Arrival Of Christopher Columbus
Christopher
Columbus made a fourth voyage, nominally in search of the Strait of
Malacca to the Indian Ocean. On May 11, 1502, four old ships and 140 men
under Columbus's command put to sea from the port of Cadiz. Among those
accompanying him were his brother Bartholomew, and younger son Fernando,
then thirteen years old. At age fifty-one, Columbus was sick, but felt he
had one more voyage left in him.
He sailed to Arzila on the Moroccan coast to rescue the Portuguese
soldiers who were being besieged by the Moors. On June 15, they landed at
Carbet on the island of Martinique. A hurricane was forming so he
continued on, hoping to find shelter on Hispaniola.
Columbus arrived at Santo Domingo on June 29, 1502, and requested that
he be allowed to enter the harbor to shelter from the imminent hurricane.
He also warned the treasure fleet gathering in the harbor not to put to
sea till the the storm had passed. Nicolas de Ovando, the local governor,
ignored the warning and the treasure fleet put to sea. Columbus sheltered
his own ships in a nearby estuary, and all four ships survived the storm
with moderate damage.
The large fleet was, however, caught by the storm, and twenty ships
were lost, with them Bobadillo, Roldan, and the gold destined for the
Crown. The admiral's share of the gold, four thousand pieces, was not
lost, and on arriving delivered in Spain, was not confiscated. Hence
Columbus should have had large funds for his retirement.
After a short stop at Jamaica, Columbus then sailed to Central America,
arriving at Guanaja (Isla de Pinos) in the Bay Islands off the coast of
Honduras on July 30 1502. On August 14, he landed on the American mainland
at Puerto Castilla, near Trujillo, Honduras. He spent two months exploring
the coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, before arriving in
Almirante Bay, Panama on October 16 1502.
When they arrived at present-day Panama, they learned from the natives
that there was another ocean just a few days march to the south. This
convinced Columbus that he was near enough the strait that he had proved
his point about this being the Far East. In addition the natives had many
gold objects for which the Spaniards traded.
Beset by storms and contrary winds, Columbus finally returned to the
mouth of the Rio Belen (western Panama) on January 9, 1503, and building a
garrison fort there as he explored the area. As he was preparing to return
to Spain, he took three of his ships out of the river, leaving one with
the garrison. April 6, a large force of Indians attacked the garrison. The
Spanish managed to hold off the attack, but lost a number of men and
realized that the garrison could not be held for long. Columbus rescued
the remaining members of the garrison, losing one of his ships in the
process. The three remaining ships, now badly leaking from shipworm,
sailed for home on April 16.
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Precolumbian Websites:
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The Spanish Conquest or Settlement
Because of the lack of a
large and rich indigenous empire at the time of the arrival of the
Spaniards, the conquest of Costa Rica is euphemistically called a
"settlement" by some writers. In reality, the Spanish arrival was
accompanied by diseases to which the Indians had no resistance, and they
died of sickness as much as by the sword. Also the Indians did try to
fight the Spanish, the small number of natives were unable to stop the
ever larger groups of Spaniards that arrived every few years attempting to
colonize the land. The first arrival was Christopher Columbus himself, who
landed near present-day Puerto Limón on September 18th 1502 during his
fourth and last voyage to the Americas. He was treated well by the coastal
Indians during his stay of 17 days, and he noted that some of the native
people wore gold decorations. Because of this, the area was dubbed "Costa
Rica" (rich coast) by the Spaniards, who imagined that a rich empire must
lie farther inland.
Columbus explaining discovery of America
to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
Spanish King Ferdinand
appointed Diego de Nicuesa governor of the region and sent him to colonize
it in 1506. This time the Indians did not provide a friendly welcome -
perhaps they had become aware of the deadly diseases that accompanied the
Europeans. The colonizers were hampered by the jungle, tropical diseases,
and the small band of Indians who used guerrilla tactics to fight off the
invaders. About half the colonizers died and rest return home,
unsuccessful.
Expedition Of Gil González Dávila
Further expeditions followed. The most
successful, from the Spaniards point of view was a 1522 expedition to the
Golfo de Nicoya area led by Gil González Dávila. This was a bloodthirsty
affair, with large numbers of the indigenous inhabitants killed of
tortured for minor reasons. Although the expedition returned home with a
hoard of gold and other treasures and claimed to have converted tens of
thousands of Indians to Catholicism, it was unable to form a permanent
colony and many expedition members died of hunger and disease.
By the 1560's the Spanish had
unsuccessfully attempted colonization several more times. By this time,
indigenous resistance such as it was, had been worn-down; many Indians had
died or were dying of disease and other had simply moved on to more
inhospitable terrain, which was unattractive to the invaders.
In 1562, Juan Vásquez de Coronado arrived as
governor and decided that the best place to found a colony, Cartago, was
in the central highlands. This was an unusual move; the Spanish were a
seafaring people and had naturally tried to colonize the coastal areas
where they could build ports and maintain contact with Spain, but they
realized that this was problematic because the coastal areas harboured
disease. When Coronado founded Cartago in 1563, his followers encountered
a healthy climate and fertile volcanic soil, and the colony survived.
Cartago was quite different from Spanish
colonies in other parts of the new world. There were few Indians, so the
Spanish did not have a huge workforce available, nor did they intermarry
with indigenous people to form the "mestizo" culture prevalent in many
other parts of Latin America. The imagined riches of Costa Rica turned out
to be very little and were quickly plundered. The small highland colony
soon became removed from the mainstream of Spanish influence.
For the next century and a half, the colony
remained forgotten backwater, isolated from the coast and major trading
routes. It survived only by dint of hard work and the generosity and
friendliness that have become the hallmarks of contemporary Costa Rica
character.
In the 18th century, the colony began to spread
and change. Settlements became established throughout the fertile plains
of the central highlands (now known as the meseta central). Heredia was
founded in 1706, San José in 1737, and Alajuela in 1782, although at the
times of their founding the cities had different names.
Much of Cartago was destroyed in an eruption of
Volcán Irazú in 1723, but the survivors rebuilt the town. This expansion
reflected slow growth from within Costa Rica, but the colony remained one
of the poorest and most isolated in the Spanish empire.
Dr. Tim McGuinness
July 2000
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