
A G E
O F
E X P L O R A T I O N
SHIPS AND CREW
ON MAY 12, 1492, COLUMBUS TRAVELED to the port of Palos, on the south coast of Spain, to prepare for his voyage to the Indies. The people of Palos had upset Ferdinand and Isabella in some way, now unknown. As punishment, they were ordered to supply Columbus with two ships, Niña and
Santa Maria Ships had an official name, usually that of a saint, and a female nickname. Columbus’s flagship, Santa Maria, was nicknamed La Gallega (“the Galician”) after Galicia in northern Spain, where she was made. A não, or round-bellied cargo ship, she was the slowest vessel in the fleet, and the hardest to handle. The anchor was raised and lowered on a long thick rope that ran through this hole.
EAGLE-EYES
Lookouts stood forward and at the mast-head, their eyes scouring the seas for signs of land.
Pinta. Columbus took on a third ship, Santa Maria, from his friend Juan de la Cosa. Getting the ships was the easy part. Now Columbus had to find more than 90 men and boys to crew his three ships. INSIDE SANTA MARIA For four months, Santa Maria would be home to a crew of more than 40 men and boys – together with cockroaches, rats, lice, and fleas! Columbus had his own cabin, but everyone else slept in the open air, on deck. The areas below deck were too smelly and cramped.
Spare sails
Finding a crew At first, nobody in Palos wanted to sail with Columbus. Spanish sailors did not want to risk their lives on a dangerous voyage into the unknown, captained by a foreigner. Columbus’s plan struck them as insane.
Meals were cooked above an open fire on a fogón (firebox).
Falconet
WEAPONS Columbus did not know if the people of the Indies would be peaceful or hostile, so the ships had small, swiveling guns called falconets, as well as larger cannons called lombards. The men were armed with swords, crossbows, and muskets. Rowing boat
PUMP
Every day the men had to pump out water that leaked into the hold. All wooden ships leaked.
The Pinzón brothers NIÑA
Lateen sails
The smallest ship, Niña, was a caravel with lateen sails. Her official name was Santa Clara. Niña means “little girl” and was probably a play on the name of her owner, Juan Niño, who sailed on the voyage as her second-in-command. Easy to handle, even in storms, she soon became Columbus’s favorite ship. Mizzen mast
MARTÍN ALONSO PINZÓN, a respected local sea captain, welcomed Columbus’s plan to sail to the Indies. Pinzón was eager to sail with Columbus, and used his influence to win over his younger brother, Vincente Yáñez Pinzón, and the seafarers of Palos.
Main mast Foremast
PINTA The fastest of the three ships, Pinta was a caravel with square sails, known as a caravela redonda (“round caravel”). Pinta is a nickname meaning “spotted one”; her official name is not known. During the voyage, Pinta would often race ahead of the other ships, looking for land. Slim hull made Pinta fast.
BALLAST
Stones were used as ballast, making the ship more stable. Chickens for eggs and fresh meat.
Falconets were mounted on the ship’s bulwarks (raised sides).
Bowsprit
HELMSMAN
The helmsman steered below deck, obeying orders shouted down from the pilot above. Cargo was carried in the hold.
Pilot
Vincente Pinzón
Martín Pinzón
Niña was put under the charge of Vincente. In the years to come, he would lead his own voyages of exploration to South America.
Made the captain of Pinta, Martín fell out with Columbus on the voyage, challenging his choice of route, and disobeying his orders.
LOADING SUPPLIES Columbus’s cabin
Columbus bought enough supplies to feed his men for months. Wooden barrels held wine, water, vinegar, salted fish, pork, and beef. There were sacks of rice, flour, lentils, beans, and ship’s biscuits (hard, flat bread). There were also boxes of cannon balls, gunpowder, crossbow bolts, fishing lines and hooks, and trade goods such as woollen caps and glass beads. Checklist of cargo
17
The Fleet Sets off S
HORTLY BEFORE SUNRISE ON FRIDAY, AUGUST
3, 1492, Columbus’s little fleet set off from Palos. The ships sailed southwest, toward the Canary Islands, where they could take on more supplies. Columbus believed that Japan lay directly west of the Canaries. Red crosses were With luck and a good wind, he painted on the sails of was sure he would reach Japan the ships. Sailors hoped these Christian in just a few days. symbols would bring them God’s protection.
The Pinta, under the command of Martín Alonso Pinzón
The ships flew flags decorated with the royal coat of arms of Spain.
Columbus sailed on the flagship, the Santa Maria.
“
I have decided to set down each day full details of everything I do, see, and experience on this voyage…Above all, I must have no regard for sleep, but must carefully watch my course. All of this will be no small task. Christopher Columbus, extract from his logbook of the voyage, 1492
”
19th-century painting of Columbus’s fleet
The little Niña, captained by Vincente Yáñez Pinzón, set off with lateen sails.
T H E
F L E E T
S E T S
O F F
THE VOYAGE
LOGBOOK
AS THEY SAILED TOWARD THE CANARIES, the wind filled the square sails of Santa Maria and Pinta, driving them forward. Niña, with her triangular sails, had a harder time. Whenever the following wind shifted direction, she had to “go about,” which means that her crew had to throw the sails from one side of the masts to the
other. Then, after four days at sea, Pinta’s rudder jumped out of its settings. The rudder was temporarily repaired, but soon came loose again. Columbus would have to wait in the Canaries while the rudder was fixed, so he decided to use the delay to change Niña‘s triangular sails to square ones, like those on his other two ships. August
REFITTING NIÑA
The lateen-rigged Niña had three masts, all close together toward the rear of the ship. This was to allow plenty of room at the front for the enormous triangular main sail. With her newly cut square sails, it was more important for the masts to be evenly spaced out along the deck. So the central mast was now moved nearer to the front. 9th
NEW FIXTURES
Blacksmiths hammered out new iron fixtures for Pinta’s rudder.
RAISING THE MAST
The men carefully raised Niña’s mast into its new forward position.
20
A log records a ship’s progress. In his false log, Columbus recorded shorter distances than the fleet had really traveled. He did not want the crew to know how far they had sailed into uncharted waters.
September
FALSE LOG
After setting off again from the Canaries, Columbus decided to keep a false log (written record) of the trip to show the crew. He knew that it might be a long voyage, and his sailors would grow worried as they traveled farther from Spain. With his false log, he hoped to calm their fears. 10th
September
SARGASSO SEA
The fleet found itself sailing through a mass of bright-green seaweed, with little crabs crawling over the surface of the weed. Everybody thought that this was a sure sign of land. In fact, Columbus had discovered the Sargasso Sea, a vast area of floating weed in the open waters of the North Atlantic. 16th
SEA OF WEED
The Sargasso Sea takes its name from sargaço, the Portuguese name for gulf-weed.
The great rafts of weed are kept afloat by clusters of air-filled bladders that resemble grapes.
Dead reckoning
Speed
Columbus, an experienced seafarer, could tell how fast his ship was going from the way it moved through the water. To check his estimate, he would look over the side at bubbles or chips of wood floating past.
COLUMBUS NAVIGATED more by “dead reckoning” than by the position of the sun and stars. Dead reckoning means finding a ship’s position by calculating the distance and direction it travels each day. Every evening, Columbus marked his estimated position on his sea chart. Hourglass
To work out the distance traveled, Columbus needed to know his ship’s speed over a set period of time. Time was marked by a sandglass, which was turned every half hour by one of the ship’s boys. It took half an hour for all the sand to flow from the top of the glass to the bottom.
Traverse board
A magnetic compass told the helmsman his direction.
Traverse board
Every half hour, the helmsman put a peg in a “traverse board” to record the direction in which he had been steering. At the bottom of the board, a second peg recorded the distance traveled, which Columbus shouted down from the deck.
LIFE AT SEA
The men settled into a routine of four hours of work, followed by four hours of rest. While one half of each crew rested, the other half sailed the ship. It was a largely uneventful voyage, with a steady wind. The worst problem the sailors faced was boredom.
