Columbus brought the Santa María and Niña to anchor—in his view—in the greatest harbor he had yet entered (Baie de l’Acul, Haiti), perhaps the most populated area in Guacanagarí’s chiefdom of Marien. Columbus named the harbor Mar de Santo Tomás as the day was the vigil of St. Thomas, noting in the Journal that the harbor was better than any seen on voyages to England or Africa. He was moved by the fertility and cultivation of the enormous valley surrounding the bay, the height of the encircling mountains, and the density of the population.
Over the course of two days, Columbus and crews were greeted by many of Guacanagarí’s subordinate chiefs and thousands of his subjects, who freely offered food, water, and gold pieces. Canoeists surrounded the Santa María and Niña and clambered aboard. Columbus dispatched sailors to honor chieftains’ invitations that he couldn’t accommodate. He ordered that gifts be given reciprocally and wrote in the Journal that it seemed right to do so, particularly since the Indians were now Castilian subjects.
Guacanagarí had received reports of the pale beings’ progress along his chiefdom’s coast and would soon invite Columbus to meet.
The following photo is of the Baie de l’Acul, inland looking seaward:
