The news as it happened.
Columbus Sails West
Christopher Columbus’s voyage west across the Ocean Sea in search of the Indies, from Palos in August 1492 to the islands, Cuba and Hispaniola, and the loss of the Santa Maria at Christmas
Written from the ancient historians, with every claim cited.
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One issue each morning, starting with August 1492.
- August 1492Admiral’s three ships reach the Canaries, bound west for the IndiesThe Admiral’s three ships, out of Palos on 3 August for the Indies by the western sea, lie together at Gran Canaria, where the Pinta is to have a new rudder before the fleet strikes west.
- September 1492Land cried from the Pinta proves to be cloud; the Admiral holds westThe land Pinzón cried from the Pinta on 25 September proved to be cloud, but birds and weed tell the Admiral that land is near.
- October 1492Land at last: the Admiral claims an island for the SovereignsLand at last: on 12 October the Admiral went ashore on an island the people call Guanahani, and his ships now lie on the coast of Cuba, where he seeks the Great Khan.
- November 1492Pinzón takes the Pinta away without the Admiral’s leaveMartín Alonso Pinzón has taken the Pinta away without the Admiral’s leave; with two ships the Admiral lies on the coast of Cuba, held by an east wind, after his envoys found a village inland but no city.
- December 1492Admiral’s ship lost on a bank off Española at ChristmasThe Admiral’s ship has been lost on a bank off La Isla Española at Christmas; with one vessel left, he is building a tower and a fort from her timbers and making ready to return to Castile.