TIME OFF
In their time off, the sailors slept, tried to catch fish, and made their own entertainment. They gambled with dice, told each other stories, sang songs, and grumbled about the length of the voyage. They rarely washed, but some occasionally jumped overboard for a swim in the sea.
TRUSTING IN GOD
Sailors knew that their lives depended on good weather. Most were very religious and prayed to God and the saints, asking for a safe voyage. Every evening, they sang a hymn, Salve Regina, honoring the Virgin Mary.
HOT MEALS
Each day the men had one hot meal, such as stew, which was cooked over a wood fire on the fogón. But in rough or wet weather, the fire could not be kept alight, so the crew had to make do with cold food. September
FALSE ALARM
On the Pinta, Martín Alonso Pinzón shouted that he had seen land to the southwest. Columbus knelt to give thanks to God, and the men sang a hymn. But the next day, the land turned out to be a bank of clouds. 25th
Columbus told the crew that it would be madness to turn back now, so close to their goal.
Niña’s lookout agreed that there was land.
October
FOLLOW THE BIRDS!
Great flocks of migrating birds were seen, flying to the southwest. Columbus guessed that the birds were heading for land and ordered a change of course to follow them. 7th
October
NEAR MUTINY
As weeks passed with no sight of land, the sailors grew increasingly anxious and restless. By October 10, the crew of Santa Maria had had enough. They crowded around Columbus, demanding and begging that he give up his foolish plan and take them home. He tried to calm his men, but refused to give in to their demands. 10th
CU
• BA
HAITI
•
•
•
SARGASSO SEA October 7th Flock of birds
September 16th Sargasso Sea
August 9th Refitting Nina • September 10th False log
•
CANARY ISLANDS
Land at last
On Friday, October 12, at two-o’clock in the morning, a lookout on Pinta spotted some pale cliffs in the moonlight. It was land at last! Martín Alonso Pinzón had a cannon fired to let the other ships know the good news. Columbus decided to wait until dawn before going ashore. In daylight, he realized that they had arrived at an island. Columbus was rowed ashore, accompanied by an armed landing party.
October
The perfect route
The North Atlantic wind blows in a huge, clockwise circle. Sailing west from the Canaries, Columbus had this wind behind him all the way. If he had sailed west from Spain instead, he would have had to battle against the wind. Whether by luck or because he understood the wind, Columbus chose the perfect route.
“
He knelt on the ground and kissed it with tears of joy for the immeasurable mercy of having reached land. Then the Admiral stood up and named the island San Salvador [Holy Savior]. Ferdinand Columbus, The Life of the Admiral, 1530s
”
ASHORE
As the armed party carried the royal banners ashore, Columbus proclaimed that the island, which he named San Salvador, now belonged to the king and queen of Spain. Watching him from the edge of the beach was a group of amazed and curious islanders. 12th
•
Palos AZORES
A
October 12th Landfall at San Salvador
September 25th False alarm
RIC
October 10th Near mutiny
Prevailing winds
S PA
ATLANTIC OCEAN
AF
NORTH AMERICA
V O Y A G E
IN
T H E
Columbus wept with joy and relief, for he was certain that he had reached the Indies.
23
T H E
“
Christopher Columbus, extract from his logbook of the first voyage, 1492
Columbus knew that, back in Spain, the Tainos would make a big impression on Ferdinand and Isabella.
O F F
THE SKY
COLUMBUS HAD ARRIVED AT THE islands we now know as the Bahamas, which were home to the Taino people.
”
Two of the captives later escaped. The rest would never see their homes again.
S E T S
THE MEN FROM
EYEWITNESS
We understood them to be asking if we had come from the sky. One old man climbed into the boat while the other men and women shouted ‘come and see the men who have come from the sky!’
F L E E T
The Tainos were amazed to see strange, bearded men who covered their bodies with clothes. They thought that the Spaniards had come down from the sky.
Once they had got over their fear, the Tainos were eager to
please the strangers. Columbus decided
that these “Indians” would make fine servants. Cotton was woven to make loincloths and hammocks.
IN THE VILLAGES
Columbus traveled from island to island, visiting Taino villages. Some of the villages were more like towns, with up to 1,000 huts and 5,000 inhabitants.
The Tainos were skilled at pottery.
Capturing guides
Although Columbus was pleased to reach land at last, it was clearly not Japan. Where were the buildings roofed with gold? To find Japan, he needed guides, so he captured seven Tainos and took them back to his ships.
New foods EVERYTHING IN THE ISLANDS was new and strange to Columbus. His men were the first Europeans to enjoy many foods, such as corn, which we now take for granted. But they avoided other Taino foods, such as lizards, spiders, and worms.
Grinding corn to make porridge
Cassava root
The Tainos made poisonous cassava roots edible by grating and soaking them. Dried cassava was baked into bread.
Pineapple
This was one of the few Taino foods that the Spaniards liked as soon as they tried it.
24
Corn
Corn was roasted and eaten whole, or ground up to make a kind of porridge.
Chile peppers
Hot chiles reminded Columbus of the spices he hoped to find in the Indies, which is why we call them “peppers” today.
T H E
M E N
F R O M
T H E
S K Y
The Taino culture
Tall homes
THE TAINOS WORSHIPPED A GREAT SPIRIT who lived in the sky, where they thought Columbus had come from. They believed that, on Earth, they were surrounded by other spirits, called zemis. Some were forces of nature, while others were the ghosts of ancestors.
Taino homes were huts made of wooden poles, with cane walls and tall, sloping roofs thatched with palm leaves.
Some zemis were roughly shaped stones, others were beautiful carvings.
Their foreheads were flattened as babies, when boards were strapped to them.
Decoration
Zemis
Instead of wearing clothes, the Tainos painted their bodies in different colors and patterns. In their pierced noses and ears they wore gold or stone jewelry. The Tainos had no hard metals, so they tipped their arrows and spears with fish teeth.
WHICH WAY TO JAPAN?
None of the Tainos had ever heard of Cipangu (Japan) or the Great Khan of Cathay.
People kept small carved or pottery figures of the zemis in their huts, so that the spirits would protect their homes. The bells were made for the legs of hunting hawks.
The Spaniards received a warm and excited welcome. They gave the Tainos woollen hats and glass beads to wear.
Brass for gold
Columbus’s most popular trade goods were little brass bells. The Tainos were eager to trade their gold nose ornaments for these bells, which they wore as earrings. Columbus was disappointed to find that the Tainos had only tiny amounts of gold, and that the ornaments were wafer thin. Each canoe was hollowed out from a single tree trunk.
THEY MUST BE INDIANS
Believing he was in the Indies, Columbus naturally assumed that the islanders were Indians. He could see that they were not Europeans or Africans. As far as he knew, this was what Asian people looked like. Columbus’s mistake means that, to this day, Native Americans are still called “Indians.”
Taino canoes
SILENT DOGS
The Tainos kept dogs, which they fattened and ate. The Spaniards were surprised to find that Taino dogs never barked.
25
Columbus sailed through the islands, giving each one a new Spanish name, and claiming them all for Spain. As news of his arrival spread, many Tainos came out in their canoes to see the “men from the sky.” They brought colorful parrots, balls of cotton, bows and arrows, and other goods to trade.
T H E
F L E E T
S E T S
O F F
SHIPWRECKED
ON HISPANIOLA
COLUMBUS’S GUIDES TOLD HIM OF A LARGE island to the south that they called Cuba. Thinking that this might be Japan, he Columbus outraged On November 21, when the fleet was heading south along the Cuban coast, Pinta suddenly sailed off to the east. Tired of obeying Columbus, Martín Pinzón had decided to go exploring on his own. Columbus was furious that Pinzón had deserted the fleet, taking the fastest ship with him.
sailed to Cuba, but again found no golden palaces. However, the friendly Cuban Tainos said there was another island to the east, called Haiti, which was rich in gold. On December 6, 1492, Columbus reached Haiti. He was amazed by its beauty and relieved that the local Tainos seemed to have plenty of gold ornaments. He gave the island a new name, La Isla Española (“the Spanish Island”), which later became Hispaniola. RUN AGROUND!
Hammocks The Tainos slept in long cotton nets slung from the posts of their houses. These hanging beds were known as hamaca. The idea would later be adopted for use on ships by European sailors, who called them hammocks.
On Christmas Eve (December 24) 1492, Santa Maria ran aground on rocks 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. Everything that might be useful was stripped from the ship.
Tobacco leaves were rolled into cigars.
Drinking the smoke of herbs The Spaniards were amazed to see Cuban Tainos “drinking” the smoke of rolled up leaves. They were smoking tobacco. The Tainos also inhaled the smoke through a wooden tube, called a tobaco, inserted into one nostril.
HELPFUL INDIANS
Columbus wrote that the Tainos wept at his misfortune, and did everything they could to aid him.
26
SALVAGE MISSION
The next day, the crew returned to their ship to salvage as much as possible. They unloaded stores and trading goods into the rowing boats from Santa Maria and Niña.
R U N N I N G
CARIB
BE
AN
October 12, 1492 The fleet reaches San Salvador.
AT
LA
N
SEA
JAM
AICA CUBA
December 24, 1492 Santa Maria runs aground.
H E A D
T
IC
O
C
EA
January 6, 1493 Columbus meets Pinzón again. January 16, 1493 Columbus sails for Spain.
• Navidad
November 21, 1492 Martín Pinzón leaves with the Pinta.
“
N
HISPANIOLA (H A I T I )
The Admiral almost forgot his grief for the loss of the ship, for he believed that God had allowed it to be wrecked so that he should make a settlement… Ferdinand Columbus, The Life of the Admiral, 1530s
AMONG THE ISLANDS Columbus explored the north coast of Cuba, which he believed was part of the Asian mainland. Then he crossed over to Hispaniola (Haiti). Martín Pinzón had gotten there first, and had even named a river after himself – the Martín Alonso River.
Pinzón’s desertion and the wreck of Santa Maria left Columbus with just one ship, Niña, so Columbus could not risk further exploration.
Santa Maria did not sink, but remained stranded on the rocks. Many Tainos rowed out in their long canoes to help the crew unload the ship’s supplies. The Tainos were terrified by the noise as the cannon blasted shots through the wreck of Santa Maria.
The fort was built using timbers from the wrecked Santa Maria.
”
A wooden stockade protected the men’s home.
BUILDING A SETTLEMENT Niña was too small to take all the men back to Spain, so 39 of them volunteered to stay behind. To house the men, Columbus built a fort – the first European settlement in the Americas. It was called Navidad (“Christmas”), since it was begun on Christmas Day 1492. Columbus promised to return in a few months with supplies. The men were happy to stay, believing they would get rich on Hispaniola’s gold.
SHOW OF STRENGTH The Tainos told Columbus about a fierce people – the Caribs – who regularly raided their island for captives to kill and eat. Columbus said they now had nothing to fear, since the Spaniards at Navidad would protect them from the Caribs. To impress the Tainos, he fired a cannon at a farewell feast. Niña set sail for Spain on January 4, 1493.
TIME TO GO HOME Looking at his wrecked flagship Santa Maria, Columbus realized that it was time to return home to Spain. He needed to tell Ferdinand and Isabella about the lands he had discovered. He did not want Martín Pinzón to get there first and steal his glory.
27
T H E
Ferdinand Columbus, The Life of the Admiral, 1530s
S E T S
O F F
TRIUMPHANT
“
The Catholic sovereigns, surrounded by their court, awaited him on a magnificent throne under a golden canopy. When he came to kiss their hands, they stood up to greet him as if he were a great lord, and sat him beside them.
F L E E T
HOMECOMING
AFTER A STORMY RETURN JOURNEY across the Atlantic Ocean, Columbus reached Palos in Spain on March 15, 1493. He then traveled overland to Barcelona, where Ferdinand and Isabella gave him a magnificent royal reception. Sadly for Martín Pinzón, it was a very
”
different homecoming. On board Pinta, Pinzón got back to Spain first, but the king and queen
refused to see him without Columbus. Pinzón went home to Palos, where he is said to have died of grief. ROYAL RECEPTION The king and queen welcomed Columbus in the great hall of their palace. With his captured Tainos and colorful parrots, Columbus put on a show to impress them. He explained how he wanted to return to Hispaniola and build a Spanish colony.
Vividly colored parrots were additional proof that Columbus had been to the Indies.
Message in a barrel On the return journey, the sea was so rough that Columbus thought Niña might sink. He was worried that if he died, Martín Pinzón, on Pinta, would steal his glory and the men left in Hispaniola would be forgotten. So he wrote an account of the voyage, placed it in a barrel, and threw it over the side.
Hero’s welcome The news of Columbus’s great achievement reached Barcelona before he did. His arrival, in April 1493, caused a sensation. As he rode through the streets, everyone came out to gaze at the man who had found a sea route to the Indies. Columbus was acclaimed a hero. Statue of Columbus by Barcelona's harbor, commemorating his great discovery
The Tainos said “Ave Maria,” a prayer honoring the Virgin Mary, which Columbus had taught them.
28
To the Tainos, the court was an astonishing sight.
Columbus presented gold, chiles, and other souvenirs of his long trip.
T R I U M P H A N T
H O M E C O M I N G
“Admiral of the Ocean Sea” FERDINAND AND ISABELLA richly rewarded Columbus with money and titles. As they had promised, they made him a noble. He was now “Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy and Governor of the Islands.” Columbus had the right to rule Hispaniola on their behalf and to take a share of its wealth for himself. Coat of arms Columbus was allowed to have his own coat of arms. It combined images of the royal lion and castle of Spain with the islands he had discovered. It also included five golden anchors, which represented his new position as Admiral of the Ocean Sea.
Columbus, “Christ bearer” After his return, Columbus began to sign all his documents with a strange group of letters. The first three lines remain a mystery. The last line says “Christ bearer” in Greek and Latin.
NEW VOYAGE APPROVED
DESCRIBING HISPANIOLA Columbus described the beauty of Hispaniola. He showed the king and queen the Taino gold he had collected, saying it was just a tiny sample of the vast wealth of the island.
Ferdinand agreed at once to Columbus’s plan to return to Hispaniola with a great fleet.
Isabella was especially moved by the sight of the gentle Tainos.
BAPTISM OF INDIANS This plaque in Barcelona Cathedral commemorates the baptism of the captured Tainos. The king and queen acted as their godparents, and gave them new Spanish Christian names. Isabella was delighted to see them become Christian.
THE POPE’S BACKING QUIZZED BY THE COURT
The king, queen, and members of the royal court plied Columbus with all manner of questions about his eight-month long voyage.
29
Columbus had claimed the Caribbean islands for Spain. To make their ownership legal, Ferdinand and Isabella needed the backing of Pope Alexander VI. The pope was happy to give it. Although unaware of it, the Tainos had become Spanish subjects.
N SEPTEMBER
Columbus’s men constructing the fort of Navidad during his first voyage. Columbus hoped to build his new settlement around the fort.
1493, JUST SIX MONTHS AFTER HIS triumphant homecoming, Columbus sailed back to Hispaniola. He had a grand fleet of 17 ships, carrying more than 1,200 men, as well as horses, sheep, pigs, seeds, and everything else he needed to build a Spanish settlement in the Indies. This time, Columbus had no trouble finding the men to sail with him. Thousands of Spaniards volunteered, eager to share in the wealth of Hispaniola. They included gentlemen, priests, soldiers, craftsmen, NAVIDAD and laborers. This 1493 woodcut shows
I
Settlement
The Spanish “
Christopher Columbus, from a letter written on his first voyage, February 15, 1493
”
Hispaniola is a wonder. The mountains, hills, plains, and meadows are fertile and beautiful. They are most suitable for planting crops and for all kinds of cattle, and there are good sites for building towns and villages…There are many great rivers, and most contain gold.
The artist did not know what Navidad or Hispaniola looked like, so he drew a typical European landscape and castle.
