Voyages of Christopher Columbus

Four Spanish-sponsored transatlantic expeditions led by Christopher Columbus between 1492 and 1504 initiated sustained European contact with the Americas and Spanish colonization in the Caribbean.

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Christopher Columbus: An Italian navigator who led four Spanish-sponsored expeditions across the Atlantic between 1492 and 1504. His aims, decisions, and changing authority shaped all four expeditions.
Niña: A small caravel that sailed with Columbus on his first voyage and returned to Spain in 1493. It was one of the two ships that completed the first expedition's return crossing.
Columbian exchange: The sustained transfer of plants, animals, pathogens, people, and ideas between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia after 1492. The voyages opened routes for the exchanges that reshaped societies on both sides of the Atlantic.
Leif Erikson: A Norse explorer traditionally associated with an expedition to Vinland around the year 1000. Norse voyages reached North America centuries earlier, though they did not create sustained contact.
Catholic Monarchs: Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose dynastic rule united the Spanish crowns. They authorized and financed Columbus's first expedition in 1492.
Pinta: A caravel that accompanied Columbus on his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492. Its speed helped it range ahead of the other ships during the crossing.
Colony of La Isabela: A Spanish settlement founded on Hispaniola in 1493 during Columbus's second expedition. It was the first planned Spanish colonial settlement established during the voyages.
Amerigo Vespucci: An Italian navigator whose accounts helped Europeans recognize the Americas as lands distinct from Asia. His interpretation diverged from Columbus's persistent belief that he had reached Asia.
Capitulations of Santa Fe: The 1492 agreement that granted Columbus titles and a share of anticipated overseas wealth. These terms defined the privileges and expectations behind the first voyage.
Santa María: The largest ship in Columbus's first expedition, wrecked off Hispaniola in December 1492. Its loss forced the expedition to leave settlers behind on Hispaniola.