October 1, 1999
October 15 marks the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, (September 15-October 15). Hispanic Heritage Month takes a look at the contributions and impact of the Hispanic community on today's society. The month long celebration concludes with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, a Genoese from the Island of Genoa off of Italy, who by the grace of the Spanish monarch set sail to discover the Indies.
By Daniel L. Muñoz
Towards the end of the Fifteenth Century three Spanish ships under the command of Christopher Columbus set sail due West to explore the unknown seas. They were chartered by the most Catholic King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
Their charter was to sail West by Southwest until they reached the Indies.
Though Columbus was sponsored by the monarchs, his trip into the unknown and mostly uncharted oceans, was also sponsored financially by Italian merchants who invested sizable fortunes into the venture.
Spain had just emerged from its long struggle to overthrow the rule by the Moorish Caliphs who had ruled Spain for over 400 years. It was a battle between Islamic rulers and Catholic Spain. It was a struggle that was symbolized by the Christian "El Cid" doing battle against the fanatical religious Muslims of Africa.
With the Islamic threat removed, the Catholic rulers then turned to rid the countryside of the next biggest threat to Catholic Spain - the threat poised by Judeo. The inquisition was instituted and the removal of the Judaic populace was begun.
It was at this juncture that Christopher Columbus approached the Crown and petitioned for a charter to explore the outer reaches of the mid and South Atlantic. "To sail until landfall was made." All lands would be claimed in the name of his Sovereigns the King and Queen of Spain.
Dreaming of establishing a Catholic empire in all the realms of the known world, the Sovereigns agreed. For funds they used all the monies they had expropriated from the Judaic Synagogues and the disposed Caliphs.
Thus Columbus, who was chartered by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to "discover and subdue some islands and continents in the ocean," set sail.
His ships, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria carried as its crew sailors, members of the Kings court, and Spanish knights honed by the battles to oust the Moors. The hardened Hidalgos set sail with visions of finding gold, land and slaves, bent on conquest and of enriching themselves and their families in Spain.
"Monday, October 8th. Steered W.S.W. and sailed day and night (for) eight or twelve leagues (approximately 27.6 to 41.5 land miles). At times during the night (we sailed) five leagues an hour. Found the sea to be like the river at Seville. The air is as soft as that of Seville in April and so fragrant that it was delicious to breathe. The weeds appear very fresh. Many land birds which flew towards the S.W. Grajoas (ducks) and a pelican were seen.
"Tuesday, October 9th. Sailed S.W., five leagues when the wind changed and they stood W. by N. four leagues. Sailed the whole day and night, twenty leagues and a half; reckoned to the crew seventeen. All night heard birds passing.
"Wednesday, October 10th. Steered W.S.W. and sailed at times ten miles an hour at others twelve and at others seven; day and night made fifty nine leagues progress; reckoned to the crew but forty-four. Here the men lost all patience and complained of the length of the voyage. But the Admiral encouraged them in the best manner he could, representing the profits they were about to acquire and adding that it was to no purpose to complain having come so far, and nothing to do but continue on to the Indies, with the help of our Lord, they should arrive there.
"Thursday, October 11th. Steered W.S.W. and encountered a heavier sea they had met with before in the whole voyage. Saw pardelas and a green brush near the vessel. The crew of the Pinta saw cane and a log. They also picked up a stick which appeared to have been carved with an iron tool, a piece of cane, a plant which grows on land, and a board. The crew of the Niña saw other signs of land a stalk loaded with raspberries. These signs encouraged them and they all grew cheerful. Sailed this day till sunset, twenty-seven leagues.
"After sunset steered the original course W. and sailed twelve mile an hour till two hours after midnight, going nine miles, which are twenty two leagues and a half; and as the Pinta was the swiftest sailor, and kept ahead of the Admiral, she discovered land an made the signals which had been ordered. The land was first seen by a sailor call Rodrigo de Triana although the Admiral, at ten o'clock that evening standing on the quarterdeck, saw a light but so small a body that he could not affirm it to be land. Calling to Pedro Gutierrea, groom of the King's wardrobe, he told him he saw the light. Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, whom the King and Queen had sent with the squadron as comptroller, but he was unable to see it from his situation.
"The Admiral again perceived (the light) once or twice appearing like the light of a wax candle moving up and down, which some thought (was) an indication of land. But the Admiral held it for certain that land was near; for which reason, after they had said the Salve which the seamen are accustomed to repeat and chant after their fashion, the Admiral directed them to keep a strict watch upon the forecastle and look diligently for land. To him who should first discover it (land), he promised a silken jacket, beside the reward which the King and Queen offered, which was an annuity of ten thousand maravedis.
"Friday October 12th. At two o'clock in the morning land was discovered, at two leagues distance. They took sail and remained under the square sail lying to till day, which was Friday, when they found themselves near a small island, one of the Lucayos, called in the Indian language Guanahani.
"Presently they decried people, naked. The Admiral landed in the boat, which was armed, along with Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vicent Yaez, his brother, captain of the Niña. The Admiral bore the royal standard, and the two captains carried the banner of the Green Cross, which all the ships carried. This contained the initials of the names of the King and Queen on each side of the cross and a crown over each letter. Arrived on shore, saw trees very green, many streams of water, and diverse sorts of fruits. The Admiral called upon the two Captains, and the rest of the crew who had landed, as also to Rodrigo de Escovedo, notary of the fleet, and Rodrigo Sanchez, of Segovia, to bear witness that he before all others took possession of that island for the King and Queen his Sovereigns making the requisite declarations, which are more at large set down her in writing."
We honor Christopher Columbus as the discoverer of the Americas, though in fact what he had discovered was one of the small outward islands of the Caribbean.
From 1492 to 1504 Columbus made four voyages to the New World. He explored as far south as the coast of Venezuela.
A legacy of the European exploration was that whole groups of Indians died either as war casualties, from disease, or from slavery in the mines. Six million or more indigenous Indians died before the Spanish conquest was completed. The Arawaks, Caribs, and Ciboneya were completely eradicated before the Spaniards overran the Caribbean Islands.
In 1493 the first Catholic priests arrived in the New World. By the Papal Line of Demarcation, Pope Alexan-der VI divided the New World between Spain and Portugal. The New World was divided by the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Spanish established the first European colony at Santo Domingo (Hispanola) in 1499 and by 1501, with much of the Indian population decimated, introduced slavery by bringing in Blacks from Africa.
In 1519, Hernn Cortez landed in Mexico and with an army of six hundred men managed to conquer the Aztecs and kill Moctezuma. The three hundred year reign of Mexico by Spain had begun.
(Note: Journal notes excerpted from "Journal of Christopher Columbus" First Voyage to America [New York, Albert and Charles Boni, Inc., 1924 pp18-26.] We are also indebted to Paul Thomas Welty whose "World Cultures Sourcebooks" provided the resources for this article.)
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