T H E
S P A N I S H
S E T T L E M E N T
COLUMBUS
RETURNS
ON NOVEMBER 27, 1493, Columbus returned to Navidad, where he had left behind 39
The great fleet
This picture shows Columbus’s fleet of colonizers setting off from Spain, with Ferdinand and Isabella saying goodbye. The Tainos had been amazed by the sight of Columbus’s three ships on his first voyage. Imagine how they felt when they now saw 17 ships arriving!
men at the end of his first voyage. He was looking forward to a happy reunion with them, and was certain that by now they would have collected heaps of gold.
Columbus was horrified to learn that they were all dead, and that their fort had been destroyed. The local Tainos said that they were not to blame, but Columbus could no longer trust them. He sailed east to found a new settlement. FATE OF NAVIDAD
The Tainos told Columbus that the men of Navidad had quarreled among themselves, splitting into rival groups. Some were killed by fellow Spaniards, while others died of disease. But most died when a powerful cacique (king), called Caonabo, attacked their fort and burned it to the ground.
Some important buildings were made of stone, but the Spaniards mostly lived in small thatched huts.
Caonabo led a surprise attack at night.
Cannibal islands
On the way to Hispaniola, Columbus visited the islands of the fierce Caribs, who gave their name to the Caribbean and to the word “cannibal.” Historians still argue over whether they really ate human flesh. Columbus was sure that they did: in their houses, he saw human limbs in cooking pots and captive Tainos who were being fattened up.
THE SECOND VOYAGE
CU
November 27, 1493 Columbus hears of the fate of Navidad.
BA
January 2, 1494 Columbus AT founds Isabela. L A N
T
I
C
RI BB
EA
N
SE
A
April–September 1494 Columbus explores Cuba and Jamaica.
32
November 14, 1493 September 25, 1494 First encounter Columbus becomes with the Caribs. seriously ill and heads back to Hispaniola.
AN
PUERTO RICO
CE
• • HISPANIOLA
O
JAMAICA
CA
While the settlers tried to get used to life on Hispaniola, Columbus set off exploring again in April 1494 on trusty Niña. He sailed along the south coast of Cuba, which he still thought was the Asian mainland, and reached Jamaica. But he found no signs of the wealth of Asia. In September, he became seriously ill. Suffering from fever and temporary blindness, he returned to Hispaniola a disappointed man.
C O L U M B U S
R E T U R N S
A trade in diseases THE SPANIARDS and the Tainos each passed on unfamiliar diseases to the other, with devastating effect. Many Spaniards caught tropical fevers and syphilis, while the Tainos died from smallpox and measles. Smallpox virus
The smallpox virus traveled to Hispaniola as an invisible passenger on Columbus’s ships. In Europe, it killed many children, but most adults were immune to it. For the Tainos, it was fatal.
ISABELA
Columbus called his new capital Isabela, in honor of the queen. He chose the location in the mistaken belief that there were gold mines nearby. It was an unhealthy, mosquito-infested place. By 1500, Isabela had been abandoned.
Mosquitoes
A week after arriving, 400 Spanish settlers became ill with an unknown disease, probably caused by mosquito bites. There were so many mosquitoes in Isabela that Columbus was nicknamed, “Admiral of the Mosquitoes.” Female mosquitoes pass on tropical fevers as they feed on blood.
FIRST CHURCH
Flamingoes
While exploring the tiny islands off Cuba, Columbus marveled at the sight of masses of brightly colored wading birds. From a distance, they looked like flocks of pink sheep. These were flamingoes, named after the Spanish word flamenco (“flaming”).
The church of Isabela was the first built in the Americas. The sound of its bell fascinated the Hispaniola Tainos.
Taino caciques
Hispaniola was made up of several kingdoms, each ruled by a great king, or cacique (pronounced “katheekay”). There were also many lesser caciques, ruling the villages. Caciques were treated with great respect and carried on litters. To govern Hispaniola, Columbus needed to win over the caciques or defeat them in battle.
Taino guides led the Spanish explorers inland.
Columbus planned Isabela around a main public square, like a typical Spanish town.
INTO THE INTERIOR
Columbus was desperate to find gold to send back to Ferdinand and Isabella, in order to justify the expense of the colony. In January 1494, he sent a party of armed Spaniards inland to look for gold mines. They were led by a tough, aggressive soldier called Alonso de Hojeda.
33
FACT file • By 1494, two-thirds of the Spanish settlers in Isabela had died. • In 1492, there were around 100 million Native Americans. By 1600, European diseases had killed 90 million of them – the worst disaster in history. • One Spaniard wrote that the Indians “die so easily that the bare look and smell of a Spaniard makes them give up the ghost.” • A mild form of syphilis already existed in Europe, but the American version brought back by the Spaniards was far worse. The first mass outbreak of this disease was in Italy, in 1494.
T H E
S P A N I S H
S E T T L E M E N T
HORROR ON
HISPANIOLA
FOLLOWING HIS RETURN TO HISPANIOLA, in September 1494, Columbus was ill for five months. The colony was ruled by his younger brothers, Diego and Bartolomé, who had crossed the sea to share in their brother’s fortune. As foreigners, all three brothers were unpopular with the Spaniards. The Spanish
settlers also felt that Columbus had lied to them about the wealth of Hispaniola. While Columbus
lay on his sickbed, gangs of discontented Spaniards were roaming around the island, living by plundering Taino villages. The Tainos began to fight back. THUNDER STICKS
The battle began with the roar of musketeers firing their matchlock guns. To the Tainos, matchlocks were magic sticks that made thunder and spewed fire.
FACT file • Between 1494 and 1496, a third of all the Tainos on Hispaniola died. • Apart from the Tainos killed by the Spaniards, thousands died of disease, starvation, and overwork. Unable to cope with Spanish rule, others killed themselves by taking cassava poison. • In 1492, there were some 300,000 Tainos on Hispaniola. By 1548, there were less than 500 left. • In 1510, the Spaniards began to ship African slaves to Hispaniola, to replace the dwindling numbers of Tainos.
DECISIVE BATTLE
After recovering from illness, Columbus learned that the most powerful Taino caciques had joined together and raised a huge army, thousands strong. In March 1495, he set off to fight them. His 200 Spanish soldiers were vastly outnumbered, but they had superior weapons and devastated the Taino army. The Tainos were terrified by the sight of armored Spaniards on horseback. They had never seen horses before.
Reign of terror
The Tainos reacted to raids on their villages by ambushing stray Spaniards. Columbus did not want to risk upsetting his men. Instead of punishing them for their brutal behavior, he sent them on an expedition against the Tainos. Hundreds of Tainos were killed or brought back to Isabela as slaves.
SHIPMENT OF SLAVES
In 1495, Columbus sent 500 Taino slaves back to Spain. He hoped that these slaves would make up for his failure to send the gold he had promised. But the king and queen were not happy with Columbus’s “gift” – they had sent him to convert the Tainos to Christianity, not to enslave them.
DEATH TOLL
Of the 500 Tainos that Columbus captured and sent to Spain, 200 perished during the voyage. The rest died soon after.
H O R R O R
O N
H I S P A N I O L A
Arms and armor
Cavalry helmet
Helmets similar to this one made the Spaniards look like monsters from another world.
THE SPANIARDS WERE EXPERT SOLDIERS, who had spent years fighting Muslim armies in Spain. Equipped with swords and guns, the Spaniards saw little reason to fear the poorly armed Tainos. Crossbow
Matchlock gun
A matchlock was fired by bringing a burning cord, or match, into contact with gunpowder.
Some brave Tainos tried to fight back, but they could do little damage with their fishbone-tipped spears.
A crossbow fired a bolt with great force, seriously injuring any Taino it hit.
Sword
Spanish swords were double edged for slashing, and had a sharp point for stabbing.
DOGS OF WAR
One Spanish dog was said to be as good as ten men in a fight against Indians.
Breastplate
Taino arrows and spears were useless against steel breastplates. Indians bringing gold tributes to the Spaniards
Naked Tainos had no defense against the terrible Spanish weapons.
