GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — Hispanic culture in the Western Hemisphere owes its history to an adventurous Italian and his quest for gold and a new trade route to the East. Christopher Columbus is honored for his discovery of the Americas, which helped to shape the history and culture of the Caribbean, and has left an indelible mark on the Western Hemisphere.
U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay's Fisherman's Point shares a tie to Columbus' explorations, marked with a stone monument to history.
Columbus was born to a middle-class family of weavers in Genoa, Italy, and travelled extensively to Africa and the Mediterranean, learning how to sail and navigate. He had plans to find a trade route to Japan or China by a westward passage, and needed a royal financier to provide for his trips. After being rejected by King John II of Portugal, he approached Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain for money. Eight years later, the Spanish royals finally agreed, and Columbus was on his way across the Atlantic.
Columbus' first voyage began on Aug. 3, 1492. He was given three ships: the Niña, the Pinta and the flagship Santa Maria. They headed west from the Canary Islands and on October 12, land was spotted. They first landed on an island Columbus named San Salvador, and he mistakenly proclaimed he had found Asia. Columbus and his ships visited several other islands including Cuba and Hispaniola (present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic.) On Dec. 25, the Santa Maria ran aground and they were forced to abandon her. Thirty-nine men were left behind at the settlement named La Navidad, as Columbus returned to Spain in March of 1493.
The second voyage was to be a large scale colonization and exploration project. Outfitted with a large fleet of 17 ships, with 1,500 male colonists and domesticated animals aboard, Columbus sailed from Cádiz in October of 1493. Columbus' orders were to expand the settlement on Hispaniola, convert the natives to Christianity, establish a trading post and continue his explorations in search of the Orient.
His landfall this time was made in the Lesser Antilles and his new discoveries included the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. The Italian navigator arrived at Hispaniola to find the first colony destroyed by the indigenous natives. He founded a new colony nearby, and then sailed off in the summer of 1494 to explore the southern coast of Cuba.
On April 30, 1494, Columbus and his crew found a large, crescent-shaped harbor and made landfall near Fisherman's Point here at Guantanamo Bay. They were searching for gold, but found only a handful of Taino tribesman and a few huts. Before leaving the next day, he named the bay "Puerto Grande," and then spent the next few weeks exploring the treacherous shoals around Cuba, searching in vain for the mainland before returning to Hispaniola.
Columbus' second voyage marked the start of colonialism in the New World, and the Spanish colonies infused European culture into the region. This culture still thrives throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America.
"He is the brick that the entire Hispanic heritage was built upon," said Army Maj. Reuben Soto with the Joint Task Force Guantanamo's Joint Detention Group. "He was the first one who brought culture and all things that composed Latin heritage to America. He impacted others who came after him as well."
Some of those who sailed with Columbus on his second voyage went on to play very important roles in the history of the New World. Diego Velázquez was a conquistador who later became governor of Cuba. Juan Ponce de León would become governor of Puerto Rico, but was most famous for his journey to Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth.
Columbus inspired explorers into a race between European nations to find and colonize the western world and harvest its resources. Columbus' discovery brought him wealth and fame, but he was able to give the region a culture and history that will remain for all time.
For more information about Joint Task Force Guantanamo, visit the Web site at www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil.