Christopher Columbus reaches Trinidad, first European contact with South America

On 31 July 1498, during his third Atlantic expedition, Christopher Columbus arrived at the island of Trinidad, naming it “La Trinidad” after the Holy Trinity because of three prominent peaks he saw on the horizon. The landing marked the first recorded European sighting of Trinidad and, shortly afterwards, the mainland of South America near the Orinoco River delta. After leaving Trinidad, Columbus’s fleet entered Paria Bay and sighted the coast of present‑day Venezuela.

The voyage departed from Spain with six ships and is noted as the beginning of sustained European engagement with the Caribbean and northern South America.