GOLD TRIBUTE
The conquered Tainos were ordered to give their new rulers gold as tribute. Every three months, each adult Taino was expected to fill one hawk’s bell with gold dust. Unfortunately, there was much less gold in Hispaniola than this picture suggests. The Tainos could never find enough to please the Spaniards. The Tainos fled in all directions.
CONQUERING HISPANIOLA
Columbus went on to conquer the whole island. The cacique Caonabo, who had burned the fort at Navidad, was captured by Alonso de Hojeda. Hojeda tricked Caonabo into letting himself be chained up by convincing him that some handcuffs and leg irons were royal bracelets.
Before leaving, Columbus appointed his brother Bartolomé as governor.
35
Columbus returns to Spain
Disgruntled settlers returning to Spain complained to Ferdinand and Isabella about the way Columbus ruled Hispaniola. In March 1496, Columbus sailed back to Spain in Niña, in order to defend himself.
O
Columbus’s fleet sailed between Trinidad and the mainland. 16th-century woodcut depicting scenes from the third voyage
Christopher Columbus, from a letter to Juana de la Torre, Queen Isabella’s friend, 1500
” Just off the mainland, Columbus found a large island, which he named Trinidad in honor of the Holy Trinity (God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
“
1498, COLUMBUS FOUND A LONG coastline, broken by the mouth of a mighty river whose water made the sea taste fresh for miles around. Such a great river could not flow from an island. Columbus realized that he had reached a mainland. This mainland would later be known as South America.
N HIS THIRD VOYAGE, IN
Mainland
To the I made a new voyage to new skies and lands which had been hidden until now…By my efforts, these lands are now known.
The mainland Indians wore pearls, which they fished for by diving from their canoes.
T O
T H E
M A I N L A N D
ANOTHER WORLD
“
THE KING AND QUEEN WERE WORRIED BY events in Hispaniola, but they had not yet lost faith in Columbus. They agreed to pay for a third voyage of exploration, which set off in May 1498. Columbus was amazed to find a mainland, which he
described as “another world.” After exploring
Giant wave
Off the coast of Trinidad, Columbus’s ships were almost wrecked by a giant wave, possibly caused by an undersea volcano. The wave lifted the ships high into the air, and then plunged them so low that they could see the bottom.
EYEWITNESS
I have come to believe that this is a vast continent, previously unknown. I am led to this view by the great river and the freshwater sea. If this be a continent, it is a marvelous thing.
part of its coast, he returned to Hispaniola. He found the island in a state of chaos: half the Spaniards
Christopher Columbus, journal of his third voyage, August 14/15, 1498
”
had rebelled against his brother, Bartolomé. The Tainos had to work hard, growing food for their Spanish masters.
ENCOMIENDA
To bring order to Hispaniola, Columbus invented a new system. He gave each Spanish settler a large plot of land, together with the labor of all the Tainos living there. This was later called the encomienda (“in trust”) system, because the land and Indians were held in the trust of the Spaniards.
Audience of monkeys
On August 5, 1498, Columbus landed on the mainland. To legally claim the land for Spain, he needed an audience of local people. The only inhabitants he found were chattering monkeys, so he put off the ceremony until the next day, when some friendly Indians turned up.
THE THIRD VOYAGE
Columbus’s exploration of the mainland was cut short by a fresh bout of illness. Returning to Hispaniola, he reached Santa Domingo, the island’s new capital, on August 31, 1498. His brother Bartolomé had founded Santa Domingo to replace the mosquito-infested Isabela.
ISABELA
CUBA
•
HISPANIOLA
Early October, 1500 Columbus is sent back A T L A OC NTI to Spain in chains. E C AN
•
JAMAICA
August 21, 1498 The ships reach Hispaniola.
CA RI SE BB EA A
SANTA DOMINGO
PUERTO RICO
ISLA MARGARITA
August 5, 1498 Columbus sets foot on the mainland. August 5, 1498 Giant wave hits the ships.
N TRINIDAD
SOUTH AMERICA
38
A N O T H E R
Spaniards hanged for rebelling against the Columbus brothers
W O R L D
Strange notions COLUMBUS FOUND IT HARD to fit his newly discovered mainland – an unknown continent, not mentioned in the Bible – into his view of the world. He also developed some odd ideas about the shape of the Earth. Pear-shaped world
Columbus, who was sick at the time, convinced himself that the stars were nearer to Earth than usual. He decided that he was sailing uphill and getting closer to the sky. This led him to conclude that the Earth was pear shaped.
Columbus thought he was sailing toward the stem of a pear-shaped Earth.
Paradise found?
BOBADILLA
Ferdinand and Isabella heard alarming reports of the chaos in Hispaniola. They sent Francisco de Bobadilla, a Spanish nobleman, to restore order. On August 23, 1500, he reached Santa Domingo, where Diego Columbus was in command. Bobadilla was shocked to find that Diego had just hanged seven Spanish rebels, and was about to hang five more.
The Earthly Paradise, described in the Book of Genesis, was the only land in the Bible whose location no one knew. Columbus believed that the Earthly Paradise lay on this newly discovered continent.
Columbus never got over the humiliation of being chained up.
CHAINED IN IRONS
Won over by tales he heard from Columbus’s enemies, Bobadilla arrested all three brothers and had them chained in irons. They were kept in prison for over a month, and then sent back to Spain by ship to stand trial.
FACT file • The ship’s captain who took him back to Spain felt sorry for Columbus, and offered to remove the chains. Columbus refused, saying he would keep wearing his chains until the king and queen ordered their removal. • Columbus wore his chains for more than three months. • He wore the chains to show how he had been rewarded for his many services to Ferdinand and Isabella. • For the rest of his life, Columbus kept the chains in his bedroom, to remind him of his treatment. He even asked to be buried with the chains.
DISGRACED
Bobadilla charged Columbus with oppressing the Spanish settlers and withholding gold from the king and queen. However, Columbus was never tried. Upset by the way that Bobadilla had treated him, Ferdinand and Isabella immediately pardoned Columbus. He never forgot the experience.
39
People were shocked by the sight of the chained Columbus returning in disgrace.
T O
“
EYEWITNESS
Eyes never saw the sea so vicious…Never did the sky appear so threatening… lightning came in such great flashes that I wondered whether it would destroy my masts and sails. And all the while water came down from heaven without ceasing…men longed for death to put them out of their misery… Christopher Columbus, from a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, July 7, 1503
”
T H E
M A I N L A N D
ACROSS THE WILD
CARIBBEAN
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA WELCOMED Columbus at court, but refused to reinstate him as governor, since it was clear that he had made a mess of ruling Hispaniola. For months, Columbus bombarded them with complaints about his treatment. He made such a nuisance
of himself that they agreed to let him lead one more voyage of exploration. In 1502, Columbus sailed with four ships across the Caribbean, searching for an ocean route to India. It was a terrible voyage across a wild, stormy sea.
HURRICANE!
Indian crocodiles?
On the mainland, Columbus saw alligators, which he presumed were crocodiles. Columbus may have taken this as an encouraging sign, because he knew from books he had read that there were crocodiles in India. Pottery figure of Mayan woman
During the summer, the Caribbean can be ravaged by violent wind systems called hurricanes. Columbus reached the Caribbean in time for one of the worst hurricanes in years. His ships survived, but a fleet of 20 ships returning from Hispaniola to Spain was destroyed. Among the 500 dead was his old enemy, Bobadilla.
Mayas of the mainland
The ships encountered some Indians in a boat wearing beautifully woven clothes. They were Maya people from Central America. This was the first European contact with one of the rich civilizations of the mainland.
HEAVY DAMAGE
The wind tore at the sails. Anchors, rigging, and cables were lost, as were the rowing boats and many stores.
40
A C R O S S
T H E
W I L D
C A R I B B E A N
CUBA
August 17– September 14, 1502 The ships are lashed by storms
HISPANIOLA
JAMAICA
CENTRAL AMERICA
June 25, 1503 The ships become stranded in Jamaica.
June 29, 1502 Columbus’s ships are caught up in a vicious hurricane.
C ARIBBEAN S EA
February 7, 1503 Columbus founds Santa Maria de Belén.
