As depicted in Columbus and Caonabó, on March 10, 1496 (528 years ago), Chief Caonabó was unshackled from the ground in Columbus’s fortified residence at Isabela and escorted north through the settlement to its beach and pier, where he was hauled to sail with Columbus aboard the Niña and re-shackled to a rail. That final walk on his homeland might be envisioned through the following photos: the first faces south across the settlement toward the residence (the residence’s remains are behind trees to the left), the second faces south across the beach to the settlement, and the third faces west from the beach’s northern edge to the remains of a modern pier.
Caonabó had refused to submit to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand’s rule, and Columbus hoped he would do so if brought to kneel at their feet.
The Niña and India departed that morning for Spain, improvidently overloaded. About 225 Spaniards were aboard, desperate to escape further service on “Española.” Juan Aguado, the courtier sent to investigate Columbus, was returning home to criticize him (see post of August 5, 2023, at isabella-and-ferdinand-investigate-columbuss-conduct/ ).
Other Taínos aboard included a brother and nephew of Caonabó, the two interpreters then enslaved to serve Columbus discussed in the prior post, and some two-dozen healthy Maguanans once Caonabó’s subjects, whom Columbus intended to display to Isabella and Ferdinand to demonstrate the potential of the slave trade he sought. These Maguanans had been among those enslaved to help build the India (see post of July 4, 2023, at caravels-built-at-isabela/ ).