The Discovery

The Discovery

The first voyage

August 3, 1492, the ships embarked from the Puerto de Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva.  Nine days later, they stopped in the Canary Islands, where they repaired the rudder of La Pinta and modified the sails of La Niña.  The great adventure did not actually begin until September 9.

On October 12, 1492, land was first sighted, upon arriving at the island of Guanahaní.

Territories discovered

•  Guanahaní, island in the Bahamas archipelago, whose current name is Watling.  It was dubbed the island of San Salvador.

•  Rum Cay, belonging to the Bahamas, named Santa María de la Concepción on October 14.

•  Long Cay, belonging to the Bahamas, was named La Fernandina.

•  Crooked Cay, another island in the Bahamas archipelago, received the name La Isabela.

•  Cuba, dubbed Juana, October 28.

•  Haiti or Babeque (today the island of Santo Domingo, shared by the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti).  Columbus named it La Española or La Hispaniola, which means “little Spain”, December 5, 1492.