Christopher Columbus led a Castilian-sponsored fleet west from Palos de la Frontera seeking a maritime route to Asia. It did not reach Asia. The expedition crossed from the Canary Islands to Guanahani in the Bahamas, explored parts of Cuba and Hispaniola, established La Navidad after the loss of Santa María, and returned to Spain by way of the Azores and Lisbon. The Caribbean lands it entered were already inhabited by diverse Indigenous peoples, including Lucayan and Taíno communities.
Sources and further reading
Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage, 1492–93), Cambridge University Press. Published edition and English translation of Bartolomé de las Casas’s abstract of the lost first-voyage journal; the principal primary narrative for dates, courses, landfalls, encounters, and the loss of Santa María, used with awareness of its textual history.
Letter of Columbus to Luis de Santangel, 1493, Library of Congress. Digitized early account written after the return crossing, used as a primary source for Columbus’s stated aims, reported islands, Indigenous populations, and presentation of the voyage to its sponsors.
Christopher Columbus: The First Voyage, Encyclopaedia Britannica. Reference chronology for the fleet, commanders, westward objective, Canary stop, Caribbean movements, ship loss, and return to Palos.