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Fourth voyage of Columbus
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Fourth voyage of Columbus
The fourth voyage of Columbus was a Spanish maritime expedition in 1502–1504 to the western Caribbean Sea led by Christopher Columbus. The voyage, Columbus's last, failed to find a western maritime route to the Far East, returned relatively little profit, and resulted in the loss of many crew men, all the fleet's ships, and a year-long marooning in Jamaica. It is deemed the first non-Amerindian discovery of mainland Middle America, and one of the first non-Amerindian, non-Norse discoveries of continental North America.
Upon being released from prison on 17 December 1500, Columbus set about planning what he deemed would be 'his most significant, most profitable expedition yet.' The 1497 discovery of an eastern maritime passage to 'the opulent East,' by Vasco de Gama, had steeled Columbus's determination to find a shorter, more direct western route. Consequently, on 26 February 1502, Columbus requested licence to sail on a fourth voyage. Passage to the East, he reasoned, might lay farther west than anyone had prior sailed. The project being deemed viable and desirable, the Catholic Monarchs granted authorisation on 14 March. The royal licence approved disbursement of ten thousand gold pesos for fitting out a fleet, appointed Francisco de Porras as comptroller of spoils, and Diego de Porras as auditor and Crown representative, and forbid the taking of slaves, among other terms and conditions. Columbus enlisted Diego Tristán to captain the flagship, La Capitana, Francisco de Porras for Santiago de Palos, Pedro de Terreros for El Gallego, and Bartolomeo Fieschi for Vizcaíno. One hundred and forty men and boys were reportedly recruited to man the fleet. By 28 April, when all preparations had been finalised, Columbus had spent 2,259,239 maravedis on wages, rent, equipment, and provisions.
The Columbian fleet set sail on 9 May 1502. After a brief detour to Arzila, Morocco, which Ferdinand II had requested, the fleet reached Hierro, Canary Islands, where they reprovisioned. The fleet reached Martinique in 21 days, the fastest Atlantic crossing of Columbus's career.
Crew well-rested and ships repaired, the fleet departed the Lesser Antilles due west. Though his commission forbade landing at Hispaniola at this stage of the voyage, Columbus anchored just off the Ozama River by the end of June, as he wished to request permission to enter the port of Santo Domingo so as to shelter therein from a hurricane he feared was brewing. The petition was denied, but the Admiral was shortly proven right by the landing of a 'massive hurricane', which the fleet weathered reasonably well, possibly off the Jaina River. After repairing the ships, the fleet set off downwind from Hispaniola on 15 July. After a brief stay at Isle of Pines, Cuba, the ships picked up stiff north-easterlies and set of due southwest.
On 30 July, a crewmate sighted Bonacca. Notably, upon anchoring off the island, a richly-laden merchant's canoe approached the fleet. Noting their goods were 'all of a quality superior to what they had seen before,' the Spaniards forced a trade, buying ceramics, dyed cotton textiles, flint-edged swords, and copper hatchets with 'the usual baubles.' As the vessel is thought to have hailed from some nearby port in the Maya Lowlands, the event is deemed by some scholars the first instance of contact between Maya and non-Amerindian peoples.
After impressing the canoe's elderly skipper, the fleet anchored in the lee of Cape Honduras, 'where they made the first landing on the mainland of North America.' They next anchored off the Romano (Aguán) River, due east, where 'Columbus took formal possession' of the newly discovered lands on 17 August. The weather, which beset them with strong headwinds and fierce rain, prolonged the fleet's journey southeastwards to Cape Gracias a Dios, so christened because when they rounded it on 14 September, the weather improved noticeably.
On 16 September, two days after having turned south at Cape Gracias a Dios, the fleet anchored just off a large estuary, 'probably [that of] the Rio Grande,' with surf so strong it swamped one of the boats, leading to the death by drowning of two crewmates.
On 25 September, the fleet moored off Puerto Limón, where they attempted to trade with the Talamancan locals, two of whom were impressed to help with Castilian–Amerindian translation.
