La Navidad
La Navidad was the first - short-lived - establishment that the Spaniards foundedon American soilunder the leadership of Christopher Columbus . It was on the north coast of the island of Hispaniola .
History of origin
The flagship of Christopher Columbus, the Santa María , ran aground (a reef or a sandbar ) due to the carelessness of a crew member on Christmas night 1492 (the night of December 25th ) and could no longer be made afloat. Columbus had a fort built from the remains of the ship (with the help of his friend, Kaziken Guacanagari and the Taínos ) , which he called La Navidad (German: Christmas).
The crew consisted of 39 members of the expedition. Columbus had to leave these men behind because the only ship he had left until then, the Niña , was too small to transport all of the crew back to Europe. In addition, Columbus saw it as a coincidence that the loss of the Santa María almost forced him to found a settlement. So he did not change his decision when the Pinta unexpectedly rejoined him on January 6, 1493 (the captain of this ship and rival of Columbus, Martín Alonso Pinzón , had previously left the fleet without giving any reason).
The end
When Columbus reached La Navidad on November 28, 1493 on his second voyage , he found the fort in ruins and the crew dead. The neighboring village of the Kaziken Guacanagari had also been destroyed. The reasons for this are not exactly clear. According to Columbus's records, Guacanagari initially claimed that the fort had been attacked by warring tribes. Then he changed his statement to the effect that the Spaniards had started quarrels with the Indians over the gold and women and raided the neighboring villages. The Taínos then destroyed the fort and killed the occupation in retaliation for the acts of violence and looting by the Spaniards.
Weeks after his second arrival on Hispaniola, Columbus founded the colony of La Isabela further east (named in honor of Isabella I of Castile , an important patron of Columbus).
location
The exact location of La Navidad has not yet been clarified - despite intensive research efforts. What is certain is that the fort was located on what is now Haiti, east of today's city of Cap-Haïtien . The bay near the city of Caracol is suspected to be the location.
literature
- Andreas Venzke : Christoph Columbus , Reinbek 1992 ISBN 3-499-50449-9
- Ulrich Offenberg: Christopher Columbus. The departure into a new world. Grünwald near Munich, Complete Media GmbH, 2005. ISBN 978-3-8312-6068-3 (audio book)
Web links
Coordinates: 19 ° 41 ′ N , 72 ° 1 ′ W