Over the decades that followed, the Spanish killed, conquered, and enslaved people from hundreds of different indigenous groups in the New World, but they were perhaps most interested in the vast riches of the Aztec and Inca empires. On his second voyage, which left from Cadiz in 1493, Columbus sailed with 17 ships carrying soldiers, farmers, craftsman, and priests who would go on to establish the first permanent colonies in the Americas. His fame helped him gain further royal patronage, allowing him to lead three more expeditions to the Caribbean before his death in 1506. Reports of Columbus’s 1492 voyage made him famous across Europe and earned him the title Admiral of the Ocean Sea. During his first voyage, Columbus traveled to Cuba as well as Hispaniola, the home of present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Regardless, the moment he stepped onto dry land marked the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas and the Golden Age. Interestingly, we don’t actually know where Columbus landed first. Following a long journey, Columbus landed on the coast of a Caribbean island in what is known today as the Bahamas. They gave him part of their fortune to finance his venture across the vast ocean.Ĭolumbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera with three small ships: the Santa María (the largest ship, also known as La Gallega), the Santa Clara (nicknamed the Niña), and the Pinta (which was actually the ship’s nickname its original name is lost to history). After failing to gain support for his project in Portugal, he decided to move to Spain, where, he won the support of the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon.
In the late 15th century, Cristóbal Colón, known in the English-speaking world as Christopher Columbus, a man well-read in geography, astronomy, history, and theology who had extensive maritime experience, believed he could sail west across the Atlantic to reach Asia.