WATERSPOUT
On December 13, the men were terrified by the sight of a waterspout – a column of • water sucked up by an ocean whirlwind. To protect his fleet, Columbus held up a Bible and drew a cross in the air with his THE FOURTH VOYAGE sword. The waterspout passed safely by. Columbus sailed down the coast of Central America, but failed to find a way through Columbus was worried about his brother to India. His attempt to found a mainland Bartolomé, who was on board Santiago, settlement, Santa Maria de Bélen, also failed, the hardest ship of the fleet to sail. when the settlers were attacked by Indians.
SOUTH AMERICA SOUTH AMERICA
Shipworms
The Caribbean is home to wood-eating molluscs called shipworms. These wormlike creatures fastened themselves to Columbus’s ships and munched away at their hulls. Soon the hulls were riddled with holes and rapidly filling with water.
Everyone could see that, despite their hard work, the ships were slowly sinking.
Columbus’s son, Ferdinand, who had joined him for this voyage, worked as hard as anyone else.
Hell on the high seas Fleas and lice AFTER MONTHS AT SEA, the The men grew so weak ships became floating that they did not hells. The men were bother to keep clean. often soaked to the skin, They were bitten by fleas and bloodsucking hungry, and seasick. head and body lice. Many suffered from tropical fevers caused Flies and maggots by insect bites. The crews suffered from diarrhea, caused by flies that feed on excrement and rotting meat and then transfer germs to fresh food.
Rats
ALL HANDS TO THE PUMPS
With each day that passed, the ships took on more water – from the constant rain, from the waves lashing the sides of the ships, and through the holes bored by shipworms. The crews worked nonstop to pump and bail out the water, but they were fighting a losing battle.
Damp crackers
The ship’s crackers became damp, soft, and crawling with maggots. They looked so disgusting that some of the men waited until dark to eat them.
Rats were a nuisance and a health risk on long voyages. They got into the food stores in the ships’ holds, leaving behind foul-smelling urine and droppings.
T O
“
Christopher Columbus, from a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella, July 7, 1503
M A I N L A N D
STRANDED!
EYEWITNESS
I am cut off…alone in my troubles, sick, each day expecting death, and surrounded by a million cruel and hostile savages.... if you have charity, truth, and justice, weep for me!
T H E
TWO OF COLUMBUS’S WORM-EATEN ships were leaking so badly that he had to abandon them. He headed north with the remaining pair, Santiago and La Capitana, toward Hispaniola. Carried off course by easterly winds and currents, Columbus found himself off Cuba. He tried to sail east to
”
Hispaniola, but could make no progress against the winds. The ships were dangerously low in
the water, and the crews were exhausted by constant work at the pumps. Columbus was forced to land in Jamaica, where he would be stranded for over a year. On the decks, the men built wooden huts, thatched with palm leaves.
HOUSEBOATS On June 25, 1503, the ships were beached and turned into homes. Columbus’s greatest worry was that the Jamaican Tainos might attack. To avoid provoking them, he ordered his men to stay on board, allowing only a few to go inland to trade for food. Penned up for months, the crews grew increasingly frustrated. Meanwhile, Columbus lay sick in his cabin.
Sails were fixed on the canoes.
SAILING FOR HELP On July 17, 1503, Diego Mendez, a loyal follower of Columbus, set off for Hispaniola to get help. He took two Taino canoes, manned by seven crewmen and ten Indians.
FACT file • Columbus set off on his fourth voyage with a crew of 143, including 55 boys. The large number of boys may have been due to the fact they could be paid less than grown men. • More than 40 of the crew died on the voyage. They perished from sickness, drowning, and in battles with the Indians and each other. • Only 25 of the survivors returned to Spain. The rest stayed in Hispaniola. They had done enough seafaring. • Diego Mendez was so proud of his rescue mission that he had a canoe carved on his gravestone.
PORRAS REVOLTS Francisco de Porras, captain of Santiago, spread a rumor that Columbus did not intend to leave Jamaica, but wanted to keep everybody there to die with him. On January 2, 1504, he convinced 48 men to join him in a mutiny. The mutineers took ten Taino canoes and headed for Hispaniola.
42
The mutineers robbed Taino villages as they rowed along the coast toward Hispaniola.
S T R A N D E D !
The Tainos panicked as the Moon, turned bloodred by the eclipse, began to disappear.
A CUNNING PLAN When the Tainos stopped bringing food to the ships, Columbus came up with a clever plan to scare them into obedience. He knew from an astronomy book that there would be an eclipse of the Moon on February 29. He told the Tainos that he would punish them that night by asking God to put out the light of the Moon. The trick worked, and the terrified Tainos brought all the food they could find. The men fought mainly with swords, since there was little gunpowder left.
SWORD FIGHT
Columbus’s men were stronger and better fed than the mutineers.
The mutineers tried and failed three times to reach Hispaniola in their canoes. Porras now accused Columbus of using witchcraft to keep them in Jamaica. On May 19, the mutineers marched back toward the ships to fight. Bartolomé Columbus went to meet them with 50 armed men. A fierce battle followed, which Bartolomé won. Porras was captured, and the mutineers surrendered.
After a year and five days on Jamaica, the men were overjoyed to see Mendez’s ship.
RESCUED AT LAST Although Diego Mendez had reached Hispaniola by August 1503, it was several months before he was able to buy a ship and load it with supplies to send to Columbus. The ship arrived at the end of June 1504, nearly a year since Mendez had left with his canoes. Columbus told Mendez that the day of his rescue was the most joyful in his life. He had expected to die in Jamaica.
Disappointment in death COLUMBUS RETURNED TO SPAIN in November 1504. He was now an old man, his health ruined by his long voyages. He spent his last months pleading unsuccessfully to have his rights restored. He died on May 20, 1506. With his voyages of exploration, he had changed the course of world history. Yet, to the day he died, Columbus never Monks say prayers over the dying realized that he had Columbus, while his not reached Asia. sons look on
43
F A C T
F I N D E R
VOYAGES OF
EXPLORATION B
1490S, Columbus’s voyages had inspired other explorers to set off across the Atlantic. At first, they shared Columbus’s hope that they would reach the Indies. But gradually they realized that the lands across the Atlantic had nothing to do with Asia. They had found two continents previously unknown to Europeans, later named North and South America. Y THE LATE
John Cabot
Like Columbus, Cabot was a Genoese seafarer. In 1497, he sailed west in search of the Indies, backed by King Henry VII of England. He reached North America, and believed it to be China. In 1498, he set off on another voyage, but was never heard from again.
Balboa 1513
PACIFIC OCEAN
CABOT
LEAVING BRISTOL, ENGLAND, ON MAY
Cabot 1497 PACIFIC OCEAN
EUROPE NORTH AMERICA Vespucci 1499~1500
CARIBBEAN SEA
AFRICA
PANAMA EQUATOR
LAND BARRIER Vespucci and the “New World”
Amerigo Vespucci made two voyages to the mainland, in 1499 and in 1501. Vespucci realized that the mainland was not part of the Indies. He wrote that it was a “New World,” which he claimed to have discovered. This impressed a German mapmaker, who suggested the name “America” in Vespucci’s honor.
Balboa reaches the Pacific
In 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa led an expedition across the American mainland, and became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. Wearing armor and waving his sword, he waded into the water and declared that this sea and all its islands now belonged to Spain. However, Balboa did not suspect that the Pacific is the world’s largest ocean, covering a third of the Earth’s surface.
20, 1497
Europeans were shocked to learn that a vast land barrier blocked any sea route to the wealth of the Indies. But when Balboa walked across America at its narrowest part (Panama) in 1513, hopes were raised that this might be a narrow continent, and the Indies might be just a short sea journey beyond. Magellan’s long voyage across the Pacific soon disproved this theory.
SOUTH AMERICA ATLANTIC OCEAN
Magellan 1519
Ferdinand Magellan
In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan led a Spanish fleet in search of a strait (passage of water) through America to the Pacific. He found a strait, at the tip of South America, and then discovered the true size of the Pacific. It took Magellan almost four months to reach the Philippines, where he was killed. Only one of his four ships, the Vittoria, made it back to Spain. After three years at sea, Vittoria became the first ship to sail around the world.
