Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas

On October 12, 1492, the expedition led by Christopher Columbus reached an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador and which was known by its indigenous inhabitants as Guanahaní. This event marked the beginning of permanent contact between Europe and the Americas, leading to Spanish colonial expansion and profound consequences for indigenous populations such as the Taíno.

Columbus, a Genoese navigator, sought a westward maritime route to Asia, supported by Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. The expedition departed from Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492, with three ships: the Santa María, the Pinta, and the Niña. Although the voyage was intended to reach the East Indies, the landing in the Caribbean initiated the era of European discovery of the American continent, which was later named in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.