Columbus Discovers Trinidad: First European Sighting
Columbus spotted three peaks rising from the sea and named the island for the Holy Trinity—then spent exactly one day exploring Trinidad before sailing on. July 31, 1498. His crew was exhausted, his ships leaking, and he needed fresh water more than new territory. The indigenous Arawak and Carib peoples had lived there for 7,000 years. Columbus's logbook noted their canoes, their crops, their villages. He claimed it all for Spain in an afternoon. The island became a Spanish colony where, within decades, 40,000 native inhabitants would nearly vanish entirely. Discovery is just another word for interruption.
July 31, 1498
528 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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