First Voyage of Columbus

The Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean that opened sustained contact between the hemispheres.

Core Principles & Analysis

• The Niña, Pinta, and Santa María left Palos on 3 August 1492 and made landfall in the Bahamas on 12 October.
• Columbus died still insisting he had reached the fringes of Asia.
• It began the Columbian Exchange of crops, animals, people, and diseases that reshaped both hemispheres.

Specifications & Metrics

• YEAR: 1492