At last, the sequel to Encounters Unforeseen: 1492 Retold goes on sale this November! Titled Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold, it dramatizes Columbus’s invasion of “Española” and the bitter resistance mounted by its Taíno peoples during the period and aftermath of his second voyage.
The story is told through the eyes of Chief Caonabó, Columbus, and the other Taíno and European protagonists introduced in Encounters Unforeseen. Caonabó becomes the first Native chieftain in the Americas known to organize war against European settlement.
As Encounters Unforeseen, the new book is written as a historical novel—based closely on primary sources—and contains historic and newly-drawn sketches and maps. The website soon will include a book summary, initial reviews, and some of the new images and maps.
Readers of Encounters Unforeseen may recall that, on his first voyage, Columbus drew a map of Española’s northwestern coast locating the site of Navidad (shown below), where he’d left a garrison of crewmen after the Santa María sank. He’d instructed these men to trade for gold and discover Española’s gold mines while he sailed to Spain and back. Early scenes of Columbus and Caonabó depict the Navidad garrison’s fate.
