History Today : November 18th Discovery of Puerto Rico by Legendary Explorer Christopher Columbus
Channel: 5 Crown
Date: 17/11/2022

Discovery of Puerto Rico by Legendary Explorer Christopher Columbus

November 19, 1493 became a historic day that is remembered by mankind. That day, Christopher Columbus was sailing to the New World for the second time. He anchored on an island inhabited by about 50,000 people of the Taino or Arawak Indian tribe.

Columbus recorded in his journal that the natives were a gentle and trustworthy people, who could easily have been enslaved for the benefit of the Spanish,

The local residents enthusiastically welcomed the guests which were Columbus's entourage, but this is where the disaster began.

The leaders of the Taino tribe made a grave mistake, pointing out a river rich in little nuggets of gold. He did not hesitate to make an offer to Columbus to take whatever he needed, regardless of the amount.

From there, it is said, Spain made the island its colony in order to obtain precious metals.

The immigrants named the place "San Juan Bautista", which comes from St John the Baptist or Saint John the Baptist. Meanwhile, the city where Columbus arrived was named Puerto Rico, because of the potential for its abundant natural resources.

While there, Columbus founded a settlement in the Isabella region, the location where gold was first discovered. However, Isabella's condition was very bad, the settlers only had a short life.

Columbus then explored the interior in search of gold and built forts. Then, he left Isabella. He anchored again across the high seas using 3 ships, in an attempt to find mainland China -- which he believed was close to Puerto Rico.

Unfortunately, this is a misguided estimate. Instead, he landed in what is now Cuba, then Jamaica.

"During 1494, Columbus spent a great deal of time exploring the other islands, notably Jamaica and southern Cuba. He did not attempt to circumnavigate Cuba, but was convinced that it was part of China,"

Since starting from Palos, Spain, in early August 1492, Columbus thought he could reach Asia by continuing westward.

Since touching the first land, he was sure he had reached Asia, but he didn't know exactly whether it was in India, China (formerly known in Europe as Cathay), Japan (Cipango), or Indonesia (Spice Islands or islands rich in spices) spice).

Strangely, Columbus never reached the New World he dreamed of. He didn't even know that he had discovered America. Until his death on May 20, 1506, the explorer claimed to have anchored in Asia.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico became a Spanish colony for over 400 years, from 1493 to 1898. Until now, the day Puerto Rico was founded, December 19, is celebrated as a national day.

"On the celebration of the discovery of Puerto Rico or Día del Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico in Spanish, schools and offices are closed. Massive parades are held in the streets,"

Apart from the discovery of Puerto Rico by Christopher Columbus, November 19 was also marked by a number of important events.

In 1905, 100 people drowned in the English Channel when the submarine Hilda sank.

Later, Prince Ranier III was crowned as the 30th King of Monaco. The man of blue blood is famous outside Europe as the husband of the American actress, Grace Kelly.

Then, on November 19, 1985, United States President Ronald Reagan and Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time. san juan puerto rico