Columbus decides that Cuban captives should be taken to Castile for training in language, faith, and custom so they might be resettled in Cuba, much as the Portuguese had done with African captives in their African trading posts. He orders the seizure of five young...
The captains of the Pinta and Niña were two brothers from Palos, Spain, Martín Alonso Pinzón and the younger Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. Martín was the most reputed mariner of the Palos region, and his participation on the voyage had been essential for convincing seamen to...
Two Cuban captives escape. Rather than sailing to Baneque—as Martín Alonso Pinzón wished—Columbus had continued to explore Cuba for a few days, reconnoitering its future subjugation. He completed this exercise by the 17th, but chose not to sail for Baneque the...
Columbus again attempts to sail to Baneque but is impeded by contrary winds. He considers sailing north to Lucayan islands previously visited but fears the Guanahanían captives would jump ship given the proximity to their homeland. The ships withdraw to Cuba.
The ships attempted to sail to Baneque for the third time. After nightfall, Columbus again determined that the wind and seas were too contrary to reach it. But Martín Alonso Pinzón believed otherwise and, while the Santa María and Niña returned to Cuba, the Pinta...
Columbus believed the Guanahanían captives aboard theSanta María feared cannibals on Haiti. At this time, he doubts cannibalism exists, reasoning in the Journal that some of the peoples the voyage had encountered similarly believed Columbus and his men were...
