Today in 1493 Christopher Columbus left the new islands he had stumbled upon in the Caribbean to return back to Spain. He had left Spain in August 1492 attempting to find an all-water route to Asia. Instead, he landed in San Salvador. He spent several months exploring the area around present-day Haiti. He left some of his men to start a settlement, kidnapped natives to take back to Spain, brought back gold, plants, and native birds.
When he returned home in March he wrote a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella announcing his discovery, and this was the first time Europe would hear about the American continent. He wrote, “I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance.”
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th-century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on Elizabethan exploration and discovery.
Suggested links:
Columbus reports on his first voyage, 1493
Episode 31: Trade and Exploration in the 16th century
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.