The Santa María wrecks on Christmas night
1492 · Event
With the helm left to a ship's boy, the flagship grounds on a reef off Hispaniola and cannot be saved. From her timbers Columbus builds La Navidad, the first Spanish settlement in the Americas, and leaves 39 men behind — when he returns a year later, all of them are dead.
On these timelines: The Voyages of Columbus, Age of Exploration, Latin America, Pre-Columbian Americas, Master
More from The Voyages of Columbus
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- First voyage of Columbus (1492)
- Columbus sails from Palos (1492)
- Second voyage of Columbus (1493)
- Columbus shipped home in chains (1500)
- Third voyage of Columbus (1498)
- Fourth voyage of Columbus (1502)
- Death of Columbus (1506)
Around 1492
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