The First Voyage
On the first voyage Columbus' ships took off on August 3rd,1492. The Nina's captain was Martin Alonzo Pinzon. The Pinta's captain was Pinzons' brother Vicente Yanez. The Santa Maria,was led by Columbus. The Santa Maria,was the flagship. The three ships carried 104 men together. They stopped at the Canary Islands,off the west coast of Africa,for fresh water,fruit and gear to repair the ships. They took off from the Canary Islands on September 6,1492. Columbus' ships covered about 150 miles a day.
The Second Voyage
On Columbus' second voyage it was a tragic but great voyage,as any other one was. He set sail with 17 ships and 1,200 men, including boys. This took place on September 25th, 1493 from the port of Cadiz,Spain. Their flagship, the Mariagalante,was the ship that Christopher Columbus rode on. Christopher set sail for three reasons. The first was to look in on the fort of Navidad,where he left his first crew behind.The second reason was to found new colonies in the name of Spain.The third reason was to find as many riches as he thought would be in the Far East. Columbus sailed to what he thought was the Far East but there was no gold or riches to be found. Columbus reached Hispaniola to check on his crew at Navidad on November 27th. He discovered that all of the crew were dead and their fort demolished.
The crew had disliked and mistreated the Indians and the Indians attacked.Columbus built the 1st colony of Santo Dimingo and was the first governor.Eventually,Columbus put his two brothers,Diego and Ferdinand in charge of the colony. Christopher Columbus then set sail for Spain.It was March 10,1496.He arrived in Cadiz on July 31.Christopher met with the Spanish Monarchs. The king and queen still favored Columbus even though there were bad reports.This was his second voyage.
The Third Voyage
Christopher Columbus set sail on his third voyage with six ships on July 31st. He was still searching for China. One of the explorers found the island of Margarita. Columbus thought that he saw another island. He actually found the mainland of the South American continent. He got back to Hispaniola on August 31st to see if the people of the colony were short of food. People were astonished that Columbus was arrested and sent back to Spain in chains.
The Fourth Voyage
Christopher Columbus left Cadiz on May 9th,1502.With four ships and 150 crewmen.His 13-year old son was aboard one of the four ships. Christopher Columbus arrived in Hispaniola on June 29th,but the colony wouldn't let Columbus land because he might cause trouble. A hurricane came along a little bit after he got there and wrecked most of the Spanish ships going back to Spain. Luckily, Columbus's ships were unharmed. On July 4th he took off again to look for a way to the East. Instead of finding the Far East, he found what we call Central America today. He left early because unfriendly Indians forced them off the land.Because of other problems like rotten food, sickness, and leaking ships, there were only two ships left.Those ships eventually made it to Jamaica.On June 25th,1503,the ships were ruined so that they couldn't sail back to Hispaniola.He sent for help by canoe,but the governor didn't send help right away. While Columbus was waiting for help, his men mutinied and tried to leave on their own. Also, the native people refused to help him find food. After help finally came a disappointed Columbus sailed home for Spain on November 7th, 1504.
