La Navidad ("The Nativity", i.e. Christmas) was a settlement that

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

and his men established on the northeast coast of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

(near what is now

Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, ...

, Nord-Est Department,

) in 1492 from the remains of the Spanish ship the '' Santa María''. La Navidad was the first European colony established in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

during the

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...

, though it was destroyed by the native

Taíno people The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...

by the following year.

Founding

Columbus sailed around the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

on Christmas Eve of 1492, during his first voyage. One of his ships, the Santa María, drifted onto a bank and heeled over. After hearing from Guacanagari that there was much gold to be had on the island, Columbus decided that he would leave the crew of his wrecked vessel to make a settlement on the island and gather the promised gold. He ordered the ship dismantled to provide the building materials for a small fortress: "I have ordered a tower and fortress to be constructed and, a large cellar, not because I believe there is any necessity on account of he natives" he noted in his journal. "I am certain the people I have with me could subjugate all this island... as the population are naked and without arms and very cowardly." Columbus called the port ''Puerto de la Navidad'' ("Christmas Port"), the day he landed there. He appointed

Diego de Arana Diego de Arana (1468 in Cordoba, Spain – 1493 in Haiti) was governor of the first documented Spanish settlement in the New World, at La Navidad. He was a sailor of Castile who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his first voyage to America, whe ...

, chief constable of the fleet and son of Rodrigo, Pedro Gutiérrez, butler of the Spanish royal

dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

, and Rodrigo de Escobedo to govern the fortress of 36 men. They included carpenters, calkers, a physician, a tailor, and a gunner. Additionally, the settlement was supplied with provisions, trading goods, arms and artillery. On Friday, 4 January 1493, Columbus set sail in the ''Niña'' in search of the third ship in the fleet, the ''Pinta''. The ''Pinta'' was commanded by Martín Alonzo Pinzón, and had been absent for six weeks. On the night of 21 November, the

caravel The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing win ...

''Pinta'' had vanished into the darkness off the coast of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and in his journal Columbus accused Pinzón of deliberately having separated the ''Pinta'' from the other ships in order to beat the admiral to the rich sources of gold which Columbus imagined were in the immediate area. Even more disquieting was his fear that Pinzón might break for Spain in the fast-sailing ''Pinta'' to be the first to bring news of the discovery to the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

and to "tell them lies" about the admiral's conduct of the expedition. On Sunday morning, 6 January 1493, the missing ''Pinta'' was spotted approaching from the east, and after a heated argument between the two men, the fleet returned to gather people and supplies for a return voyage.

Destruction

When Columbus returned to Navidad on 27 Nov 1493, his second voyage from Spain, he "found it burned to the ground ... nobody in the vicinity." In the fields nearby, however, he discovered the "bodies of eight Christians." Columbus later discovered that, soon after his departure, his "men began to quarrel among themselves, each taking as many women and as much gold as he could." Gutiérrez and Escobedo left with nine others, along with their women, for the gold mines. However, the "lord of the mines" turned, killed them and then marched back to Navidad, defended by Arana with ten others, and Guacanagari.

Caonabo Caonabo (died 1496) was a Taíno ''cacique'' (chieftain) of Hispaniola at the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival to the island. He was known for his fighting skills and his ferocity. He was married to Anacaona, who was the sister of another ' ...

set fire to houses, forcing Columbus' men into the sea, where eight drowned, and three were killed onshore. Columbus decided to build a settlement farther east in present-day

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and named it

La Isabela La Isabela in Puerto Plata Province, Dominican Republic was the first Spanish town in the Americas. The site is 42 km west of the city of Puerto Plata, adjacent to the village of El Castillo. The area now forms a National Historic Park. ...

after

Queen Isabella I Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

Attempt at rediscovery

After Columbus sailed away a second time, the site apparently was forgotten until a Haitian farmer led William Hodges to a location in 1977. Hodges, an amateur archaeologist and American medical missionary, received permission from the Haitian government to excavate a tennis-court-size section of the marshland, and he and his helpers found some artifacts of La Navidad. Despite the finds, no conclusive evidence has been discovered yet to pinpoint the exact location of La Navidad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navidad Spanish West Indies 1490s in the Caribbean 1490s in the Spanish West Indies History of the Colony of Santo Domingo History of Haiti Populated places in Haiti Populated places established in the 1490s 1492 establishments in North America 1493 disestablishments Former Spanish colonies Spanish colonization of the Americas

Founding

Destruction

Attempt at rediscovery

See also

References