part-time weaver(the son of a skilled weaver),and expert sailor.He set out with three sailing ships,the largest of which was the Santa Maria,perhaps 100 feet long,and thirty- nine crew members. Columbus would never have made it to Asia,which was thousands of miles farther away than he had calculated,imagining a smaller world.He would have been doomed by that great expanse of sea.But he was lucky.One-fourth of the way there he came upon an unknown,uncharted land that lay between Europe and Asia-the Americas.It was early October 1492,and thirty-three days since he and his crew had left the Canary Islands,off the Atlantic coast of Africa.Now they saw branches and sticks floating in the water. They saw flocks of birds. These were signs of land.Then,on October 12,a sailor called Rodrigo saw the early morning moon shining on white sands,and cried out.It was an island in the Bahamas,the Caribbean sea.The first man to sight land was supposed to get a yearly pension of 10,000 maravedis for life,but Rodrigo never got it.Columbus claimed he had seen a light the evening before.He got the reward. So,approaching land,they were met by the Arawak Indiansswam out to greet them.The Arawaks lived in village communes,had a developed agriculture of corn, yams,cassava.They could spin and weave,but they had ne bersos or work animals.They had no iron,but they wore tiny gold ornaments in their ear) This was to have enormous consequences:it led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he insisted that they ude him to the source of the gold. He then sailed to what is now Cuba,then to Hisparroa(the island which today consists of Haiti and the Dominican Republic).There,bits of visible gold in the rivers,and a gold mask presented to Columbus by a local Indian chief,led to wild visions of gold fields. On Hispaniola,out of timbers front the Santa Maria,which had run aground, Columbus built a fort,the first European rilitary base in the Western Hemisphere.He called it Navidad(Christmas)and lef thirty-nine crewmembers there,with instructions to find and store the gold.He took more Indian prisoners and put them aboard his two remaining ships.At one par of the island he got into a fight with Indians who refused to trade as many bows and arrow as he and his men wanted.Two were run through with swords and bled to deat.Then the Nina and the Pinta set sail for the Azores and Spain. When the weather trned cold,the Indian prisoners began to die. Columbus's repor to the Court in Madrid was extravagant.He insisted he had reached Asia(it was Cuba)and an island off the coast of China(Hispaniola).His descriptions were part fact,part fiction: Hispaniola is a miracle.Mountains and hills,plains and pastures,are both fertile and beautiful...the harbors are unbelievably good and there are many wide rivers of which the majority contain gold....There are many spices,and great mines of gold and other metals.... The Indians,Columbus reported,"are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it.When you ask for something they have,they never say no.To the contrary,they offer to share with anyone...."He concluded his report by asking for a little help from their Majesties,and in return he would bring them from his next voyage "as much gold as they need...and as many slaves as they ask."He was full of religious talk:"Thus the eternal God,our Lord,gives victorypart-time weaver (the son of a skilled weaver), and expert sailor. He set out with three sailing ships, the largest of which was the Santa Maria, perhaps 100 feet long, and thirty￾nine crew members. Columbus would never have made it to Asia, which was thousands of miles farther away than he had calculated, imagining a smaller world. He would have been doomed by that great expanse of sea. But he was lucky. One-fourth of the way there he came upon an unknown, uncharted land that lay between Europe and Asia-the Americas. It was early October 1492, and thirty-three days since he and his crew had left the Canary Islands, off the Atlantic coast of Africa. Now they saw branches and sticks floating in the water. They saw flocks of birds. These were signs of land. Then, on October 12, a sailor called Rodrigo saw the early morning moon shining on white sands, and cried out. It was an island in the Bahamas, the Caribbean sea. The first man to sight land was supposed to get a yearly pension of 10,000 maravedis for life, but Rodrigo never got it. Columbus claimed he had seen a light the evening before. He got the reward. So, approaching land, they were met by the Arawak Indians, who swam out to greet them. The Arawaks lived in village communes, had a developed agriculture of corn, yams, cassava. They could spin and weave, but they had no horses or work animals. They had no iron, but they wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears. This was to have enormous consequences: it led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold. He then sailed to what is now Cuba, then to Hispaniola (the island which today consists of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). There, bits of visible gold in the rivers, and a gold mask presented to Columbus by a local Indian chief, led to wild visions of gold fields. On Hispaniola, out of timbers from the Santa Maria, which had run aground, Columbus built a fort, the first European military base in the Western Hemisphere. He called it Navidad (Christmas) and left thirty-nine crewmembers there, with instructions to find and store the gold. He took more Indian prisoners and put them aboard his two remaining ships. At one part of the island he got into a fight with Indians who refused to trade as many bows and arrows as he and his men wanted. Two were run through with swords and bled to death. Then the Nina and the Pinta set sail for the Azores and Spain. When the weather turned cold, the Indian prisoners began to die. Columbus's report to the Court in Madrid was extravagant. He insisted he had reached Asia (it was Cuba) and an island off the coast of China (Hispaniola). His descriptions were part fact, part fiction: Hispaniola is a miracle. Mountains and hills, plains and pastures, are both fertile and beautiful ... the harbors are unbelievably good and there are many wide rivers of which the majority contain gold. . . . There are many spices, and great mines of gold and other metals.... The Indians, Columbus reported, "are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone...." He concluded his report by asking for a little help from their Majesties, and in return he would bring them from his next voyage "as much gold as they need ... and as many slaves as they ask." He was full of religious talk: "Thus the eternal God, our Lord, gives victory No Profit Use Only