the third voyage of Christopher Columbus: imprisoned and acquainted

After the discovery on his maiden voyage in 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas the second time, and this time was with large fleet and the only reward was

the discovery of the island of Santo Domingo situated in the present day Dominican republic, stumbling upon many problems in the journey, but the creation of the settlement at santo Domingo where Christopher Columbus became the governor general, but he have to go back to Spain due to shortage of resources. Columbus has thought of selling the slaves he acquired in the islands on getting back to Spain but to his uttermost dismay his patrons king Ferdinand and queen Isabella did not allow for taking of slaves in the islands.

Christopher Columbus prepares for the third voyage:

since king ferdinand and queen isabella did not allow the taking as well as sales of  slaves from the colony and he havent found much of gold and commodities in his voyages, so he concluded on going back for the purpose of resupplying the colonists and continuing his search for the trade routes, which was the initial plan of the voyages.

the journey:

 the start of the journey sees christopher columb us in control of six ships, which he  have to

split: three will be quick to head for Hispanola where urgent need for the supplies is imminent and the remaining three ships will sail for the unexplored sounthern area of the Caribbeans 

Doldrums and Trinidad:Columbus himself captained the latter ships, being at heart an explorer and not a governor.

Columbus’ bad luck on the third voyage began almost immediately. After making slow progress from Spain, his fleet hit the doldrums, which is a calm, hot stretch of ocean with little or no wind.

Columbus and his men spent several days battling heat and thirst with no wind to propel their ships. After a while, the wind returned and they were able to continue. Columbus veered to the north, because the ships were low on water and he wanted to resupply in the familiar Caribbean. On July 31, they sighted an island, which Columbus named Trinidad. They were able to resupply there and continue exploring.

For the first two weeks of August, 1498, Columbus and his small fleet explored the Gulf of Paria, which separates Trinidad from mainland South America. In the process of this exploration, they discovered the Island of Margarita as well as several smaller islands. They also discovered the mouth of the Orinoco River. Such a mighty freshwater river could only be found on a continent, not an island, and the increasingly religious Columbus concluded that he had found the site of the Garden of Eden. Columbus fell ill around this time, and ordered the fleet to head to Hispaniola, which they reached on August 19.

Return to Hispaniola:

In the roughly two years since Columbus had been gone, the settlement on Hispaniola had seen some rough times. Supplies and tempers were short and the vast wealth that Columbus had promised settlers while arranging the second voyage had failed to appear. Columbus had been a poor governor during his brief tenure (1494-1496) and the colonists were not happy to see him. The settlers complained bitterly, and Columbus had to hang a few of them in order to stabilize the situation. Realizing that he needed help governing the unruly and hungry settlers, Columbus sent to Spain for assistance. 

Responding to rumors of strife and poor governance on the part of Columbus and his brothers, the Spanish crown sent Francisco de Bobadilla to Hispaniola in 1500. Bobadilla was a nobleman and a knight of the Calatrava order, and he was given broad powers by the Spanish crown, superseding those of Columbus. The crown needed to rein in the unpredictable Columbus and his brothers, who in addition to being tyrannical governors were also suspected of improperly gathering wealth.

Columbus Imprisoned:

Bobadilla arrived in August, 1500, with 500 men and a handful of native slaves that Columbus had brought to Spain on a previous voyage: they were to be freed by royal decree. Bobadilla found the situation as bad as he had heard. Columbus and Bobadilla clashed: because there was little love for Columbus among the settlers, Bobadilla was able to clap him and his brothers in chains and throw them in a dungeon. In October, 1500, the three Columbus brothers were sent back to Spain, still in shackles. From getting stuck in the doldrums to being shipped back to Spain as a prisoner, Columbus’ Third Voyage was a ludicrous one.

Aftermath and Importance:

Back in Spain, Columbus was able to talk his way out of trouble: he and his brothers were freed after spending only a few weeks in prison.

After the first voyage, Columbus had been granted a series of important titles and

concessions. He was appointed Governor and Viceroy of the newly discovered lands and was given the title of Admiral, which would pass to his heirs. By 1500, the Spanish crown was beginning to regret this decision, as Columbus had proven to be a very poor governor and the lands he had discovered had the potential to be extremely lucrative. If the terms of his original contract were honored, the Columbus family would eventually siphon off a great deal of wealth from the crown.



posted by: t_rez