44
KEY TO CABOT VESPUCCI BALBOA MAGELLAN
MAP:
V O Y A G E S
O F
E X P L O R A T I O N
Improvements in navigation TO NAVIGATE, Columbus relied simply on his compass. He owned a quadrant, which was meant to be used to work out latitude (north–south 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. This side was pointed at the Pole Star.
QUADRANT (FIRST USED SEA 1450S)
AT
This tip was aimed at a star or the Sun.
Mirrors A sextant was quicker to use than a cross staff, and more accurate.
Quadrant
Movable bar
Scale
CROSS STAFF (INVENTED EARLY 1500S)
SEXTANT (INVENTED 1730S)
Sextant
The navigator looked through the sextant’s eyepiece at the horizon. Then he adjusted a mirror, fixed to a moving bar, until it reflected the Sun or a star onto a half-transparent mirror in front of his eyepiece. The angle of the bar, read off the scale, told him his latitude. Scale
Plumbline
Eyepiece
The angle was read off this scale.
A quadrant consisted of a quarter circle with a plumbline attached. One side of the quadrant was aimed at the Pole Star. The star’s height, measured by the angle of the plumbline, revealed a ship’s latitude. But it was very hard to use on the rolling deck of a ship.
THE WORLD’S TRUE SIZE
This tip was aligned with the horizon.
CHRONOMETER (INVENTED 1760S)
Cross staff
The cross staff was easier to use than a quadrant. The navigator held the rod to his cheek, moving the sliding cross piece to gauge the height of a star or the Sun above the horizon. Measurements of latitude were read off a scale along the staff’s edge.
Magellan’s voyage revealed just how wrong Columbus had been in his ideas of geography. The world was much larger than Columbus suspected, and there was no shortcut to the Indies. The Americas and the Pacific Ocean stood in the way.
Compare this with the world map on pages 6–7, made only about 60 years earlier. It is much more like the maps you can find in modern atlases.
Chronometer
The greatest navigational problem was finding a ship’s longitude (east–west position). The solution was the chronometer – a clock that kept accurate time on long voyages. The navigator compared local time, worked out from the height of the Sun, with the time back home, shown on the clock. The difference told him how far the ship had sailed east or west.
This line shows the route taken by Magellan’s ship Vittoria in 1519-22, on her historic voyage around the world.
On reaching the Philippines, Magellan got caught up in a local war. He was killed in a battle on April 27, 1521. Magellan had set off with 270 men. Only 17 returned to Spain on Vittoria.
Some American coastlines had yet to be mapped.
Crossing the vast Pacific, Magellan’s men grew so hungry that they ate rats, sawdust, and leather.
A
WORLD MAP, C.1550
45
Two continents, Australia and Antarctica, were still waiting to be found.
F A C T
F I N D E R
CONQUISTADORES S
short cut to the riches of Asia. However, Spaniards who followed Columbus to the American mainland found civilizations that were much wealthier than the Tainos of Hispaniola. In the 16th century, these mainland civilizations were all destroyed by Spanish conquistadores (“conquerors”).
FALL OF THE AZTEC EMPIRE
In 1519, Hernán Cortés led a Spanish army to Mexico. Montezuma, the Aztec ruler, thought Cortés might be a god, so he treated him well. It was a terrible mistake: two years later, the Spaniards had laid waste to Tenochtitlán, the Aztec’s great capital city, and the empire was in ruins.
Tenochtitlán C ENTRAL A MERICA
AT
Bodies were hurled down the temple steps.
L
A
N
T IC
CE AN
PACIFIC OCEAN
Machu Pichu
O
Uxmal
Hernán Cortés
Spanish troops
PAIN NEVER DISCOVERED A
The Aztecs welcomed Cortes to Mexico with valuable gifts.
S OUTH A MERICA
An Aztec, now made to wear European clothes, brings his books to be burned by the friars.
AZTECS MAYA INCAS
Aztec religion Aztecs, Maya, and Incas The conquistadores were amazed to find three great civilizations on the American mainland: the Aztec empire of Mexico, the Inca empire of Peru, and the Mayan kingdoms of Central America. Each civilization was conquered in turn.
The Spaniards were horrified to learn that the Aztecs captured prisoners in war and cut their hearts out to offer to the gods. The Aztecs believed that the Sun would not rise if they did not make these sacrifices. This picture shows a sacrifice to Huitzilopochtli, god of war.
Burning the gods
Friars were Spanish holy men.
Spanish friars followed the conquistadores to the Americas, preaching the Christian religion. The friars destroyed all the images of Aztec gods, convinced that these were devils. They ransacked Aztec and Maya libraries, burning books and often their owners as well.
Writing and record keeping THE AZTECS, INCAS, AND MAYA each invented complex methods of keeping records. These helped them to govern their subjects and collect tribute from conquered peoples. The Aztecs and Maya also used their writing systems to keep track of events in sacred calendars.
Inca quipu The Incas had no writing, yet they were able to keep complicated records using lengths of colored knotted string, called quipus.
Mayan codex The Maya developed a complete alphabet, with picture-signs to represent different sounds. Mayan codices (books) were used to record religious information. Only four codices survived the Spanish conquest.
46
Aztec calendar stone The Aztecs used a simple form of writing, with pictures standing for dates and events. This stone, covered with Aztec dates, shows the creation of the universe.
C O N Q U I S T A D O R E S
PIZARRO AND THE INCAS Francisco Pizarro led a tiny force of 180 Spaniards to Peru in 1532. He arrived when the Inca empire was weak because of civil war. Pizarro captured the Inca emperor, Atahualpa, in front of his own army and demanded a roomful of gold as ransom. Atahualpa paid the ransom, but Pizarro had him strangled anyway. This painted wooden cup shows an Inca noble in a headdress, walking behind his conqueror, a Spanish trumpeter.
Lost city of the Incas The Incas were expert stonemasons who built mighty cities and fortresses out of huge stone blocks. This is Machu Pichu, an Inca mountain stronghold 7,875 ft (2,400 m) above sea level. It was never found by the Spaniards, yet it was abandoned around the time of the conquest. Half the Inca population had died from European smallpox, which swept through South America, even before Pizarro’s arrival.
After Columbus THE PERIOD OF AMERICAN HISTORY before the Spanish conquest is known as ”Precolumbian” (before Columbus). Columbus’s voyages, which led to the conquests, changed almost everything in the Americas. The conquistadores introduced new animals, such as horses, sheep, pigs, and cattle; new food crops, such as wheat; tools made from iron and steel; wheeled transportation; and, of course, the Spanish language. Religious legacy The Spaniards made the native peoples give up their old religions and become Christians. This cathedral, in Mexico City, was built on top of the ruins of Aztec temples torn down by conquistadores. Mexico City itself is a European-style capital, built on the site of Tenochtitlán.
Machu Pichu was only discovered in 1911.
What survived? Despite the changes, many aspects of Native American daily life survived the Spanish conquest. Women in Mexico and Central America still cook meals, such as corn tortillas, which were eaten by the Aztecs and the Maya. Traditional skills and crafts live on, too: cloth is still woven using a “backstrap loom,” just as it has been for many thousands of years.
GOLDEN REWARD CONQUEST OF THE MAYA
The Maya were the oldest mainland civilization, and they were already in decline when the Spaniards arrived. Yet they put up the strongest resistance to the conquistadores. They lived in many kingdoms, which had to be conquered one by one. The last Maya stronghold fell in 1697. MAGICIAN’S PYRAMID, UXMAL, MEXICO
MAYAN TEMPLES Like the Aztecs, the Maya built their temples on top of huge stone pyramids. This one is at Uxmal, in Mexico. Like many Maya cities, Uxmal was abandoned 400 years before the conquistadores arrived. The Magician’s Pyramid is 117 ft (38 m) high.
The mainland peoples used gold for jewelry and ornaments. These were melted down by the conquistadores and sent back to Spain. American gold and silver made Spain rich and powerful, and was used to finance European wars. Beads decorated with spirals
Nose plug Necklace This gold necklace was found buried inside the Aztecs’ Great Temple at Tenochtitlán.