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Fourth voyage of Columbus
The fourth voyage of Columbus was a Spanish maritime expedition in 1502–1504 to the western Caribbean Sea led by Christopher Columbus. The voyage, Columbus's last, failed to find a western maritime route to the Far East, returned relatively little profit, and resulted in the loss of many crew men, all the fleet's ships, and a year-long marooning in Jamaica. It is deemed the first non-Amerindian discovery of mainland Middle America, and one of the first non-Amerindian, non-Norse discoveries of continental North America.
Upon being released from prison on 17 December 1500, Columbus set about planning what he deemed would be 'his most significant, most profitable expedition yet.' The 1497 discovery of an eastern maritime passage to 'the opulent East,' by Vasco de Gama, had steeled Columbus's determination to find a shorter, more direct western route. Consequently, on 26 February 1502, Columbus requested licence to sail on a fourth voyage. Passage to the East, he reasoned, might lay farther west than anyone had prior sailed. The project being deemed viable and desirable, the Catholic Monarchs granted authorisation on 14 March. The royal licence approved disbursement of ten thousand gold pesos for fitting out a fleet, appointed Francisco de Porras as comptroller of spoils, and Diego de Porras as auditor and Crown representative, and forbid the taking of slaves, among other terms and conditions. Columbus enlisted Diego Tristán to captain the flagship, La Capitana, Francisco de Porras for Santiago de Palos, Pedro de Terreros for El Gallego, and Bartolomeo Fieschi for Vizcaíno. One hundred and forty men and boys were reportedly recruited to man the fleet. By 28 April, when all preparations had been finalised, Columbus had spent 2,259,239 maravedis on wages, rent, equipment, and provisions.
The Columbian fleet set sail on 9 May 1502. After a brief detour to Arzila, Morocco, which Ferdinand II had requested, the fleet reached Hierro, Canary Islands, where they reprovisioned. The fleet reached Martinique in 21 days, the fastest Atlantic crossing of Columbus's career.
Crew well-rested and ships repaired, the fleet departed the Lesser Antilles due west. Though his commission forbade landing at Hispaniola at this stage of the voyage, Columbus anchored just off the Ozama River by the end of June, as he wished to request permission to enter the port of Santo Domingo so as to shelter therein from a hurricane he feared was brewing. The petition was denied, but the Admiral was shortly proven right by the landing of a 'massive hurricane', which the fleet weathered reasonably well, possibly off the Jaina River. After repairing the ships, the fleet set off downwind from Hispaniola on 15 July. After a brief stay at Isle of Pines, Cuba, the ships picked up stiff north-easterlies and set of due southwest.
On 30 July, a crewmate sighted Bonacca. Notably, upon anchoring off the island, a richly-laden merchant's canoe approached the fleet. Noting their goods were 'all of a quality superior to what they had seen before,' the Spaniards forced a trade, buying ceramics, dyed cotton textiles, flint-edged swords, and copper hatchets with 'the usual baubles.' As the vessel is thought to have hailed from some nearby port in the Maya Lowlands, the event is deemed by some scholars the first instance of contact between Maya and non-Amerindian peoples.
After impressing the canoe's elderly skipper, the fleet anchored in the lee of Cape Honduras, 'where they made the first landing on the mainland of North America.' They next anchored off the Romano (Aguán) River, due east, where 'Columbus took formal possession' of the newly discovered lands on 17 August. The weather, which beset them with strong headwinds and fierce rain, prolonged the fleet's journey southeastwards to Cape Gracias a Dios, so christened because when they rounded it on 14 September, the weather improved noticeably.
On 16 September, two days after having turned south at Cape Gracias a Dios, the fleet anchored just off a large estuary, 'probably [that of] the Rio Grande,' with surf so strong it swamped one of the boats, leading to the death by drowning of two crewmates.
On 25 September, the fleet moored off Puerto Limón, where they attempted to trade with the Talamancan locals, two of whom were impressed to help with Castilian–Amerindian translation.
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