A Mexican gold nose plug – one of the few not melted down by the conquistadores.
Doubloons carried the Christian Cross.
Spanish doubloons Much of the Aztec and Inca gold was made into coins like these doubloons, which are decorated with the royal lion and castle of Spain.
47
Index A Africa, 6, 9, 10, 11 Ailly, Pierre d’, 12 Alexander VI, Pope, 29 alligators, 40 alphabet, 46 armor, 35 Atahualpa, Emperor, 47 Atlantic Ocean, 10, 13, 23 Aztecs, 46, 47
B Bahamas, 24 Balboa, Vasco de, 44 baptisms, 29 Barcelona, 28, 29 battles, 40 Behaim, Martin, 13 bells, 25 Bible, 13 Bobadilla, F. de, 39, 40 body decorations, 25 breastplates, 35
C Cabot, John, 44 caciques, 32, 33, 34 calendar, 46 Canary Islands, 18, 20 cannibals, 32 cannons, 16, 27 canoes, 25, 27, 42 Caonabo, 32, 35 Cape of Good Hope, 15 captives, 24, 28, 34 caravans, 9 caravels, 7, 17 Carib people, 27, 32 Caribbean Ocean, 26–27, 29, 40 cassava, 24, 34 Cathay, see China
Central America, 40, 41, 46–47 Ceylon, see Sri Lanka chile peppers, 24 China (Cathay), 7, 8, 44 Christianity, 15, 22, 46 converts, 11, 34, 47 Christopher, Saint, 13 chronometers, 45 Cipangu, see Japan coat of arms, 29 codices, 46 colonies, 28, 33 Columbus, Bartolomé, 34, 35, 38, 41, 43 Columbus, Christopher: death, 43 early voyages, 10–11 first voyage, 18–27 fourth voyage, 40–43 homecomings, 28–29, 35, 39, 43 illness, 32, 34, 38, 42 imprisonment, 39 planning, 12–13, 14 preparations, 16–17 second voyage, 32 signature of, 29 sponsors, 14–15 third voyage, 36–39 Columbus, Diego, 34, 39 Columbus, Ferdinand, 41 compass, 11, 21 conquistadores, 46–47
Acknowledgments The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their images: Position key: c=center; b=bottom; l=left; r=right; t=top
corn, 34, 47 Cortés, Hernán, 46 Cosa, Juan de la, 16 crackers, 41 crew, 16–17 crossbows, 35 cross staffs, 45 crusades, 9 Cuba, 26, 27, 32, 42
DE dead reckoning, 21 Dias, Bartolomeu, 15 diseases, 33, 41, 47 dogs, 25, 35 doubloons, 47 Earth, 13, 39, 45 Earthly Paradise, 39 eclipse, lunar, 43 encomienda system, 38 exploration, 6–17, 44
F falconets, 16, 17 Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain, 14–15, 28–29, 32, 38–40 flamingoes, 33 fleas, 41 flies, 41 fogón, 16, 22 food, 22, 24, 41 forts, 27, 30 friars, 46
G Genoa, 10 globes, 13 gods, Aztec, 46 gold, 11, 25, 26, 29, 33, 35, 47 Gold Coast, 11 Granada, 14 Guinea, 10, 11
HI Haiti, 26 hammocks, 26 helmets, 35 Henry VII, King, 44 Henry the Navigator, 9
AKG London: 10tl, 26bl, 44bc; Bibliotheque Nationale 8br, 9tr; British Library 11t; Erich Lessing 29br; Sevilla Biblioteca Columbina 12cl; Veintimilla 47cl; Bridgeman Art Library, London / New York: Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid, Spain 46tr; British Library 6–7, 9b; Library of Congress, Washington 35 cr; British Library, London: 34cl, 45b; British Museum: 8bl, 12tl, 15cr,
Hispaniola, 28, 29, 42 conquest of, 35 discovery of, 26–27 rebellion, 38, 39 return to, 30–35 Hojeda, Alonso de, 33, 35 homes, 25 horses, 34 hourglass, 21 hurricanes, 40
mutinies, 22, 42, 43
NO Native Americans, 25, 33, 37, 46–47 Navidad, 27, 30, 32 navigation, 11, 21, 45 Niña, 16, 17, 19, 20, 27, 32, 35 Niño, Juan, 17 North America, 44 Ottoman Empire, 9
I
P
Imago Mundi, 12 Incas, 46, 47 India, 8 Indian Ocean, 6, 7, 15 Indies, 8 Isabela (town), 33, 38 Isabella, Queen, see Ferdinand & Isabella
Pacific Ocean, 44, 45 Palos, 16–17, 18, 28 Panama, 44 parrots, 28 pearls, 37 Peru, 46, 47 Philippines, 44, 45 pineapples, 24 Pinta, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 28 Pinzón, Martín, 17, 18, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 Pinzón, Vincente, 17, 19 Pizarro, Francisco, 47 Polo, Marco, 7, 8–9, 12 Porras, Francisco de, 42, 43 portolan map, 11 Portugal, 6, 9, 10–11, 14, 15 Prester John, 9 pumps, 16, 41
JKL Jamaica, 32, 42–43 Japan (Cipangu), 8, 14, 18, 24, 26 jewelry, gold, 47 John II, King, 14 Kublai Khan, 8 La Capitana, 42 Lisbon, 10–11 logbook, 19, 20–21 lombards, 16 looms, 47
M Machu Pichu, 47 Magellan, Ferdinand, 44, 45 matchlocks, 34, 35 Maya, 40, 46, 47 Mendez, Diego, 42, 43 Mexico, 46, 47 Moctezuma, 46 monkeys, 38 Moors, 14 mosquitoes, 33 Muslims, 9, 14, 35
39 Santa Maria, 16, 19, 20, 26–27 Santa Maria de Bélen, 41 Santangel, Luis de, 15 Santiago, 41, 42 Sargasso Sea, 21 settlements, 27, 30–35, 42 sextants, 45 shipworms, 41 shipwrecks, 10, 26–27 Silk Road, 8–9 slaves, 11, 34, 38 smallpox, 33, 47 South America, 36, 38 Spain, 14–15, 16, 28–29 colonies, 46–47 spices, 8, 11, 24 spirits, 25 Sri Lanka (Ceylon), 7, 8 swords, 35 syphilis, 33
T Tainos, 24–29, 32, 33, 42, 43 battles, 34–35 slaves, 34, 38 temples, 47 Tenochtitlán, 46 tobacco, 26 Toscanelli, Paolo, 12 trade goods, 17, 25 traverse board, 21 Trinidad, 36, 38
QR
VWZ
quadrants, 45 quipus, 46 rats, 41 rebellions, 38, 39 record keeping, 46 rudders, 20
Vespucci, Amerigo, 44 Vittoria, 44, 45 waterspouts, 41 waves, giant, 38 weapons, 16, 34, 35 winds, 23 writing, 46 zemis, 25
S San Salvador, 23 Santa Domingo, 38,
47br; INAH 40bl, 46bl; Corbis UK Ltd: 36–37; Bettmann 32cl; The Art Archive: Palazzo Farnese Caprarola/ Dagli Orti 44br; Mary Evans Picture Library: 18–19dps, 39tl; De Lorgues 43br; Glasgow University Library: Ms Hunter 46cr; INAH: 40bl, 46bl; Katz Pictures: The Mansell Collection 14bl, 15tl, 30–31; Museum of Mankind: 47t; Museum of Order St. John: 35c (above);
Peter Newark's Pictures: 44cl; Ernest Board 44tr; National Maritime Museum: 11tc, 12br, 41bc, 45tr, 45cr; N.H.P.A.: Kevin Schafer 39cr; Robin Wigington, Arbour Antiques: 35tl; Scala Group S.p.A.: Biblioteca Nazionale Firenze 46c; Science Photo Library: Eye of Science 33tl; Wallace Collection: 35cl (above); Warwick Castle: 35tc.
